Canada PM Stephen Harper defends F-35 program

TORONTO, Sept. 22 (UPI) -- Canada's Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the opposition party was "living in a dream world" when Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau said a Liberal government would remove the F-35 from their defense bidding process.

Trudeau says the F-35 program is too expensive for his country's security needs, and would be a "nightmare" for Canadian taxpayers. Harper fired back, saying that scrapping the plan would "crater" Canada's aerospace industry.

"I don't know what planet they're living on," Prime Minister Harper said of Canada's Liberal Party, "whether it's his statements on the aerospace industry, his statements on the deficit, you name it. It shows his disconnect and a profound lack of understanding about the Canadian economy."

While Canadian companies reportedly held some $637 million in F-35 program contracts as of 2014

Canada's aging fleet of fighter jets has become a campaign issue for upcoming elections. While the Conservative Party is pushing to modernize this sector of their armed forces, dissenters point out the program has been costly.

Currently, the Royal Canadian Air Force uses CF-18 Hornet fighters, introduced in 1983. Canada agreed in 2010 to procure the F-35 to replace the CF-18s. By 2012, the country was rethinking its procurement of 65 jets for a projected $16 billion. In 2013, Boeing offered Canada the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet as a rival option.

A report by the Canada's Department of National Defence in 2014 said the purchase of F-35 fighters could come with an additional cost of $1 billion to replace lost aircraft over the life of the fleet.