Yes, absolutely. Canada's geographic reality should indeed influence our choices. The significance of the geographical aspects you mentioned, including the size of our territory and the tremendous distance it spans, hinges on the answer to this question: what is our priority? Defending Canadian territory, which would seem to make sense, or participating in overseas missions? In the case of the F-35 jets, it would seem that Canada's participation in foreign missions trumps considerations around defending our territory.
Before geographical considerations can factor into decisions as technical as the acquisition of a successor to the F-18s, we must decide what we want to focus on. Is our main focus protecting Canada's territory, yes or no? And that question has yet to be answered.