A draft joint statement prepared for the Canada-European Union (EU) summit in Montreal on October 29 and 30, 2026, says the two sides will announce a joint purchase of 50 De Havilland water bombers, to be ready for use in Canada and Europe in 2030.
The document, obtained by Politico Europe, was circulated by the General Secretariat of the Council of the EU to the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper II) and the Working Party on Transatlantic Relations on September 22, 2026.
The Council’s cover note describes the text as “received from Canada” and asks member state delegations to submit written comments by September 28, 2026, with the wording subject to negotiation ahead of the summit.
50 water bombers planned for Canada and Europe
De Havilland Aircraft of Canada’s current firefighting aircraft program is the De Havilland Canadair 515 (DHC-515), the successor to the Canadair CL-215 and CL-415 amphibious water bombers.
In a March 10, 2026, production update, the manufacturer said it was building 22 DHC-515s for Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain, and had signed contracts with the Canadian provinces of Manitoba, Ontario and Alberta.
At the time, the first DHC-515 was still in structural assembly. Its cockpit and hull had been joined in Calgary, while the first wing box had also been completed.
The proposed water bomber commitment does not specify how the extra 50 aircraft would be divided between Canadian and European buyers.
Existing European DHC-515 orders leave questions
The existing European order is linked to rescEU, the reserve of emergency response assets established under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.
De Havilland Canada and the EU concluded contract negotiations for the 22 aircraft in October 2024. 12 aircraft are financed by the European Commission to form a permanent rescEU fleet, while another 10 are national purchases. The first deliveries are expected at the end of 2027.
The draft summit statement does not clarify whether some or all of these aircraft would count toward the proposed 50-aircraft Canada-EU purchase.
Canada to seek participation in Galileo
Alongside further cooperation in defense and the Arctic, the draft also says Canada and the EU will launch negotiations on a framework governing Canadian participation in Galileo, the EU’s satellite navigation program.
Space-based communications are among the strategic industries identified for closer cooperation between the two sides.