OTTAWA — Trade Minister Mary Ng is hoping to see Canadian companies land more mega deals overseas after De Havilland Aircraft of Canada finalized the sale of over $1 billion in water bombers in Europe. 

On Friday, the Calgary-based aerospace firm announced it had finished negotiations with the European Commission and the federal government’s Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC) on an agreement for 22 firefighting planes.

The EU has bought 12 water bombers, while the other 10 are split between six member countries including Croatia, Spain and Portugal.

“These water bombers are going to be essential to fight the wildfires that they have here throughout Europe,” said Ng, in an interview from Brussels. She touted the benefits for the Canadian aerospace sector, noting that De Havilland will buy parts and engineering services from other firms. 

The company’s DHC-515 Firefighter is an updated version of aircraft from the now-defunct manufacturer Canadair, whose design rights De Havilland acquired in 2016. De Havilland first announced the European order in March 2022, promising to deliver the first planes “by the middle of the decade.”

The parties had not, however, announced a price for the purchase. On Friday, Ng said “the deal is over $1 billion,” adding that De Havilland will directly employ 600 people to produce the 22 aircraft, while the supply chain will create 2,600 more jobs. In a statement, De Havilland CEO Brian Chafe said Friday “marks the end of discussion and the commencement of production moving into high gear.”

Governments often purchase aircraft and other such big-ticket and sensitive products through contracting agencies like CCC, a federal Crown corporation that negotiates on behalf of Ottawa and Canadian companies. The U.S. is by far the CCC’s biggest market, thanks to its role as the Pentagon’s contractor for major military purchases in Canada. 

The Liberal government has set ambitious goals, though, to grow Canada’s overseas trade relationships and reduce the country’s economic reliance on the U.S. Ottawa has pushed CCC to diversify its markets, Ng said. “You’re seeing proof of that in [the De Havilland] agreement.”

Ng said she’s hoping Canadian companies will secure more large contracts in European and Asian markets. For example, De Havilland’s water bombers are in high demand as forest fires burn further and longer. The firm is ramping up production to fulfill the European order, so will have “the ability to sell more of these planes to other customers around the world,” Ng said, noting that the company has kept its intellectual property and manufacturing base in Canada. 

Canada’s trading relationship with Europe faces some challenges, however. In March, the French Senate voted against ratifying the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). While French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated his support for the treaty during a visit to Montreal last week, key ministers in the newly installed government in Paris have expressed opposition to it.

France, Italy and Greece were all part of the De Havilland deal, but are among the 10 EU members that have not yet ratified CETA. Still, the water bomber purchase proves the trade agreement works, according to Ng. “These transactions are taking place under the rules of CETA,” she said. 

Ng said she’s continuing to push the European Commission and individual countries to ratify the trade agreement.