Leadership needed in Canadian aviation

The recent recommendations from the Competition Bureau to open Canada’s skies to foreign airlines have sparked a flurry of commentary — particularly about the risks. While critics of allowing foreign carriers to operate domestic routes raise valid concerns, we must also consider the broader context of the bureau’s findings.

The individual contributions of many in this sector are significant. But the report’s conclusions demand serious public discussion.

While we might not agree with every recommendation, the focus on improving competition — and especially access for northern and remote communities — is critical. These are long-standing challenges that are only getting worse.

Air travel in Canada is too expensive, too limited in reach and too often unreliable for smaller communities. These aren’t new problems, but they’ve become more urgent. As the economy evolves and regional populations grow, the cost of inaction is rising — for workers, businesses and communities alike.

That’s why we can’t afford to delay. Canada needs a national policy to guide the future of aviation.

This isn’t just a transportation issue; it’s about economic development, national resilience and our ability to connect Canadians across geography and circumstance. Aviation is essential infrastructure. How we shape its future must become a national priority.

Importantly, in shaping that future, the primary beneficiary of any aviation policy must be the end user: the Canadian traveller and shipper. People flying from Winnipeg to Whitehorse or Ottawa don’t ask the nationality of the money that funds the airline. They care whether the service is reliable, affordable and compliant with Canadian regulations. Capital origin is secondary to performance and public accountability.

Concerns about foreign carriers cherry-picking profitable routes while leaving less-profitable ones to local operators are understandable — but those arguments hold weight only if the critics themselves are actively serving the underserved. If domestic carriers are not providing consistent, affordable service to these areas, opposing new entrants on the basis of “cherry-picking” risks defending a status quo that leaves many Canadians behind.

Instead, the focus should be on designing a regulatory framework that ensures all operators — foreign or domestic — have clear obligations to support and invest in the full range of services Canadians need.

Some frame increased competition as a threat to Canadian sovereignty; when done right, however, competition strengthens our domestic aviation sector. It forces innovation, improves service and drives affordability. A stagnant market serves no one, least of all rural or remote Canadians who rely on air travel for access to health care, opportunity and family.

This is not a call for blind deregulation. It is a request for strategic, well-regulated reform that reflects the realities of a modern economy and a diverse population. That reform must also address the structural inefficiencies already baked into the system: federal airport “rents,” underinvestment in regional infrastructure and outdated air-navigation systems.

These are the true obstacles to affordability, and they are driven by the absence of a coherent national aviation strategy.

If we want a resilient, competitive Canadian aviation industry, we need leadership. That means government bringing together the private sector, labour, Indigenous communities and consumers for a meaningful dialogue about what’s working, what’s broken and what a sustainable path forward looks like.

We are a nation built on connection — geographic, cultural and economic. Our aviation system must reflect that reality.

Opening the door to new players and new ideas should not be seen as giving something away. It’s a strategic opportunity to ensure Canadian air travel is strong, inclusive and future-ready.

Let’s not wait for another carrier to collapse or another community to lose service before we act.

The time for a national conversation about the future of our skies is now.

Barry Rempel is a Canadian aviation industry leader with more than three decades of experience in airport and airline strategy. He is the former president and CEO of the Winnipeg Airports Authority.