Agreed!
... trying not to mangle Clauswitz's concept too badly.
Defence purchases are just an extension of politics.
Quebec separating was the greatest threat to Canada during the last half-century.
Since 1960, (Quiet Revolution) there have been few external military threats to Canada. OTOH Quebec Separatist politicians and terrorists tried to rip the country apart.
Ottawa responded with many concessions. The first concession was bilingualism in all the federal government bureaucracy.
The second was billions of dollars in transfer payments , shifting tax dollars to poorer provinces.
Thirdly, Quebec got a disproportionately large number of high-profile federal
government contracts: naval helicopters built in Saint Hubert, army trucks built in Valcourt, fighter planes built in Montreal, ships built in Levi's, etc.
Buying votes worked well in the long run, because the (separatist) Parti Quebecois collapsed during the last election.
Meanwhile the Bloc Québécois (federal party) steadfastly continues its mission by ensuring that a disproportionately large number of defence contracts go to companies based in Quebec.
Returning to the OP's question: Mirages might have been good for the Canadian Air Force, but only if some parts were built in Quebec, specifically Canadair because Canadair had all the huge, shiny tools, but most importantly because Canadair is in Quebec and its is easy to buy votes in Quebec.