With its planes parked due to the pandemic, Porter Airlines re-invested in its fleet of DHC-8-400 turboprops.Photo: Porter Airlines
Written for Regional Gateway magazine – Volume 4, Issue 4 – 2021
A vast country offering an array of attractions, Canada is a feast for all the senses. With a network of over 2,000 aerodromes and a rich aviation heritage, the country’s aviation heritage is now key to its recovery.
In the early 90s, Air Canada created an ad campaign promoting Canada as a destination that offered a ‘world of possibilities.’ This is just as true today as it was 30 odd years ago. Canada offers a treasure trove of attractions and opportunities, and as the country moves into the post-pandemic era, its aviation infrastructure will play a vital role in rebuilding the country.
Canada is a magnificent, massive country covering six time zones, stretching more than 5,000 km from east to west, from St. John’s, Newfoundland to Victoria, British Columbia.
South to north, it’s over 4,600 km from Pelee Island, Ontario – at a latitude that matches Northern California – to Alert, Nunavut, the most northern continually inhabited place in the world, just 800 km from the North Pole.
Over 38 million Canadians call the country’s 10 provinces and three northern territories home.
Reflecting the country’s settlement by Europeans that began in the 16th century, both English and French have been designated as official languages. French is primarily spoken in Québec, with protections for its use captured in that province’s Charter of the French Language.
The country’s Indigenous Languages Act recognises the indigenous people who inhabited Canada for thousands of years, and seeks to protect their ancestral languages.
Most of the nation’s population lives within just a couple of hundred kilometers of the border with the United States, a relationship that influences Canada’s economic, societal, and cultural landscape.
Aviation in Canada
Given the country’s size, it’s not surprising that aviation has been a key component of Canada’s growth.
With a rich heritage dating back over a century, early British marques like A.V. Roe and de Havilland set up facilities in Canada, joining Fokker, Fairchild, Junkers and Curtiss aircraft that pioneering pilots flew to unlock the vast landscape.
There are any number of iconic aircraft that have been created by Canada’s aviation sector: the de Havilland Canada Beaver and Otter, and Noorduyn Norseman bush planes; the versatile Twin Otter; and the segment-defining Bombardier regional jets.
More recently, Bombardier developed the C Series narrow-body jetliner. The program is now owned by Airbus, and the plane is rebranded as the A220.
At the same time, Canada is infamously known for the 1950’s cancellation of two aircraft that may have defined military and commercial aviation of the day – the Avro Arrow interceptor, and the Avro Jetliner passenger jet.
On the powerplant side, the first Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 turboprop was delivered from the factory in Montréal almost 60 years ago, beginning a legacy for reliability that has stretched for over 400 million flying hours.
Transport Canada is the federal regulator responsible for aviation, overseeing the nation’s 2,004 certified and registered aerodromes – as listed in the 2020 Canada Flight and Water Aerodrome Supplements – with over 1,254 land and 344 water aerodromes, and 418 heliports.
Through the National Airport System, Transport Canada owns the 26 largest airports, which are leased to, and operated by local authorities. As well, over 100 smaller regional and local airports fall under the federal ministry.
Air navigation services over the country’s 18 million square kilometers of civil airspace along with Canada’s portion of the North Atlantic oceanic airspace are managed by NAV CANADA, a privately run, not-for-profit corporation.
The top three airports in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal are hubs for the two major national airlines – Air Canada and WestJet – as well as the main Canadian destinations for international carriers.
Porter Rebounds from the Pandemic
As was the case around the world, Canada’s airports were on track for growth and expansion, plans that were severely curtailed when passenger numbers and flights dropped to a trickle as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded.
Across the country, long-haul and regional air services were severely curtailed or cancelled – but with vaccination and testing protocols now in place, a slow recovery appears to be underway.
Porter Airlines, one of Canada’s regional carriers, only fully resumed service at the beginning of October 2021, after suspending operations for 18 months.
The airline has a fleet of De Havilland Canada DHC-8-400 (Q400), 78-seat turboprops operating from the unique Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (CYTZ), a short shuttle bus ride from downtown Toronto.
With a route structure that includes destinations in eastern and Atlantic Canada, and trans-border flights to the United States, Porter had little choice but to cease flying on March 20, 2020.
“At the end of the day, while we made decisions for the safety of passengers and team members, it has also turned out to be something that has benefitted Porter,” said Michael Deluce, Porter’s President and CEO, speaking with Regional Gateway.
“We were able to actually significantly advance the business, despite not operating over that time period.”
With its planes parked, Porter re-invested in its fleet, upgrading the interiors, including new seats and carpets, and did a full exterior painting of most of its aircraft.
“Coming out of the pandemic, we now effectively have a brand-new fleet of Q400 aircraft,” said Deluce.
Next year, Porter’s turboprops will be joined by the first of up to 80 Embraer E195-E2 jets, which will operate throughout North America on a complementary network.
Due to runway length and restrictions on jet operations at YTZ, Porter will deploy the Embraers from Toronto Pearson Airport, Ottawa, Montréal, and Halifax.
“We will continue to serve our existing route network from Billy Bishop, with a different set of destinations for the E2s,” explained Deluce.
Having just celebrated 15 years in operation, Porter appeals to both business and leisure travellers who can fly to regional destinations not served from Toronto by any other airline.
The ski resort of Mont Tremblant, Québec is a seasonal destination for the airline – one that also entices international visitors.
A Tourist Destination for the World
In 2019, before COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions decimated international travel, Canada welcomed over 4.7 million visitors, with more than 3.6 travellers from the United States, including those who crossed the land border on day trips and overnight visits.
The economic benefit of international tourist visits is immensely important to Canada’s economy, with CA$23.1 billion spent in 2019. Mirroring other countries, that number dropped more than 80% during 2020, and is just now showing signs of recovery as the country re-opens to international travellers.
Those travellers have an incredibly diverse selection of places to visit, from sea to sea, or A Mari Usque Ad Mare, as written on Canada’s coat of arms.
In the east, enjoy fresh lobster and seafood in the Maritime provinces and Newfoundland, and marvel at the world’s highest tides in the Bay of Fundy, between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
Québec’s ski resorts are a winter draw, and the experience of a communal feast at a ‘sugar shack’ is a popular spring destination, when the sap is running from the maple trees.
Any time of the year, the metropolises of Toronto, Montréal, Ottawa and Québec City are favourite urban destinations, and Niagara Falls continues to be a popular – if kitschy – target for a day trip from Toronto.
North of Toronto, what’s known as ‘cottage country’ is covered in lakes and rivers and is a weekend retreat for many people escaping from the city.
The huge wilderness of Ontario stretches through to its border with the province of Manitoba, with the city of Winnipeg sitting both near the middle of the east-west axis of the country, and at the geographical centre of North America.
Manitoba is the gateway to Canada’s prairie provinces, including Saskatchewan and Alberta, all with enormous farming enterprises in the southern tier of the provinces, and wilderness areas in the north.
Meet the Plains People
The rich heritage of Canada’s Indigenous peoples can be experienced throughout the country, as at the Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump Interpretive Centre in Fort MacLeod, Alberta, which is a UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site preserving the 6,000-year history of the Plains People.
Alberta, with its major cities of Edmonton and Calgary, is also a jumping-off point for travellers looking to explore the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Winter activities that include world-class skiing give way during the rest of the year to multi-night hikes through the wilderness and trails in some of Canada’s most beautiful National Parks.
The Rockies are also a favourite destination for Europeans searching for magnificent scenery from the comfort of a rented recreational vehicle (RV) – a ‘camper van.’
The country’s West Coast is in a category all to itself.
Whether visiting the harbour city of Vancouver, the capital city of Victoria, the rugged west coast of Vancouver Island, or the Whistler-Blackcomb ski resort, the province lives up to its ‘Super, Natural British Columbia’ moniker.
Head north, and the Yukon, Northwest, and Nunavut territories reward visitors with the Midnight Sun at the summer solstice – you can play golf at midnight – and displays of Aurora Borealis painting the winter skies.