OTTAWA — Industry Minister Mélanie Joly is keeping a strong poker face after paying a high-profile visit to the Swedish firm competing with the U.S. maker of the F-35 stealth fighter jet.

Joly visited defence manufacturer Saab's facilities in Sweden this week and was shown the Gripen-E jet, one of the possible contenders to replace the controversial U.S.-made F-35 stealth fighter.

But Joly said such trips and meetings are a "normal" part of her job, and that she will also be meeting with American aerospace giant Lockheed Martin, which makes the F-35, in the coming weeks.

It comes as Ottawa is in the middle of conducting a major review of the F-35 procurement in secret — a move that has turned the major purchase from Lockheed into a bargaining chip in the ongoing trade war with the U.S.

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