The Liberal government has announced the cancellation of the Snowbirds, Canada's iconic aerobatic team, without a replacement jet in sight after more than 50 years of service. The 431 Air Demonstration Squadron has served as a highly effective recruitment tool for the Canadian Armed Forces and a showcase of Canadian military excellence since 1971.
A devastating blow to recruitment
Prime Minister Mark Carney is ready to erase that proud legacy and deal a devastating blow to recruitment when our forces need it most. News has slowly leaked out to North American airshow organizers that the Snowbirds, one of Canada's most recognizable and unifying symbols, will be flying their last season.
The federal government has provided little reason as to why and how the cancellation of airshows that routinely give Canadians both goosebumps and pride in their Armed Forces has come to pass. Several years ago, the government allocated $30 million to keep the Snowbirds' fleet of Tutor jets airworthy through 2030.
No progress on replacement
The federal government has made no progress in replacing the Snowbirds' aircraft, despite countless opportunities to do so. There is no excuse for waiting this long to produce a plan to keep the Snowbirds flying, but it's not too late to save one of Canada's most iconic symbols.
Unlike many symbols of Canadian heritage, the Snowbirds do not exist behind glass at a museum or buried within the pages of history books. They are a living example of Canadian excellence, not a relic of the past, and they have an important job to do for the future.
The 'wow' factor
For starters, the Snowbirds have an unmatched 'wow' factor that inspires Canadians to both enlist in and respect those who have already enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces. Given that the Snowbirds comprise only about 0.02 per cent of Canada's total defence budget, it is a highly efficient recruitment tool at a time when the federal government desperately needs to get more Canadians to enlist.
'I saw Maryse Carmichael (the first female Snowbird pilot) when I was 12 years old,' says Capt. Sarah Dallaire, who would go on to become the second female Snowbird. 'That put a flame in my heart that I wanted to follow for the rest of my teenage years.' Every year that these jets fly, they spark a new flame for Canadians to sign up and serve their country, and it would be shortsighted for the Liberals to snuff that out.
A unifying national symbol
And perhaps most importantly, at a time when Canadian sovereignty is being challenged and national unity is fraying, the Snowbirds flying across Canada is one of the few things that can now be pointed to as something that Canadians almost unanimously view as a unifying national symbol. This is not the time to mothball the jets in hangars, never to be flown again. It's precisely the right time to let them tear across Canadian skies and inspire us.
The not-so-public party line coming from corners of the Liberal government is that they will just pause the Snowbirds for five years, in spite of the team being airworthy for the next several years. But if the squadron is disbanded, the culture of excellence, the institutional knowledge, of the pilots, ground crew and support staff that has been handed down from year to year will be lost, and that will be difficult, if not impossible, to recover.
Time to act
Instead, the Liberals should be doing everything possible to make up for the decade they just wasted, keep the Snowbirds in the air through 2030, and make sure that they have replacement jets by that date.
The Snowbirds carry a message about Canada's character. They are proof that Canadians can pursue something difficult, demanding and excellent together. Now it's up to the Liberals to prove to Canadians they can do the same by keeping them in the air.
Fraser Tolmie is the Conservative member of Parliament for Moose Jaw-Lake Centre Lanigan.
