Article content

The Liberal government is buying new armoured vehicles for the Canadian Forces, but the sole source deal will cost taxpayers double what was originally planned.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan announced Friday that the government would buy 360 combat support Light Armoured Vehicles from General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada, with the project costing $3 billion.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Liberals announce sole-source deal for new armoured vehicles will cost $3 billion — double the original estimate Back to video

The project was originally announced by the Liberal government with an estimated cost between $500 million and $1.5 billion. The plan was to award the contract in 2023 after a competition.

But with the federal election looming, the deal was fast-tracked by the Liberals, joining a series of recent defence-related funding announcements. A competition was jettisoned and replaced with a sole-source deal with General Dynamics, based in London, Ont.

The deal includes a $650 million repayable loan, but the Department of National Defence said it had no details on that arrangement. It referred questions to Global Affairs Canada, which noted in an emailed statement that the federal government is “willing to provide a loan to General Dynamics Land Systems Canada to ensure the timely delivery of the Light Armoured Vehicles for our men and women in uniform. The Government of Canada is providing a loan to GDLS-C to support jobs and suppliers as GDLS-C navigates a challenging and dynamic international defence market.”