Canadian Forces Snowbirds planes fly over Gatineau, Que., in 2024.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
Canada’s Snowbirds will be grounded until the early 2030s while new planes are acquired for the acrobatic flying unit, says Defence Minister David McGuinty.
The Snowbirds season beginning later this month will be the last until the new planes are ready. The squadron, which launched more than 50 years ago, is based at 15 Wing Moose Jaw in Saskatchewan.
But Mr. McGuinty said he was not able to detail exactly when the new planes would be ready.
He said he expected things would move relatively quickly because the Royal Canadian Air Force has settled on a replacement aircraft, the Swiss-made turboprop CT-157 Siskin II.
“We know what aircraft we’re going to be procuring. We’re moving quickly to do so, and we will obtain them as quickly as we can,” Mr. McGuinty told reporters at a Tuesday news conference at the base in Moose Jaw.
Since their debut in 1971, the Snowbirds have used CT-114 Tutor jets coloured with the red and white of the Canadian flag.
Mr. McGuinty said talks to acquire new planes are underway with the manufacturer, and it will take some time for them to move off the production line.
It was too early to say how many planes would be purchased, he said. “We’ll have more to say about the number of aircraft being procured in due course.”
In the absence of the Snowbirds, Mr. McGuinty said other units of the Canadian military will fill in with air displays.
“As Canada transitions to this new fleet, the Royal Canadian Air Force will continue supporting air shows, events and engagements across Canada,” he said.
The Defence Investment Agency, which handles Canadian military procurement, will act on behalf of the Defence Department to secure the new planes for the Snowbirds, agency spokesperson Lindsey Ehman said in a statement.
She said the procurement of the Snowbird planes will be separate from a continuing effort to acquire aircraft for training programs for the Royal Canadian Airforce.
Mr. McGuinty noted that the Snowbirds have performed more than 2,700 air displays. “Their legacy continues to inspire Canadians from coast to coast,” he said.
There are no plans to change the name of the fleet or move them from Moose Jaw, he added.
Canada's famous military aerial fleet, the Snowbirds, will be grounded as the fleet is renewed. New planes won't be ready until an undetermined date in the 2030s.
The Canadian Press
Prime Minister Mark Carney, at an unrelated news conference in Saint-Michel-des-Saints, Que., said that he has always enjoyed performances by the Snowbirds. “This is part of our heritage, like the Musical Ride,” he said.
Lieutenant-General Jamie Speiser-Blanchet, the commander of the air force, told the Moose Jaw news conference that there were upgrades to the Snowbirds’ Tutor jets in 2005, 2010 and 2020.
She said there had been work underway to extend the lives of the Tutor jets to 2030, but studies found engineering challenges because of their age, leading to the decision to stop using them.
The Snowbirds’ 2026 season is scheduled to begin May 24 in Montreal. Before the season ends Oct. 11, the team will be flying across North America, making stops in six provinces as well as in Missouri, California, Ohio and New York.
The issue of the Snowbirds’ aging fleet has come up in the House of Commons and the Senate for years, with the Conservatives previously alleging the federal Liberal government planned to ground the Snowbirds.
Fraser Tolmie, the Conservative MP for Moose Jaw-Lake Centre-Lanigan, said that U.S. air demonstration teams, such as the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds, will dominate the skies of Canadian airshows for years to come in the Snowbirds’ absence.
“This news is heartbreaking,” Mr. Tolmie said in a statement.