Stephen Fuhr was mocked for opposing the purchase of F-35s.
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Fuhr → mock → F-35s
Now he's in charge of Canada's defence procurement
Ex-fighter pilot who has long been critical of U.S. jets could oversee dramatic increase in defence budget
Stephen Fuhr got his "Picasso" nickname back in his days as a fighter pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).
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Fuhr → oversee → Force
He'd been ordered to produce detailed attack maps, but his abstract scribbles earned him a call sign inspired by the cubist master, according to former military officials.
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scribbles → order → officials
Today, the 57-year-old holds a more serious title: Canada's secretary of state for defence procurement.
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old → hold → procurement
In this role, he leads the Defence Investment Agency, an organization created last year by Prime Minister Mark Carney's government to speed up the procurement of tens of billions of dollars worth of military acquisitions.
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he → lead → acquisitions
Canada announces Defence Investment Agency to manage purchase, delivery of military equipment
Canada joining international program to build next generation of fighter jets
It's been a quick rise for the former CF-18 pilot who, after retiring from the Armed Forces in 2009, drew mockery from members of the military community by vigorously opposing the purchase of American F-35 aircraft.
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who → announce → aircraft
Multiple sources indicate that relations remain strained to this day between Fuhr and the RCAF, whether over fighter jets, radar planes or helicopter replacements.
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relations → indicate → jets
In an interview with CBC News, Fuhr said he is always ready to fight for his convictions.
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he → say → convictions
"I'm not afraid to stand out on the hill by myself," he said.
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he → stand → myself
CBC News spoke with a dozen people who have interacted closely with Fuhr over the years.
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who → speak → years
Some requested confidentiality to avoid harming commercial relations with the government, or were not authorized to speak publicly.
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Some → request → government
Fuhr — who is from Edmonton but now lives in B.C.'s Okanagan Valley and is MP for Kelowna — first became interested in aviation when his grandfather took him to model airplane competitions.
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grandfather → live → competitions
He never lost his taste for speed and flight.
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He → lose → speed
In addition to his pickup truck, he enjoys getting behind the wheel of his sporty Porsche 911 or flying his own aircraft, a two-seater Van's RV-8 featuring a shark mouth on the nose.
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he → enjoy → nose
Sitting in the cockpit in a hangar at the Kelowna airport, he tells CBC News this plane is his "happy place."
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plane → sit → News
But he rarely gets time to fly over the nearby mountains.
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he → get → mountains
After travelling the world in recent months, his summer schedule was once again disrupted by wildfires in the area.
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schedule → travel → area
Fuhr's house in West Kelowna was burned to the ground by a wildfire in 2023 and was only recently rebuilt.
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house → burn → 2023
Now, his political career is set to become even more demanding.
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career → set → ?
Under the Liberal government's Bill C-31, he could soon inherit new powers as head of the Defence Investment Agency to award sole-sourced contracts in order to protect Canada's "economic security."
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he → inherit → security
The measures proposed in Bill C-31 would create a "super minister" in charge of military procurement, said Justin Massie, a defence expert at Université du Québec à Montréal.
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Massie → propose → Montréal
"He would have more power than Mélanie Joly at industry or [David] McGuinty at national defence, because he would combine many of the powers that were usually or historically delegated across several departments," Massie said.
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Massie → have → departments
Fuhr is in line to oversee a dramatic increase in Canada's defence budget, amid a promise to reshape the military relationship between Canada and the U.S.
He says he's aiming for a sweeping transformation of the military procurement system, either by producing more equipment in Canada or by finding new global partners.
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he → oversee → partners
"We are going to become less reliant and more resilient," he said.
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he → go → ?
"The good news is we have friends in every time zone.
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we → have → zone
And everybody wants to work with Canada."
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everybody → want → Canada
Fuhr gets an obvious political boost from being a former CF-18 pilot.
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Fuhr → get → boost
Still, sources said Fuhr is seen as an outsider by many prominent members of Canada's fighter pilot community.
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Fuhr → say → community
During his four years in a CF-18 squadron at CFB Cold Lake in Alberta, from 1999 to 2003, he was known for standing up to his commanding officer and his career had its share of ups and downs, according to several sources.
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career → know → sources
Fuhr did not wish to comment on personal issues during the interview.
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Fuhr → wish → interview
Some former pilots argue Fuhr lacks "operational credibility" within their community, having never been part of deployments in conflict zones.
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Fuhr → argue → zones
He counters by pointing to a defining moment of his piloting career after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, in which airliners were turned into missiles.
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airliners → counter → missiles
He said he had trained for war, but not the scenario in which he took to the skies to protect North American airspace as commercial planes were redirected to Canada.
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planes → say → Canada
"When you've got hundreds of civilian airliners full of people coming your way, and that is now a threat you have to work through, that's a different mind space," he said.
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he → get → people
After leaving CFB Cold Lake, he worked in Winnipeg managing Canada's fighter fleet and then training pilots and instructors.
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he → leave → pilots
He retired from the RCAF after 20 years with the rank of major.
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He → retire → major
Fuhr made more of a name for himself after returning to civilian life in the early 2010s.
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Fuhr → make → 2010s
While many in the fighter pilot community were tireless supporters of the F-35, he became a fierce critic.
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he → become → F-35
"It may be a great airplane, it's not the right plane for Canada," he said on CBC's Power & Politics in 2011.
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he → say → 2011
Friends and former colleagues speak of his fixation against the Lockheed Martin aircraft, which had been chosen by the Stephen Harper government to replace the CF-18s.
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which → speak → CF-18s
…and 33 more, not listed.
