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Asked if that meant there would not be a competition, Trudeau repeated: “We are working very, very hard and thoughtfully to ensure that we deliver to our forces the right jets the right way at the right price. That’s what Canadians expect of us, and that’s what we are going to be doing.”

The previous Conservative government announced in 2010 that Canada would be buying 65 F-35 stealth fighters without a competition. The Liberals, who at the time were in third place in the House of Commons, were extremely critical of the decision not to hold a competition.

In a January 2011 blog post, then-Liberal industry critic Marc Garneau, who is now minister of transport, wrote: “Canada needs to hold a proper competition for its next fighter aircraft. Billions of dollars of your money are at stake.”

However, sources told Postmedia this month that the Liberals were now leaning toward buying Super Hornet fighter jets without a competition. The government says no decision has been made, but critics allege the Liberals are scared of holding an open competition because the F-35 might win.

The F-35 has previously won competitions in South Korea, Japan and Denmark. Ironically, the Conservatives and Lockheed Martin, the company that makes the F-35, have both been pressing for an open competition in recent weeks.

The Liberals have been careful not to bad mouth the F-35 since winning last October’s election. The strongest words came from Trudeau earlier this month, when he told the House of Commons in French that the stealth fighter “does not work, and is far from working.”