Bombardier CEO Éric Martel Addresses Trump Threats, Competition with Gulfstream, and Defence Strategy at Globe and Mail CEO Forum

Bombardier president and CEO Éric Martel appeared at the Globe and Mail's 2026 Report on Business CEO Speaker Series on September 25, in conversation with editor Dawn Calleja, addressing geopolitical pressure, competition, product support and defence. Martel opened by responding to U.S. President Donald Trump's September 7 Truth Social post, which called Bombardier products "aren't good enough" and threatened to ban their sale in the United States. Martel said the post arrived on Labour Day while he was with his family, but his team issued a statement that same evening highlighting Bombardier's U.S. economic footprint, including 2,500 suppliers across 47 states, after which U.S. politicians voiced support for the company.

Martel said roughly 75 percent of dollars spent in business aviation are divided between Bombardier and Gulfstream, and that exports account for 96 percent of Bombardier's sales, with the U.S. remaining its largest single market. He said Bombardier made a "bullish" decision to continue operations as normal despite the threats, though he acknowledged a market restriction lasting six months or more would require workforce reductions. Martel noted 45 percent of sales now come from outside the U.S., expressed optimism about Canada's direction under Prime Minister Mark Carney, and called the possibility of Canada pursuing associate EU membership "interesting," noting the combined GDP of Europe, the U.K. and Canada roughly matches that of the United States.

Martel said Bombardier's services division generated $2.4 billion in revenue last year, up from $1 billion in 2020. On defence, he described partnerships with L3Harris and Saab to convert Global and Challenger jets for airborne surveillance and reconnaissance missions, with structural modifications including radars and cameras carried out at Bombardier's defence headquarters in Wichita. He said Bombardier is not interested in assembling Saab Gripen fighter jets in Canada end-to-end but could provide a share of work or support. Martel also welcomed Canada's newly proposed Productivity Mega Deduction, announced at the Canada Investment Summit, as a step toward easier business conditions in Canada.

A political threat aimed at one manufacturer in a two-player market carries outsized weight, since Martel's own figure — about 75 percent of business-aviation spending split between Bombardier and Gulfstream — means any restriction on one side reshapes demand for the other almost immediately. That concentration is also why Bombardier's response leaned on domestic jobs and supplier counts rather than product defence: in a market this exposed to a single government's posture, the economic-footprint argument is the fastest lever available.

The episode also shows how manufacturers with heavy export exposure hedge geopolitical risk through diversification rather than through the aircraft line itself. Martel's points on 45 percent of sales coming from outside the U.S., a services division that grew from $1 billion to $2.4 billion in revenue, and a defence partnership with L3Harris and Saab all describe revenue streams that do not depend on the U.S. business-jet market continuing on its current terms.

What happens next depends on whether Trump's threat translates into an actual sales restriction, and how long any such measure would last — Martel's own six-month threshold is the marker that would force workforce reductions. Also worth tracking is how far Bombardier's defence role extends beyond the Global and Challenger conversion work already underway in Wichita, given Martel's explicit statement that a full Gripen assembly role in Canada is not something the company wants.