The Alberta government is buying in its own backyard, set to announce a major deal on Tuesday to purchase new water bombers from De Havilland Aircraft of Canada to battle wildfires.

The province has agreed to acquire five new De Havilland Canadair 515 (DHC-515) amphibious firefighting aircraft from the Calgary-based company, in a contract valued at about $400 million.

The first plane, which will be assembled at De Havilland facilities in Calgary, is expected to be completed in 2031. The other four aircraft will arrive in the following two years.

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According to the province, the deal will create and sustain an estimated 1,000 jobs.

“It’s been a perfect opportunity. Of course, we have a company setting up in Alberta to build these planes . . . (and) our water bombers are getting a little older,” Alberta Forestry and Parks Minister Todd Loewen said in an interview.

“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 faced several large wildfires in the past decade, from Fort McMurray in 2016 to the blaze that swept through Jasper in July 2024.

More than 6,000 wildfires burned across the country last year, with British Columbia reporting more than 1,350 blazes, followed by Alberta with more than 1,260, according to data from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre.

More than 8.3 million hectares were destroyed, making it the second-worst wildfire season on record in the country.

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The province already owns four of the older model “Super Scoopers” — Canadair CL-215 water bombers that were built in the late 1980s — and it also contracts about 14 planes annually to help battle wildfires, Loewen said.

The new plane, the DHC-515, can refill its tanks in a dozen seconds by scooping up water from lakes, rivers and oceans to drop on fires.

These planes can carry 15 per cent more water than older models, and have an advanced avionics suite.

Loewen said the water bombers are the fastest way to drop large volumes of water on a fire, and when the new planes arrive next decade, they will be added to the older fleet.

“We wanted to make sure that we still got a good deal for Albertans, and so there was a long period of negotiations,” he added. “We wanted to make sure that the deal still made sense — and it does.”

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De Havilland acquired the rights to manufacture and design Bombardier’s amphibious aircraft program — the CL-215 and CL-415 planes — a decade ago, and has been refurbishing older models in the city for several years.

The Alberta order is significant on a number of fronts, said Neil Sweeney, vice-president of corporate affairs for De Havilland Canada.

“It gives us the latitude to know that we’ve got orders in the bank to continue to ramp up production. Another five (planes) will mean jobs and economic opportunity for people in Calgary for literally years to come as these aircraft are manufactured,” Sweeney said.

“But, more importantly, it shows the confidence in our home province that we are able to deliver an aircraft that has been in operation in Alberta for literally decades.”

With a warming climate, governments around the world are looking for such aircraft to fight wildfires.

In 2024, De Havilland announced it had concluded contract negotiations with European customers — including Greece, Croatia and Portugal — to produce 22 of the new DHC-515 planes.

As well, Manitoba announced last June it intends to buy three of the new water bombers, while Ontario has indicated it intends to acquire six.

The first two aircraft for European customers are now being assembled in Canada. It’s expected the first planes will take about 40 months to complete, said Sweeney.

“We’ve got literally hundreds of people working on these aircraft, both in parts manufacturing as well as assembly, here in Calgary, in Victoria and in Ontario,” he said. “We are ramping up significantly to meet these deliveries.”

About 500 of the company’s 1,400 employees in the city are working on the DHC-515.

De Havilland, which moved its head office to the city from Toronto in 2022, has become one of the anchors of the aviation sector in Alberta.

The privately owned company announced plans in September 2022 to develop a large airplane manufacturing complex and aerodrome on land about 10 kilometres west of Strathmore. De Havilland is owned by Westerkirk Capital, which is owned by Canadian billionaire Sherry Brydson.

A new runway, along with aircraft assembly facilities, will be built during the first phase of De Havilland Field, as it is called. Major construction work will begin this spring, with first buildings on the site expected to be in operation in 2028 and ‘29.

“We know how important these aircraft are, and as De Havilland Field comes on stream, we’ll be able to have a single home for . . . the assembly of these aircraft,” added Sweeney.

“We know the demand is there. We’re looking at other opportunities for significant orders, which may allow us at some point to develop a second (assembly) line.”

Other recent developments of an aviation hub in southern Alberta include WestJet agreeing last year to buy at least 67 aircraft from U.S. manufacturer Boeing through 2034.

The Calgary-based airline also signed a long-term agreement with flight-simulator-maker CAE Inc. that will see a large aviation training facility built near the airport.

Meanwhile, Lufthansa Technik is developing a $120-million engine repair facility in the city, where it will service the Leap-1B engine on WestJet’s Boeing 737 aircraft. It’s anticipated the facility will create 160 permanent positions.

Mike Attersall, associate director of the Aerospace Innovation Hub in Calgary, noted Mount Royal University, SAIT and the University of Calgary have programs in place to train people for jobs within the sector, from engineers to commercial pilots.

“We already have a talent stream coming from our post-secondaries,” he said. “But there is a big draw to the quality of life that Calgary (offers) that helps companies entice that talent to move here.”

Other announcements in the industry — such as a new non-stop flight between Calgary and Abu Dhabi, to be operated by Etihad Airways — signal the sector is gaining momentum, said Richard Gotfried, chair of the province’s Strategic Aviation Advisory Council.

“We are at an inflection point here in Alberta, where we can build a made-in-Alberta aviation-defence sector,” he said.

Chris Varcoe is a Calgary Herald columnist.

cvarcoe@postmedia.com

© Calgary Herald