The Canadian Forces Snowbirds taxi before rehearsing at the Aero Gatineau Ottawa airshow in Gatineau, Que., Friday, Sept. 15, 2023. (Image Credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Patrick Doyle)

By CKOM News Staff

final season

Federal defence minister says Snowbirds will be grounded as aging aircraft replaced

May 19, 2026 | 8:39 AM

Canada’s defence minister says 2026 will mark the final season for the Snowbirds before the air demonstration team’s aging aircraft are replaced.

David McGuinty made the announcement during a visit to 15 Wing Moose Jaw, the Snowbirds’ home base, on Tuesday. The federal government says it will procure the propeller-driven CT-157 Siskin II aircraft will take over for the Snowbirds’ long-serving CT-114 Tutor jets, which were first introduced in the ’60s.

McGuinty said 2026 “will mark the final season of the CT-114 aircraft fleet” before the planes are replaced, a project which is expected to take until the early 2030s.

The Snowbirds first flew as a demonstration team in 1971, and have performed at thousands of air shows and events inside and outside of Canada since then.

McGuinty emphasized that the team will continue to be based in Moose Jaw, which he noted has played an important role in Canada’s military aviation history for decades.

final season

Federal defence minister says Snowbirds will be grounded as aging aircraft replaced

2h ago

economic update

Inflation rises to 2.8% in April thanks to higher gas prices: StatCan

2h ago

Homicide Investigation

Missing teen found deceased near Pelican Narrows

17h ago

“The snowbirds are woven into the identity of Moose Jaw, and Moose Jaw is woven into the identity of the Snowbirds,” McGuinty said.

The defence minister noted that the CT-157 Siskin II will serve as a trainer aircraft for the wider Royal Canadian Air Force as well as an air demonstration aircraft with the Snowbirds.

The announcement follows some speculation over the Saskatchewan-based team’s future, after Conservative MP Fraser Tolmie – a former mayor of Moose Jaw – said air shows across North America were “quietly being told” they couldn’t book the team for events in 2027.

Donna Fritzke, the executive director of Tourism Moose Jaw, said the Snowbirds are more than just jets in the sky. She said they are part of the city’s identity.

“The Snowbirds have put Moose Jaw on the map nationally and internationally, and they are truly the heart of our community,” Fritzke said. “Everyone is so proud to say that we are the home of the Snowbirds.”

–with files from 980 CJME’s Jacob Bamhour and The Canadian Press

by CKOM News Staff

Federal defence minister says Snowbirds will be grounded as aging aircraft replaced

What's Trending