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OTTAWA — Canada was actively pursuing — at the political level — the possible acquisition of the controversial French-built Mistral-class helicopter carriers, several defence, diplomatic and military industry sources have told The Canadian Press.

The effort has ground to halt, however, largely because of the federal election campaign — and it may slip away entirely because the French are now in a position to entertain bids from other countries for the 22,000-tonne ships, originally built for Russia.

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The original deal was cancelled because of Moscow’s annexation of Crimea and its ongoing support of anti-government forces in eastern Ukraine, but it was only last month that the French government concluded a US $1.01 billion refund agreement, a plan that was approved Thursday by the lower house of the French National Assembly.

The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly, say Defence Minister Jason Kenney was — until the election call —“actively engaged” in sounding out the French, including a face-to-face exchange at the most recent NATO ministerial meeting in Brussels last June.