Canada says Boeing is trusted partner despite Bombardier dispute

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said on Wednesday that Boeing Co will be a trusted military partner in the decades to come, even though the government has threatened to scrap plans to buy Boeing's fighter jets..

In the prepared text of a speech, Sajjan called on Boeing to abandon an anti-dumping challenge it has launched against Canadian plane maker Bombardier Inc, saying Ottawa was disappointed by the U.S. firm's behavior.

Earlier this month, in response to the trade challenge, Canada said it was reviewing the planned purchase of 18 Boeing Super Hornet jets. Boeing accuses Bombardier of selling airliners on the U.S. market at artificially low prices.

Sajjan says the Super Hornets are needed as an interim measure until Ottawa can run a competition to replace its ageing fleet of CF-18 fighters.

"The interim fleet procurement requires a trusted industry partner. For decades, Boeing has been an outstanding partner with the Canadian Armed Forces ... I expect that to be the case in the decades to come," he said.

"However, our government is of the view that their action against Bombardier is unfounded. It is not the behavior we expect of a trusted partner, and we call on Boeing to withdraw it," he continued.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama; Editing by Denny Thomas)