Misused public funds
Auditor General finds Canada's F-35 fighter jet program plagued by cost overruns, delays and inadequate risk planning
Confidence: Confirmed · 3 sourcesCanada · Sep 22, 2026
Subject of this story
Department of National Defence (Canada)
Also named
Oversight
Office of the Auditor General of Canada
What happened
In a report tabled in Parliament on June 9, 2025, Canada's Auditor General found that National Defence's project to bring the F-35A fighter jet into service faces significant, growing cost increases since the December 2022 contract, schedule delays and pilot-shortage risk, and that the department's cost estimates and risk disclosures to government and Parliament were incomplete. National Defence agreed to all four of the Auditor General's recommendations and committed to implementing them by fall 2025.
Sources (3)
SourceStatement by the Minister of National Defence responding to the Auditor General's report and agreeing to implement its four recommendations.
SourceReport 2 - Delivering Canada's Future Fighter Jet Capability, tabled June 9, 2025, found the project's cost estimate has increased significantly since 2022 and does not account for all aspects of the project.
Canadian Military Family MagazineCoverage confirming the Auditor General's report findings on cost increases, infrastructure delays and RCAF pilot shortages.
Response
Department of National Defence (Canada)
Statement given
Contacted and responded — exact wording not on record.
What happened next (0)
No outcome recorded yet.