QUESTION PERIOD — National Defence
Canadian Forces Snowbirds
June 3, 2026
Senator Moreau, on March 26, I asked whether your government planned to ground the iconic Canadian Snowbirds. You laughed this off. You said you’d ask the Minister of Defence and get me an answer. That never came.
That same day at a photo op, the Prime Minister crawled around on a newly revamped Tutor jet already delivered to the government that would keep the Snowbirds flying safely until 2030. Seven weeks later, the Liberal defence minister shamefully stood in front of the whole Snowbirds team at 15 Wing Moose Jaw and announced they would be grounded until the early 2030s and then moved to prop planes.
At that announcement, the head of the Royal Canadian Air Force, or RCAF, said that 11 revamped Tutor jets had been delivered. Two delays later, the Department of National Defence, or DND, admitted to the media that, in fact, 13 Tutor jets had already been delivered, and your government had spent the full $31.2 million.
Why didn’t your government properly disclose that at the Moose Jaw press conference? Since you’ve already received and paid for 13 safe, upgraded jets, why are you still clipping the Snowbirds’ wings?
Clipping the Snowbirds’ wings is a question of security for the pilots themselves.
There is a security issue with the actual planes, and the government has spent millions of dollars to replace those planes to ensure that the Snowbirds continue to exist. In the meantime, the Air Division of the Armed Forces will be spending a lot on their equipment to ensure that all air shows continue to be supported by the federal government. If you want to make an issue of that, do so. But the security of the Armed Forces and the pilots is the main concern of the government, not Question Period for the opposition.
The pilots are safe now in those planes, and that’s why they are safe in the future.
Last week here, I read a compelling letter to the Prime Minister from former Snowbirds team lead Ian McLean. He warned that a five-year Snowbirds hiatus means the loss of the team’s knowledge and skills, which could prove unsafe. Former Snowbirds commander Maryse Carmichael suggests that the squadron should reduce the length or complexity of shows in the interim, like the U.K. Why isn’t your government following the excellent advice of those who know to keep the Snowbirds’ certified and safe Tutor jets flying and not ground them for several years without a proper transition, which they say is unsafe?
As far as the safety of the pilots is concerned, I think I will listen to the experts at the national level rather than a question at Question Period.
The security and safety of the Armed Forces and of all Canadians, including the Snowbirds, are a major priority. The Snowbirds’ equipment will be delivered sometime in the first years of the 2030s, and this is a government commitment. Not only —
Thank you, Senator Moreau.
