{"id":884274,"date":"2026-09-05T12:22:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T12:22:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/884274\/"},"modified":"2026-09-05T12:22:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T12:22:15","slug":"snowbirds-take-their-final-flight-over-toronto-until-the-2030s-at-this-weekends-air-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/884274\/","title":{"rendered":"Snowbirds take their final flight over Toronto until the 2030s at this weekend\u2019s air show"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The 77th Canadian International Air Show is roaring back into the city this Labour Day weekend, with high-flying demonstrations at Toronto\u2019s lakeshore.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s air show marks the final Toronto appearance of the Snowbirds, a nine-jet aerobatics team, until their fleet is replaced in the 2030s at the earliest.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The significance of this weekend’s performances isn’t lost on Maj. Maciej Hatta, the pilot tasked with leading the Snowbirds as they fly in tight formations around the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s on our minds,\u201d he told CBC Radio\u2019s Metro Morning.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201c[But] obviously I can’t be thinking about that the whole time, because we\u2019ve got a nine-plane formation to worry about leading around the city safely.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

WATCH | A former Snowbirds commanding officer on grounding the squadron:\"\"<\/p>\n

CBC News Network’s David Common speaks to Retired LCol Dan Dempsey about the Snowbirds<\/p>\n

Get the latest on CBCNews.ca, the CBC News App, and CBC News Network for breaking news and analysis.<\/p>\n

The team\u2019s signature CT-114 Tutor jets were ordered by the military as training aircraft in 1961 and have been used for performances for more than five decades.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hatta, who grew up outside Toronto, says seeing the Snowbirds fly as a child is part of what inspired him to become a pilot in the first place.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is touching to hear that everybody’s got a slightly different Snowbird story, whether it was watching from a condo in downtown Toronto, or\u2026 somebody’s dad or or mom working on the team as a technician or pilot,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Replacements coming \u2018as quickly\u2019 as possible: Ottawa\u00a0<\/p>\n

Military officials have been warning for decades that the Tutors have gone far past their intended lifespan and needed to be replaced.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In May, Defence Minister David McGuinty announced that the planes would be grounded<\/a> after a busy summer performance schedule, ending with a final appearance at the Grey Cup in Calgary.<\/p>\n

The Swiss-made, turbo-prop CT-157 Siskin II has been chosen to replace the Snowbird squadron.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Negotiations are underway with the manufacturer and we intend to procure those aircraft as quickly as we possibly can,” McGuinty said at the time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On Friday, Canadian veterans gathered to watch the Snowbirds during their final rehearsal before the air show.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a wonderful day,\u201d said retired air force pilot Mort Lightstone as aircraft zoomed overhead, \u201cThese aircrew men and women are a national treasure.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

A 77-year Labour Day weekend tradition<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s air show will also have demonstrations by a Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18 and an RCMP Black Hawk helicopter \u2014 though a last-minute schedule change saw the United States’ F-16 demonstration team drop out.<\/p>\n

The daily performances run from noon to 3:40 p.m. every day from Saturday through to Monday.<\/p>\n

The Canadian International Air Show, now in its 77th year, is an end-of-summer fixture \u2014 though not one everyone enjoys equally.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Snowbirds have had a packed summer schedule at various air shows across the country and in the U.S. (CF Snowbirds)<\/p>\n

The noise associated with the event is routinely criticized for being disruptive for people and pets alike<\/a>, and for upsetting Torontonians who are struggling with PTSD or memories of war.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hatta says he understands those concerns, but encourages Torontonians to think of the show as a way to inspire future pilots and technicians who may one day help save lives, for example as a part of a search-and-rescue mission.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a little more to it than meets the eye,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On its website FAQ, the air show writes that the show complies with \u201call regulations, including those published by Transport Canada relating to noise.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 3 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":884275,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194291],"tags":[49,48,3302],"class_list":["post-884274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-toronto","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-toronto"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=884274"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884274\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/884275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=884274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=884274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=884274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}