In 1977, the Canadian government identified the need to replace the NATO-assigned CF-104 Starfighter, the NORAD-assigned CF-101 Voodoo and the CF-116 Freedom Fighter (although the decision was later made to keep the CF-116).

Candidates included the Grumman F-14 Tomcat, McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle, Panavia Tornado, Dassault Mirage F1 (later replaced by the Mirage 2000), plus the products of the American Lightweight Fighter (LWF) competition, the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon, the F/A-18 Hornet, and a de-navalized version of the Hornet, the Northrop F-18L.

[N 1] The government stressed that the winner of the competition be a proven off-the-shelf design and provide substantial industrial benefits as part of the order.

The F-18L combined the systems and twin-engine layout of the F-18 that Air Command favored with a lighter land-based equipment setup that significantly improved performance.

Northrop, the primary contractor for the F-18L version, had not built the aircraft by the time of the NFA program, waiting on successful contracts before doing so.

While Northrop offered the best industrial offset package, it would only "pay off" if other F-18L orders were forthcoming, something the Department of National Defence (DND) was not willing to bet on.

In the aftermath of the revolution, the United States cut off all military supplies to Iran, which meant that the Iranians' new fleet of F-14s would potentially be rendered unflyable due to a lack of spares.

Negotiations ended before a deal was reached as it was revealed that Canadian involvement was crucial in the smuggling of American embassy personnel out of the new Islamic Republic.

[6] Reasons for the selection listed by the Canadian Forces were many of its requested features were included for the U.S. Navy; two engines for reliability (considered essential for conducting Arctic sovereignty and over-the-water patrols), an excellent radar set, while being considerably more affordable than the F-14 and the F-15.

[8][9] Many features that made the F/A-18 suitable for naval carrier operations were retained by the Canadian Forces, such as the robust landing gear, the arrestor hook, and wing folding mechanisms.

[11] The need to upgrade the CF-18 was demonstrated during the Gulf War deployment and during the 1998-1999 Kosovo conflict as advances in technology had rendered some of the avionics on board the CF-18 obsolete and incompatible with NATO allies.

[26] It includes the following upgrades: Phase Il of the HEP applies to a fleet of 36 x CF-188A/B airframes with the estimated longest remaining life.

During the Gulf War, Canadian pilots flew more than 5,700 hours, including 2,700 combat air patrol missions.

In the beginning the CF-18s began sweep-and-escort combat missions to support ground-attack strikes by Allied air forces.

Canadian aircraft conducted 10 percent of the NATO strike sorties despite deploying a much smaller percentage of the overall forces.

CF-18s dropped a total of 397 PGMs and 171 non-guided bombs on a wide variety of targets including surface-to-air missile sites, airfields, bridges and fuel storage areas.

They were deployed during two weeks to defend United States airspace as a result of the primary USAF F-15 fighter jet fleet being grounded due to structural defects.

[49][50] Various fighter aircraft have been considered by the Canadian Forces as CF-18 replacements, with the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, Eurofighter Typhoon, Saab JAS 39 Gripen, Dassault Rafale, and the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet having been promoted as contenders by their manufacturers.

[53] One of the manufacturers in contention, Boeing, BAE Systems or Saab Aerospace—the name was not disclosed—had promised to assemble the entire aircraft in Canada.

[55][56][57] The Canadian Forces planned to buy 65 F-35s with deliveries starting in 2016; the contract was estimated to be worth C$9 billion, including aircraft and associated weapons, infrastructure, initial spares, training simulators, contingency funds and project operating costs.

[58] In December 2012, it was announced that the government had abandoned the F-35 deal due to escalating cost, and was beginning a new procurement process, with the F-35 still being considered.

[59] On 20 September 2015, Canadian Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau promised to cancel the country's F-35 procurement if he were elected, instead replacing the CF-18 fleet with a less costly alternative, and argued that the F-35 was not needed.

He stated that if Canada is to meet its NATO and NORAD commitments while also maintaining its own national air defence, "then 65 jets would not be a full fleet.

[62] As an interim measure pending replacement, Canada decided in December 2017 to purchase 18 F/A-18A/B Hornets (a mix of flyable airframes and spares) from the Royal Australian Air Force for approximately C$90 million.

[63][64] It was later announced in an Australian Senate hearing that Canada planned to purchase another seven Hornets to be disassembled for spare parts.

[91] The official unveiling described the origin of the design involving the cooperation of the Department of National Defence and was inspired by the logo of the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Team spokesman Dorian Morphy, Senior Director, Marketing & Brand Management of True North Sports & Entertainment indicated, "We are thrilled to be able to continue this relationship in a significant way.