In a struggling economy, Canada’s aerospace industry is flying high
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- Airbus announced a US$19-billion order for 150 A220 jets from AirAsia — the largest order ever for a Canadian-made commercial airplane — at a Mirabel news conference attended by PM Mark Carney.
- Mark Carney personally met with AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes to press the case for the Quebec-built jet, marking the first time a Canadian Prime Minister has directly brokered a commercial aircraft sale.
- Canada's aerospace revenues grew 76% over five years to $45.7-billion by end of 2025, with exports hitting $28.2-billion (up 54% since 2021), according to federal data and the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada.
- Bombardier booked orders for 3.6 new jets for every plane delivered in its latest quarter, is building a $100-million Montreal plant to ease production pressure, and has three to four years of backlog to fill, CEO Éric Martel said.
- de Havilland Canada broke ground on a 1,500-acre aerospace base east of Calgary — including assembly, MRO, and runway facilities — and is in talks with Sweden's Saab about building Gripen fighter jets under contract if Ottawa selects them.
- Parts suppliers are scaling up: Héroux-Devtek sold to Platinum Equity for $1.35-billion and has bid on four acquisition targets, while Groupe Meloche struck a May deal to acquire France's Groupe Rossi Aéro to get closer to Airbus's Toulouse base.
- Airbus has more than doubled its Canadian workforce since 2016 to over 5,300 people, its largest presence outside Europe; the domestic industry employs roughly 94,200 people and ranks in the global top five for non-military engines, flight simulators, and aircraft.
Why it matters: Canada's aerospace sector — 94,200 direct jobs and $45.7-billion in 2025 revenue — is seeing simultaneous expansion from Airbus, Bombardier, de Havilland, and a wave of supplier M&A. The swing factor is Ottawa: keeping exports tariff-free and formalizing a national industrial strategy will determine whether the current $28.2-billion export base compounds or plateaus.
