Industry Minister Mélanie Joly pitted two giant defence companies against one another on Tuesday for the future of Canada's fighter fleet, saying the $27-billion contract to buy 88 U.S.-made F-35 jets doesn’t deliver enough jobs for workers in this country — and that the public expects a better deal.

In perhaps her most pointed comments to date, Joly acknowledged publicly that the federal government was talking with Swedish defence contractor Saab, which has promised to bring thousands of aerospace manufacturing jobs to the country in the assembly of its Gripen E fighter jet.

"We think that we can use military procurement to get more,” Joly told reporters. “That is why we're looking, indeed, at the Gripen.”

She said Saab is offering 10,000 jobs.

“We'll see how that is concrete," Joly s

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