Grounding the Snowbirds?

The problem of aged-out planes is not the only challenge for the future of the famed Air Demonstration Squadron as we await the minister’s May 19 announcement.
The CT-114 Tutor jets that the Snowbirds currently fly were first introduced to Air Force service in the 1960s. DND photograph by Sgt. Halina Folfas
Opinion
BY SCOTT TAYLOR
May 11, 2026

OTTAWA—Last week, CTV News broke the story that the Royal Canadian Air Force was putting a five-year pause on operations for the famed 431 “Snowbirds” Air Demonstration Squadron. 

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