Army cancels new armoured vehicles

The Canadian army is scrapping a $2 billion order for new armoured vehicles – the latest in a series of troubled procurement programs.

Bids by three defence contractors are to expire on Monday, and the military has decided not to pick a winner. The program has been in the balance for months after the army suggested it was worried about whether it could afford to train crews and operate and maintain the vehicles in a time of tight budgets.

Colonel Andrew Jayne describes it as “a continual process of analyzing our requirements and our needs that we have to go through, and we are confident that we have mapped out projects for the future and they are appropriate for the Canadian Armed Forces and for the army.”

Having yet another major military purchase go down the drain could be a political black eye for the Conservatives, once known for building up the military. In addition to the armoured vehicles, the government cancelled and subsequently restarted a program to buy 1500 trucks for the military.