Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) News and Discussions

Todjaeger

Potstirrer
I have never looked closely at a map of Eastern Canada before, but what a strategic and economic nightmare an independent and neutral Quebec would be to the rest of Canada and the importance of the St Lawrence Sea Way.
One is assuming that Quebec would still find their neighbours to the south would remain... friendly. I would make no such assumption, particularly if certain European nations were to 'encourage' Quebec to assert their freedom and independence, since the St. Lawrence Sea Way is actually an international SLOC used and paid for by both the US and Canada and portions of the power grid are also tied together.
 

John Fedup

The Bunker Group
I have never looked closely at a map of Eastern Canada before, but what a strategic and economic nightmare an independent and neutral Quebec would be to the rest of Canada and the importance of the St Lawrence Sea Way.
I think the US will absolutely sort any issues wrt the St. Lawrence Seaway. As for the Maritime provinces and NL, they and the provinces west of Quebec would have some difficult decisions if separation were to happen. Separation also entails partition, some parts of Quebec and perhaps the Cree First Nations may not want any part of being in a sovereign Quebec, something that got mentioned in the last referendum. Frankly I am more concerned about Alberta, many there are infected with the Trump disease. There is also the lingering hatred for senior and his energy policies screwing Alberta,, made only worse by his abomination offspring. I won't comment any further on the RCAF thread.
 

John Fedup

The Bunker Group
One is assuming that Quebec would still find their neighbours to the south would remain... friendly. I would make no such assumption, particularly if certain European nations were to 'encourage' Quebec to assert their freedom and independence, since the St. Lawrence Sea Way is actually an international SLOC used and paid for by both the US and Canada and portions of the power grid are also tied together.
A can recall how a certain Frenchman in 1967 made some comments that didn't go over well. I kind of doubt the current leadership in France would make the same mistake....then again we have to remember pollies are involved!
 

FoxtrotRomeo999

Active Member
The First Peoples in Quebec (and some others) tend to be more aligned to Canada then Quebec
  • Partition of Quebec - Wikipedia (I remember the issue came up a couple of years ago (can't find it but the Quebec Cree were very anti-Quebec independence) and the First Nations were very strongly opting for Canada. So what, you say ... well a lot of Hydro power and minerals would then leave Quebec.
  • Government of Canada and four Quebec-based First Nations announce new, inclusive Peace and Friendship Treaties map - Canada.ca
  • Of course, there is a possibility that a patchwork of parts of some of the other provinces and territories could seek to join Quebec. In Manitoba, there is a healthy Franco-Manitoban community with their own flag and a University at Saint Boniface, Winnipeg (unlikely) and a lot of New Brunswick (around 30%) is likewise of French origin (maybe more likely but still unlikely).
A Hudson Bay Seaway would offer a solution to a "hostile" Quebec. Winnipeg then becomes a major North American Transportation hub. This could also open up Arctic Canada.

And let's not forget St Pierre et Miquelin - French territory that would allow the French to engineer a crisis.... oh, I could have a lot of fun with all these What-if's ...

BTW this is not really RCAF related and should be moved to a more appropriate thread.
 

John Fedup

The Bunker Group
The First Peoples in Quebec (and some others) tend to be more aligned to Canada then Quebec
  • Partition of Quebec - Wikipedia (I remember the issue came up a couple of years ago (can't find it but the Quebec Cree were very anti-Quebec independence) and the First Nations were very strongly opting for Canada. So what, you say ... well a lot of Hydro power and minerals would then leave Quebec.
  • Government of Canada and four Quebec-based First Nations announce new, inclusive Peace and Friendship Treaties map - Canada.ca
  • Of course, there is a possibility that a patchwork of parts of some of the other provinces and territories could seek to join Quebec. In Manitoba, there is a healthy Franco-Manitoban community with their own flag and a University at Saint Boniface, Winnipeg (unlikely) and a lot of New Brunswick (around 30%) is likewise of French origin (maybe more likely but still unlikely).
A Hudson Bay Seaway would offer a solution to a "hostile" Quebec. Winnipeg then becomes a major North American Transportation hub. This could also open up Arctic Canada.

And let's not forget St Pierre et Miquelin - French territory that would allow the French to engineer a crisis.... oh, I could have a lot of fun with all these What-if's ...

BTW this is not really RCAF related and should be moved to a more appropriate thread.
Agree some interesting scenarios but this isn't the thread. Probably need a new one as the Canada Defence Thread really isn't applicable either.
 

Delta204

Active Member
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/procurement-new-surveillance-military-planes-1.7042751

Looks like the Canadian govt. will acquire the P-8 through a sole-source contract. This is a win for RCAF and taxpayers; Bombardier has been lobbying hard to have a "open competition" but clearly the government has decided against this. With all the bad news that surrounds Canadian defense these days, this is a pleasant surprise and a nice win.
 

John Fedup

The Bunker Group
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/procurement-new-surveillance-military-planes-1.7042751

Looks like the Canadian govt. will acquire the P-8 through a sole-source contract. This is a win for RCAF and taxpayers; Bombardier has been lobbying hard to have a "open competition" but clearly the government has decided against this. With all the bad news that surrounds Canadian defense these days, this is a pleasant surprise and a nice win.
Absolutely agree!!! Besides the obvious proven performance I think this was an easy decision. With bad poll numbers, caving into Bombardier wouldn’t enhance electoral chances for outside of Quebec. Don’t think it would have helped in Ontario either despite Ford’s support for Bombardier’s Toronto site.
 
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Sender

Active Member

Vanquish

Member
This is great news. I was really worried that the Government would end up pandering to Bombardier and it's paper plane. Seems like a fairly quick acquisition to if we are able to receive the first one in 2026. I think Bombardier would still be working out the bugs in their plane 10 years from now if they started out today.
 

Delta204

Active Member
It's pretty remarkable if you consider that within the last year Canada has committed to: F-35's, A330's, MQ-9's and now P-8's. The RCAF will look a lot different by the end of the decade - and much more capable!

We need this sort of momentum to spill over to the RCN....
 

John Fedup

The Bunker Group
It's pretty remarkable if you consider that within the last year Canada has committed to: F-35's, A330's, MQ-9's and now P-8's. The RCAF will look a lot different by the end of the decade - and much more capable!

We need this sort of momentum to spill over to the RCN....
It is great news but the amount of RCAF kit combined with extremely urgent RCN needs will be a challenge for the next government to fund, especially with rising interest rates. Then there is the army. The cynic in me suspects this is a trap to embarrass the next government which may very well have to delay/reduce these orders. Much of this kit should have been ordered in Harper’s last mandate and junior’s first. Pollies &ucking up as usual.
 

Delta204

Active Member
The cynic in me suspects this is a trap to embarrass the next government which may very well have to delay/reduce these orders. Much of this kit should have been ordered in Harper’s last mandate and junior’s first. Pollies &ucking up as usual.
This is a good point, I would also argue that perhaps they are trying to pre-empt the next government. They know they will not be in power after the next election (barring a dramatic turn of events - which I guess one cannot rule out these days) and so by announcing these projects they can steal a bit of thunder from the government in waiting. But you are correct, these projects are all about a decade delayed from when they should have been announced.
 

John Fedup

The Bunker Group
This is a good point, I would also argue that perhaps they are trying to pre-empt the next government. They know they will not be in power after the next election (barring a dramatic turn of events - which I guess one cannot rule out these days) and so by announcing these projects they can steal a bit of thunder from the government in waiting. But you are correct, these projects are all about a decade delayed from when they should have been announced.

I just hope they happen!!
 

Redlands18

Well-Known Member
A very good podcast with an ex RCAF FA-18 pilot, well worth listening to. Highly critical of the current state of the RCAF, as combat aircraft he rates the current fleet as useful for air shows and little else.
 

John Fedup

The Bunker Group
A very good podcast with an ex RCAF FA-18 pilot, well worth listening to. Highly critical of the current state of the RCAF, as combat aircraft he rates the current fleet as useful for air shows and little else.
Excellent video that really points out many of the problems facing the RCAF which are also applicable to the RCN and the Army. Of particular note is personnel retention, damn hard when you ask pilots to fly 40 year old plus fast jets or sailors to serve on the same age ships. The video was made before the P-8 sole source contract was announced. If junior wasn't polling so low he would have likely caved into Bombardier. One additional point about the Superhornet fiasco, while Boeing"s price tag may have been a show stopper, I disagree the C-Series dispute didn't play a some role. Boeing's trade complaint provided an exit excuse for junior's SH proposal.
 

Vanquish

Member

Love them or hate them the current Government have bought a lot of new kit for the Armed Forces. Moving forward now on purchasing the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper times 11. Great news again. Not sure why the Liberals changed their mind so quickly on ordering them but obviously it was a bit of a sham excuse in the first place that the Reapers weren't suitable for Arctic service.

@John Fedup might be correct that the Liberals are setting up the Conservatives for having to cancel a lot of this new kit as they are expected to form the next government at this point.
 

John Fedup

The Bunker Group

Love them or hate them the current Government have bought a lot of new kit for the Armed Forces. Moving forward now on purchasing the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper times 11. Great news again. Not sure why the Liberals changed their mind so quickly on ordering them but obviously it was a bit of a sham excuse in the first place that the Reapers weren't suitable for Arctic service.

@John Fedup might be correct that the Liberals are setting up the Conservatives for having to cancel a lot of this new kit as they are expected to form the next government at this point.
.

Comox , BC and Greenwood, NS basing for Arctic operations seems strange. Control stations in Ottawa, ok I guess.
 
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