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Scott Taylor: Clipping Snowbirds’ wings would be unpopular

Aging fleet is years past its best-before date

CTV News recently 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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Canadians are familiar with the aerobatic exploits of this squadron of red and white Tutor jet aircraft, which have been dazzling airshow crowds since 1971.

Thus any announcement of a pause in operations or a possible permanent cancellation of the Snowbirds would be unpopular with a citizenry who have come to view this demonstration squadron as a Canadian icon.

The source of the story was essentially Fraser Tolmie, who is the Conservative MP for Moose Jaw, Sask., which is the home base for the Snowbirds.

“Up front, the Snowbirds are being cancelled,” Tolmie told CTV. “We’ve been hearing from locals and air show organizers across North America that this is the end and they won’t be continuing in 2027. What I’ve heard is they’re going to pause the Snowbirds for five years.”

It seems that the genesis for Tolmie’s assertion was the fact that to date no airshow bookings are being made for the Snowbird squadron beyond the end of the 2026 season. No formal statement on the future of this popular air demonstration squadron was issued at the time.

However, David McGuinty, the minister of national defence, announced that........

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