Good morning. In focus today, we scan the military and political stakes behind Canada’s decision to award Sweden’s Saab a major defence contract.

Bank earnings: Foreign investors are taking a closer look at Canada, according to the heads of Bank of Nova Scotia, Bank of Montreal and National Bank of Canada, which reported quarterly results yesterday. Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce report today.

World Cup: Canada’s anti-money-laundering watchdog is cautioning companies about an influx of human trafficking associated with major international sporting events such as the 2026 FIFA men’s World Cup soccer tournament.

Energy: Backers of the Ksi Lisims LNG project say a supply deal with Germany’s state-owned utility SEFE, which would be able to schedule shipments globally, moves the proposed British Columbia project closer to a final construction decision.

An economist from California landed this clue on last night’s Jeopardy! He answered “Alberta” – a forecast based on limited data, but one that missed by about 3,400 kilometres and suggested a temporary shortage of reliable inputs.

Carney’s buy-Canadian defence test

Canada has entered into negotiations with Sweden’s Saab on new early-warning aircraft technology, The Globe’s Steven Chase reports. The deal gives Prime Minister Mark Carney’s push to reduce dependence on U.S. military suppliers its first major procurement test.

Ottawa chose Saab’s GlobalEye system over rival bids from U.S. manufacturing heavyweights Boeing and L3Harris. The technology would be mounted on Bombardier aircraft built in Canada.

The Saab announcement was part of a speech Carney delivered yesterday in Ottawa, in which he also spoke of creating domestic defence “champions” as part of his strategy to rebuild the sector, Pippa Norman writes. The plan would identify a select group of defence-industry firms that could work more closely with government on procurement priorities.

Why Saab, and what’s the big deal?

For Carney, the Swedish manouevre (how is that not a John le Carré novel?) ticks several boxes, giving Canada new surveillance capabilities for the Arctic, tying the project to domestic aerospace jobs, and putting a live procurement decision behind his promise to send less defence spending to the United States.

But choosing Saab over the U.S. military giants presents potential political and logistical challenges.

The Boeing offering in particular would have fit more easily with U.S. systems, said Philippe Lagassé, a Carleton University professor who studies defence policy and procurement. The Royal Canadian Air Force preferred Boeing’s E-7 because it would have improved interoperability with the U.S. military, he said. It also has a nice top hat.

Carney said the Saab deal would support more than 3,000 aerospace jobs, and that Canada would produce at least 40 GlobalEye aircraft over 15 years for Canadian and foreign orders. Industry analysts have said Canada is seeking about six early warning aircraft.

Will Trump get angry?

He’s been upset over less. And he’s been upset before over what a deal like this might mean: Even as Trump has long pressed Canada and other NATO allies to spend more on defence, friction with Ottawa intensified after the federal government said it would reconsider the full order of 88 U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets and seek other options.

This deal does not represent a break from the F-35s, but the Oval Office is paying attention.

Last week, the U.S. announced it was pausing participation in the Permanent Joint Board on Defense, an 86-year-old Canada-U.S. advisory body. Experts said that move could be aimed at turning up the pressure on Canada to buy more military equipment from the U.S., such as the F-35s.

What is “GlobalEye,” and why did Prime Minister Carney call it “GoldenEye” in a news conference yesterday?

Saab’s GlobalEye is an airborne early-warning and control system that would be installed on Bombardier Global 6500 jets.

Early-warning aircraft give militaries a broader view of threats moving through the air, an especially useful capability in vast regions where ground-based radar cannot easily cover every gap.

For Canada, that points north. Ottawa is trying to improve its ability to monitor the Arctic as Russia and China develop more advanced missile and air capabilities. Hypersonic and cruise missiles have increased the importance of earlier detection because they move quickly and can be difficult to track once launched.