Bombardier’s Martel Sees Resolution for Gulfstream Certs

Despite the threat from President Trump to “decertify” Bombardier aircraft until Transport Canada validates Gulfstream Aerospace models that have been waiting in the wings, Bombardier president and CEO Éric Martel was encouraged that the situation appears to be on a path to resolution.

In late January, Trump made that threat on the Truth Social platform, saying that Canada has steadfastly refused to certify the Gulfstream G500, G600, G700, and G800. “Canada is effectively prohibiting the sale of Gulfstream products in Canada through this very same process.” In addition to calling for the revocation of Bombardier certificates, he threatened 50% tariffs on Canadian-built aircraft and associated products.

Speaking to analysts and reporters today during the company’s fourth-quarter 2025 earnings release, Martel, however, said that “this was an issue Bombardier is not involved in right now. It is between Transport Canada, somehow the FAA, and our competitor. They need to work together to get this to the bottom line.”

He pointed to comments made by FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford that were reported by Reuters this week: “I think we’ve resolved the issues with Canada. My understanding is that Transport Canada will announce the Gulfstream certifications that have been delayed for years.”

Martel said, “My understanding from when I read the message from the FAA and from what I’m hearing in Canada is that this is moving forward towards a conclusion…I think that situation is going to get resolved, and we’re going to be back to normal business between now and then.”

He continued that Bombardier has maintained its regular business since those comments. “We’ve been operating normally in the U.S. Airplanes are flying. We’re delivering airplanes.”

Asked about the further threat of tariffs on top of the potential of decertification, he said that Bombardier is providing guidance assuming a normal year. However, he added, “I’m not even sure what normal is anymore because if you look at the last five years, we went through a turnaround, but we started with a pandemic, we started with a war, then after there was the war in Ukraine, there was a lot of noise in the last five years, things that created uncertainty.”

This all proved, Martel continued, that “as a company, we can navigate through this. We will always do the right thing. We will always put our customers first, our employees, and make sure we serve the market well. Despite this environment of instability in the last five years, we’ve been able to deliver solid results and turn this company around.”