Trump threatens to decertify all Canadian-made aircraft, more tariffs

Donald Trump made another threat against Canada, saying he will decertify all Canadian-made aircraft in the U.S. and slap a 50 per cent tariff on Canadian aircraft sold to the states.

But an aviation analytics firm says decertifying all Canadian-made aircraft would hurt the operations of several U.S. airlines, and an aerospace union says it would disrupt the industry and put thousands of jobs at risk.

But an aviation analytics firm says decertifying all Canadian-made aircraft would hurt the operations of several U.S. airlines, and an aerospace union says it would disrupt the industry and put thousands of jobs at risk.

“That would paralyze the air transportation industry in the United States,” said David Chartrand, the Canadian General vice president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

“When I read his Truth Social post last night, I said ‘this guy doesn’t really understand the implications of what he’s writing on U.S. air travel’,” said John Gradek, a faculty Lecturer and Academic Coordinator at McGill University.

Both of these concerns were in response to the latest threat from Trump, where in a social media post he wrote, “Based on the fact that Canada has wrongfully, illegally, and steadfastly refused to certify the Gulfstream 500, 600, 700, and 800 Jets…we are hereby decertifying their Bombardier Global Expresses, and all Aircraft made in Canada. If, for any reason, this situation is not immediately corrected, I am going to charge Canada a 50% Tariff on any and all Aircraft sold into the United States of America.”

Data from aviation analytics firm Cirium show a total of 5,425 Canadian-made aircraft registered and in service in the United States.

Within that, more than 1,200 U.S. operators are flying nearly 2,700 Canadian-made bombardier aircraft.

Some of the biggest affected airlines include Skywest, Netjets and Delta.

“American carriers: 40 per cent of their fleets that do regional routes are Canadian,” said Chartrand.

It wasn’t made clear if Trump means Canadian planes currently flying or just newly made aircraft, but a White House official who spoke with Reuters suggested the president only means new ones.

“It’s a commercial spat between Bombardier and Gulfstream,” said Gradek.

Gradek said he believes Trump’s real motivation is because Gulfstream has been losing market share to Bombardier.

He said the Gulfstream 500s and 600s models are already certified in Canada.

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But the 700s and 800s — which are more recent designs — have an issue with the fuel system when flown in cold weather.

“The U.S. basically exempted the airplane to say, ‘okay, as long as you don’t fly in cold weather’,” said Gradek. “Canada says ‘not a chance fellow’, you know, fix the airplane.”

“When threats like that are made, and you weaponize the certification process, it’s dangerous for the health and safety, the safety of passengers,” said Chartrand.

Chartrand condemns the threats, and says decertification and tariffs will be harmful.

“Because our supply chains and our industries in North America, whether it be in the United States or Canada, are heavily integrated,” said Chartrand. “Coming and disrupting one will automatically affect the other, so there will be job losses on both sides of the border.”

In a statement, Bombardier said they are discussing this with the Canadian government and added, “Bombardier is an international company that employs more than 3,000 people in the U.S. across 9 major facilities, and creates thousands of U.S. jobs through 2,800 suppliers. Our aircraft, facilities and technicians are fully certified to FAA standards and renowned around the world.”

The latest threats come as Trump took another shot at Canada’s recent tariff deal with China.

“It’s even more dangerous, I think, for Canada to get into business with China,” said Trump. “Canada is not doing well. They’re doing very poorly. And you can’t look at China as the answer…The first thing they’re going to do is say you’re not allowed to play ice hockey anymore. That’s not good.”

The prime minister hasn’t responded to the threats, but transport minister Steven MacKinnon said he had spoken with executives at Bombardier and General Dynamics, and Ottawa is working on the situation.

Industry minister Mélanie Joly spoke with CBC in Montreal Friday morning, and said the certification process for the 700 and 800 Gulfstream jets is well underway and she believes this dispute can be resolved.

READ MORE: Trump threatens tariffs again, this time on Canadian-made aircraft