Boeing invests $61M in B.C. as part of $10B federal plane deal

Boeing Canada plans to invest $61 million in British Columbia for an aerospace manufacturing training facility as well as research and development.

The announcement is the latest from the American aviation giant as part of a multibillion-dollar deal with Ottawa on the purchase of new military surveillance planes.

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Minister of National Defence Bill Blair welcomed the spending at the Boeing Canada facility in Richmond, B.C., saying that as the government invests more in defence, it’s ensuring it also delivers value for Canada’s economy and its workers.

The federal government announced last year that it would buy as many as 16 Boeing P-8A Poseidon multi-mission aircraft to phase out the Aurora aircraft, which has been in service for more than 40 years.

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Boeing plans to spend $48 million to build its research and development capacity at its Vancouver facility.

Another $13 million will be invested in the Indigenous-owned COTA Aviation, based in Parksville, B.C., to establish an aerospace manufacturing training facility to train 10 workers a year.

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The more than $10-billion military plane agreement came with a promise from Boeing to provide $5.4 billion worth of business activities and investments in Canada over 10 years, which includes drawing on domestic suppliers and supporting 3,000 jobs.

In April, the company announced it was investing $17 million in the Saskatchewan Aviation Learning Centre.

In May, it promised $240 million for a Quebec plan to become a global location for the development of drones and greener aircraft.