Trump Softens Bombardier Threat After Kansas Rally

Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier Inc. received a potential reprieve from US President Donald Trump after he indicated Monday night that he would not target the company's operations in Kansas, where it employs approximately 1,500 workers. Speaking at a political rally near Wichita ahead of the November midterm elections, Trump cited the company's local presence and its contribution to jobs after previously threatening to block its aircraft sales in the United States.

Bombardier shares rose as much as 2.6% in Toronto on Tuesday morning, according to the Financial Post, while Reuters reported a 2.1% gain. Trump's remarks followed the company's announcement of a US$50 million investment in a new learning center in Wichita to train aircraft technicians and mechanics.

The Canadian manufacturer has approximately 3,500 employees across the United States and works with a network of about 2,800 American suppliers across 47 states, according to Reuters and the Financial Post. Kansas also houses its US headquarters and Bombardier Defense operations.

Trump credited Republican Senator Roger Marshall with bringing the company's Kansas operations to his attention during the rally.

"Because of Roger and his phone call to me, I'm going to be helping a certain air company get themselves straightened away," Trump said.

The president explained that he had previously regarded the manufacturer primarily as a Canadian business. Its substantial Kansas presence, he indicated, had changed his position.

"I'll be helping them because I always viewed them as a Canadian company. You know what I'm talking about. But now we find out they have a presence here, and we're not hurting them if they're in Kansas. So we'll take care of those people, all right, and the jobs," Trump said.

Although Trump did not name Bombardier directly, the location of the rally and his earlier statements pointed to the Montreal-area company. In September, he threatened to prohibit its aircraft sales in the US amid escalating trade tensions between Washington and Ottawa.

"NO MORE SELLING BOMBARDIER IN THE UNITED STATES!" Trump wrote in a social media post, arguing that the company benefited from American customers while Canada restricted US businesses.

The dispute followed the collapse of negotiations over broader tariff relief in August. The two countries subsequently exchanged retaliatory trade measures, but the latest measures described in the source reports did not include the aerospace sector, easing concerns about immediate restrictions on Bombardier.

Marshall had previously urged the administration to consider the economic consequences of targeting the manufacturer, which has more than 1,200 jobs in Kansas, according to his September statement.

"I'm going to fight to keep Bombardier's over 1,200 Kansas jobs. I've already taken that concern inside the Oval Office. We agree on the mission: bring more good-paying manufacturing jobs back to Wichita.

America buys more than half of what Bombardier sells. If that's the market, more of those planes should be built here," Marshall wrote on X.

Republican Senator Jerry Moran also contacted the White House to emphasize the company's importance to Kansas workers and its supply chain, according to the Financial Post.

"I remember when my classmates' parents worked at Learjet—later Bombardier—when it employed well over 3,000 people. Bombardier is obligated to grow that footprint in Kansas again," Marshall wrote in a separate September post, as reported by The Globe and Mail.

Bombardier has maintained that its US operations extend well beyond Kansas, with employees in more than 20 states and thousands of additional jobs supported through American suppliers, including GE Aerospace, Honeywell, Parker Aerospace, Collins Aerospace and GKN.

Chief executive Éric Martel has attributed Trump's focus partly to competition with Gulfstream Aerospace, a US-based rival that manufactures business jets. Bombardier sells more than half its production volume into the American market, making access to US customers particularly important.

"I guess he hears about our planes all the time," Martel told a business audience in Toronto in late September. "We're top of mind," he added.

The company also plans to expand its US presence with a facility in Fort Wayne, Indiana, according to Reuters. Bombardier had not immediately responded to requests for comment following Trump's latest remarks, and the administration had not issued a formal announcement confirming that the threatened restrictions were withdrawn.

Trump had also threatened in February to decertify Canadian-made aircraft during a dispute involving Gulfstream certifications. That threat did not materialize after Transport Canada approved the American-made jets, Reuters reported.