The issue is really that they bought used, worn out airframes just because they weren't as old as ours. From another Airforce that basically deemed them to be too old and worthy of replacement by the f-35... the same f-35 that we chose to not buy instead! It's such a Canadian thing but we just basically swept the problem away for the couple of years that we can get from the airframes, but we had to basically go through all of the procurement again not even half a decade after that decision.
So there was no point at all, we could've just bought actual replacements (f-35 or not) that would last for an entire generation back in 2p15. But hey, problem solved for the current government so who cares about what happens in 10 years! But then the issue got too big and we ended up circling back to buying the exact same f-35 that we wanted to have for the past 20 years. Just with a worse deal and even more clapped out f18 and pilot accidents.
So there was no point at all, we could've just bought actual replacements (f-35 or not) that would last for an entire generation back in 2p15. But hey, problem solved for the current government so who cares about what happens in 10 years! But then the issue got too big and we ended up circling back to buying the exact same f-35 that we wanted to have for the past 20 years. Just with a worse deal and even more clapped out f18 and pilot accidents.