CALGARY — The Alberta government is set to announce a massive $400 million deal on Tuesday to purchase new water bombers from De Havilland Aircraft of Canada to combat wildfires.Postmedia reports Alberta will acquire five new De Havilland Canadair 515 (DHC-515) amphibious firefighting aircraft from the Calgary-based company, with the first plane expected to be completed in 2031 and the other four bombers set to arrive over the following two years.The deal is expected to create and sustain an estimated 1,000 jobs.At a press conference in Calgary on Tuesday, Premier Danielle Smith said the new aircraft will help crews respond faster, carry more water, and operate with improved safety systems. She noted air tankers are strategically positioned at 13 bases across the province and said the five new aircraft represent a 60% increase in Alberta’s drop capacity.“Critically, the aircraft will help prevent fires from spreading into neighbouring communities because a quicker response will help keep wildfires smaller and under control,” Smith said. .Alberta Forestry and Parks Minister Todd Loewen said the agreement comes at an opportune time for the province.“It’s been a perfect opportunity. Of course, we have a company setting up in Alberta to build these planes,” Loewen said, adding that the province’s current water bombers were “getting a little older.”“Wildfires have been something of great concern in Alberta and by Albertans. We just want to make sure we’re as prepared as we can possibly be.”Alberta has suffered several devastating wildfires over the past decade, including the 2016 Fort McMurray fire and the blaze that swept through Jasper in July 2024.According to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, Alberta has had more than 1,260 wildfires in the last year, only surpassed by BC nationally (roughly 1,350).Under the new agreement, Alberta will receive the DHC-515, the next-generation amphibious water bomber manufactured by De Havilland Canada.The aircraft can refill its tanks in about 12 seconds by scooping water from lakes, rivers or oceans. It carries roughly 15% more water than older models and features an advanced avionics suite.Alberta’s current water bomber force consists of four “Super Scoopers” — Canadair CL-215 planes built in the late 1980s — and the province contracts approximately 14 additional planes each year to assist in firefighting operations.Loewen stated water bombers remain the fastest way to deliver large volumes of water onto active fires..When the new aircraft begin arriving next decade, they will be integrated into Alberta’s existing fleet.“We wanted to make sure that we still got a good deal for Albertans, and so there was a long period of negotiations,” Loewen said.“We wanted to make sure that the deal still made sense — and it does.”For De Havilland, the Alberta order provides production certainty and long-term economic stability.“It gives us the latitude to know that we’ve got orders in the bank to continue to ramp up production," Neil Sweeney, the company’s vice-president of corporate affairs, said.Another five (planes) will mean jobs and economic opportunity for people in Calgary for literally years to come as these aircraft are manufactured."Sweeney added that the purchase signals confidence in the company’s ability to deliver an aircraft that has operated in Alberta for decades.De Havilland acquired the rights to Bombardier’s amphibious aircraft program — including the CL-215 and CL-415 — about a decade ago and has been refurbishing older models in Calgary for several years. Roughly 500 of De Havilland’s 1,400 Calgary-based employees are currently assigned to the DHC-515 program.
