Estimated reading time 4 minutes, 55 seconds.
For 90 years, Canada’s Air Force has been operating and maintaining a presence in the vast Canadian North.
When the Royal Canadian Air Force came into being in 1924 and, for the following decades, airmen and airwomen surveyed and mapped Canada’s Northern territory. By doing so, they vastly improved the understanding of and the ability to operate in this area where difficult and rigorous conditions are most often the norm.
During the Cold War, as part of the creation of the NORAD, Canada’s air defences were expanded to address the rising threat of nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union.
The Lancaster, the Canso, the Norseman, the Otter, the Dakota and the Flying Boxcar – among others – ruled the skies of the far North. Mapping, charting, resupplying, carrying out surveillance, standing by to defend, they all contributed to making Canada a more secure place.
Watch a video about RCAF operations in the North in the Royal Canadian Air Force video gallery.
Canada’s Air Force: adapting to the new environment
For the past few years, the North has been going through important changes. Still maintaining strong air defences, the RCAF has adapted to this new reality.
“Navigation, tourism and the exploitation of new resources will certainly increase with the melting of the ice cover in the North,” said Lieutenant-general Yvan Blondin, the commander of the RCAF.
As climate change increases the level of activity in the Northern regions of Canada, it is foreseen that more security challenges will arise in the area. In addition to international activity, an easier access to the North could translate into more illegal activities such as clandestine immigration, smuggling and the increased presence of pollutants.
Ships improperly engineered and built for less demanding weather conditions could possibly harm the fragile ecosystem. The increase in the number of commercial flights over the Canadian North could also elevate the risk of major air accidents in the region.
“It means that for us in the Royal Canadian Air Force, we have to be in the North. We talk a lot about expeditionary operations but these operations for the RCAF begin in Canada….and when we talk about Canada, it includes the North,” said Lieutenant-general Blondin.
The Air Force has considerable and permanent presence in the North including Canadian Forces Station Alert (Nunavut), 440 Transport Squadron in Yellowknife (Northwest Territories), NORAD Forward Operating Locations in Inuvik and Yellowknife (Northwest Territories), Rankin Inlet and Iqaluit (Nunavut), and NORAD’s North warning system along the Arctic Coast.
Canada’s Air Force is improving its capabilities in the North to better meet the challenges associated with climate change and increased activity there.
“With the newest fleets of aircraft, the Globemasters, the J-model Hercules and the F-model Chinook, the RCAF has multipurpose aircraft it needs to operate in all regions of Canada,” said Lieutenant-general Blondin.
In the coming years, the RCAF will continue to refine its ability to operate effectively in the North by taking advantage of the new advances in technology and by fully integrating rotary and fixed-wing fleets into arctic missions.
Working with our partners
Canada’s military contributes to all aspects of Canada’s Northern Strategy, primarily focussing on exercising Canada’s sovereignty. Supporting this priority, the RCAF carries out aerial sovereignty, reconnaissance and surveillance patrols, conducts search and rescue operations and transports Major Air Disaster kits (MAJAIDs), supports annual training and sovereignty operations, and provides airlift and resupply to remote locations.
“The RCAF is committed to supporting the Government, to work with military partners, with civilian partners, with government partners to ensure that the North is strong and secure,” concluded Lieutenant-general Blondin.
