Canada has ordered only 16 F-35s so far, and it still has not decided whether it will buy the rest. It is, however, building the house for them. On 7 October 2026, Defence Minister David McGuinty announced nearly $4 billion for fighter capabilities at Cold Lake, Alberta, the base that will be the first in Canada to fly the jet.

The money is the largest slice of an $8 billion package of defence spending in Alberta that McGuinty unveiled at CFB Edmonton, with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith beside him. Asked whether the Cold Lake investment was a step towards a full fleet of 88 jets, the minister would not go that far. Canada is committed to 16, he said, and the aircraft need "highly sophisticated" infrastructure.

Why Cold Lake

4 Wing Cold Lake is the Royal Canadian Air Force's main fighter base in the west and home to CF-18 Hornet squadrons, as well as the training ground for the big Maple Flag exercises. Together with Bagotville in Quebec, it is one of the two bases that will operate Canada's new fighters.

A stealth fighter is fussier about its home than the jet it replaces. That is why McGuinty stressed the "highly sophisticated" infrastructure the F-35 needs. National Defence's plans already include permanent fighter squadron facilities at Cold Lake. The Ottawa Citizen has reported that the new jets will also need a dedicated Canadian security force to protect the aircraft and their components.

The government did not publish a line-by-line breakdown of the $4 billion on the day, and no completion dates were given. What is clear is the direction: Cold Lake is being rebuilt around a fifth-generation fighter.

Sixteen Jets, and a Review

The awkward part is the number. Canada's fighter programme was designed around 88 F-35s, but Ottawa has firmly committed to only the first 16 and has been reviewing the rest for more than 18 months. The review began amid the trade dispute with Washington, and Canada has since looked at other options, including the Saab Gripen.

McGuinty did not shift on that point in Edmonton. "The question of where we're going next is under review," he said, adding that the government would take the time it needed to get it right.

Meanwhile, the jets themselves are on their way. Canada's first CF-35A a effectué son vol inaugural at Lockheed Martin's plant in Fort Worth on 23 September 2026. According to the timeline reported by Lakeland Connect, the first aircraft go to Luke Air Force Base in Arizona for pilot training, and the first F-35 is due at Cold Lake in 2028.

Defence Money With a Political Edge

The announcement had a second audience. It came less than two weeks before Alberta's referendum on separation, and the question came up at the press conference. Asked whether the money was about defence or about Alberta's place in Canada, Premier Smith answered: "I think it's both."

McGuinty framed it in bigger terms. Canada has committed to raising defence spending sharply over the next decade, and he presented the Alberta projects as part of that rebuild, not as a one-off.

For the airmen at Cold Lake, the politics matter less than the concrete. Whether Canada ends up with 16 F-35s or 88, the base that will fly them first is getting the money to do it. The CTV News interview below, from September, has McGuinty on why the F-35 decision is taking time.

Sources: The Maple, The Canadian Press via Lethbridge Herald, Red Deer Advocate, Lakeland Connect, CBC News