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Flight training shifts in Canada

In Canada there are 189 Flight Training Units and 2,603 flight instructors, some of which are not active. Canadian Flyers (CF), a Flight Training Unit (FTU) operating from the Kawartha Lakes Municipal Airport, CNF4, recently announced that its operations were put on pause after more than 30 years. In November 2023, CF moved its base of operations from the Toronto Buttonville Municipal Airport, CYKZ, with the closing of the airport. The City of Lindsay enthusiastically welcomed CF to the airport, which is roughly a one-and-a-half-hour drive from Toronto. CF had planned on building out a facility to allow the flight school to operate a state-of-the-art training environment. 

Canadian FTUs face obstacles every day, such as flight instructor shortages, airlines hiring flight instructors, impacts of weather to flight operations, skyrocketed aircraft acquisition costs, escalating 100LL fuel costs, aircraft maintenance engineer (AME) shortages, airport restrictions caused by noise concerns from neighbours, supply chain issues, lack of support from all levels of government, travel time to the airport, the list can seem like it is endless. 

In January 2024, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced that it had made changes to the foreign student program, reducing the number of Student Permits (also known as Student Visas) to a maximum of 360,000, a decrease of 35 per cent from 2023. To implement the change, as of January 22, 2024, every study permit application submitted to the IRCC will also require an attestation letter from a province or territory. Provinces and territories were expected to establish a process for issuing attestation letters to students by no later than March 31, 2024. Attestation letters are another bureaucratic issue, where once issued to a specific student, it cannot be re-assigned to a different student if the student does not start the flight training program – possibly because of funding issues, change of career aspirations, etc. This has the impact of reducing the number international students at any given FTU. 

In the January 2024, the IRCC also announced that starting September 1, 2024, international students who begin a study program that is part of a curriculum licensing arrangement will no longer be eligible for a post graduation work permit (PGWP) upon graduation. In other words, they will have to leave Canada at the conclusion of their study program. However, in June 2024 it appears that the policy was revised allowing a few special cases, including flight school graduates. To be eligible for a PGWP, a graduate must comply with one of the following: Completed a flight training course at a designated learning institution (DLI) training centre and now have a Canadian commercial pilot’s license; or have or are in the process of getting an instructor’s rating and a job offer as a flight instructor from a DLI flight training centre. 

Canadian Aviation College (CAC), operating out of Pitt Meadows, B.C., has over 150 students in its program, with 70 per cent foreign students. Pitt Meadows is a thriving flight training environment with 13 FTUs operating on the aerodrome. Iris Challoner, Administrative Officer, CAC, is concerned about two changes: International students can work 20 hours per week, but study must be prioritized over their jobs; and current changes to post graduation work permits. CAC hires a lot of students as flight instructors gaining hours required for airlines.

“International students must leave Canada once they get a flight instructor rating, but if the same student graduated with a post doctorate or master’s degrees they can stay and work,” Challoner explains. “This seems discriminatory and has the potential to cripple Canada’s aviation industry. I have spoken with our MP lobbying the need for exceptions to IRCC’s policies in the aviation sector.” 

Canada’s Diamond Aircraft Industries relies heavily on the progress of flight school fleets around the world, which value its versatile aircraft, including the DA40 Series, featuring modern instrument panels. PHOTO: Diamond Aircraft

Clearly the federal government has been listening and collaborating with aviation industry leaders. This is an issue for Canadian FTUs, as they rely on foreign students who have obtained their Instructor’s Rating, to stay in Canada, ideally working in their FTU and training the next generation of pilots. Canadian citizens who acquire a frozen ATPL will quickly move on to charter companies or airlines, as they gain more hours. Typically, instructors will work at a FTU for one and half years before moving on. 

CF, as part of Ontario’s College and University organization, has a robust international ATPL program with many foreign students being trained. Its current pipeline included 40 registered international students. Combined with the disruption to Canadian students living in the Greater Toronto Area caused by the move from Buttonville to Lindsay, these factors impacted the long-term goals of CF. 

“I want to make it clear that placing our operations on hold was not caused by any financial difficulties,” Dario Matrundola, President of Canadian Flyers, says. “Canadian Flyers has no debt, owns all of its aircraft, simulators and other assets. The cancellation of our international student’s Visas has put a hold on both the construction of new facilities at the Kawartha Lakes Airport and our flight training program.” CF has 30 students enrolled in its flight training program, down from 150 students when they operated out of Buttonville. 

Flight training in the Greater Toronto Area has been under attack with lease cancellations, training restrictions, noise constraints and airport closures. The recent announcement of the City of Oshawa and Canadian Flight Academy (CFA) settlement of its legal dispute resulting in CFA’s agreement to cease flight operations at CYOO by December 31, 2025, is another example of Canadian flight training being impacted by “Not in My Back Yard” syndrome. 

Andy Nureddin, Chair of the Canadian Business Aviation Association (CBAA), fully understands the political environment which Flight Training Units operate under. He sees many if not most Canadian flight schools fixated on training student pilots with the goal of acquiring frozen ATPLs and then sending them off to the airlines. For an individual focused on the business aviation and general aviation side of the industry, there is a lack of flight training capacity, especially in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). 

“The City of Oshawa/CFA legal disputes, the recent closures of the Buttonville and Downsview airports, and the cancellation of international student Visas by the Federal Government are more examples of all levels of Canadian governments’ lack of support and vision to the aviation industry,” Nureddin says. “At the end of the day, no one is better served by these impacts. This results in a lose-lose outcome lessening Canada’s aviation industry, not unlike the impact of the Luxury Tax on Canadian business aviation. The federal government needs to strategically fix its immigration policies, but not tactically cancel all international aviation student visas.”

The Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship stated: “International students are vital to Canada and enrich our communities. As such, we have an obligation to ensure that they have access to the resources they need for an enriching academic experience. In Canada, today, this isn’t always the case. Today, we are announcing additional measures to protect a system that has become so lucrative that it has opened a path for its abuse. Enough is enough. Through the decisive measures announced today, we are striking the right balance for Canada and ensuring the integrity of our immigration system while setting students up for the success they hope for.” 

Chinook Helicopters Ltd. has 50 employees, 28 aircraft and trains roughly 200 students. In a typical year, 30 per cent of these aspiring aviators are international students. Cathy Press, CEO of Chinook Helicopters, has seen increasing challenges in government policy changes at both the federal and B.C. provincial government levels. Different ministries affecting policy are not aware of the potential impact they are creating and how it will affect companies like hers. The bulk of CHL’s revenue comes from training, although the company also generates revenue from the sale and maintenance of helicopters. CHL has been lobbying the B.C. government for many years to have the current support for student aid changed. B.C. typically provides repayable student loans of $5,500 (per student), while the same form of Alberta student aid provides funding of up to $70,000. 

Based out of Abbotsford International in B.C., Chinook Helicopters is recognized as a premier flight training facility for both helicopter and fixed-wing pilots. PHOTO: Chinook Helicopters

“In our business, student repayment of loans is at a much higher level than typical college and university loans,” Press explains.  “To help overcome changing B.C. student aid policies, the ministry would need to recognize that aviation has a pilot, instructor and AME shortage. The provincial ministry that oversees student aid wants statistics. They say that all industries are short and why is this industry any different. 

“Adding to the issue, Transport Canada is challenged with providing accurate statistics that really show the shortages in our sector,” Press continues “Industry insiders feel the impacts of the shortage every day. This latest policy change from the IRCC will have long term implications which we are just beginning to see. I truly believe people who work for Transport Canada want to see Canada be the best on the world stage. However, until all the ministries can work together to have aviation be recognized as an area that needs skilled workers, we will continue to have limited or fragmented support from the government.”

Funding is critical for an international student. IRCC’s website indicates that the annual cost of living for a single student is $20,635. The cost of the Student Permit is $150. Flight training from “zero to hero” is $117,189 (based on CAC’s current training fees inclusive of taxes) and typically takes two years to complete. This requires an international student to have access to roughly $158,459. The flight training costs may be higher based upon several factors, including the student’s capabilities, weather, instructor and aircraft availability and others. Additional fees may include fuel surcharges and hourly rate increases. Cost of travel to the airport is another cost not considered.

The challenges and constraints faced by the FTUs impact not only student pilots on a commercial career path, but also general aviation (GA) or recreational pilots. With limited FTU capacity, Canadians are finding it more difficult to find a FTU within a reasonable driving distance from their home who are willing to take on GA student pilots. Historically, GA student pilots found weather and time to be the largest limiting factors (to successfully completing the program). In the last five years, access to a FTU, instructor and aircraft availability are new constraints limiting the increase in Canadian licensed pilots.

For FTUs, provisional and federal constraints will impact their top line revenue over the next few years. This will cause some FTUs to reduce operating costs, through reducing their training fleet and laying off staff. Trickle down economics will see local airports impacted through a decline in fuel sales, aircraft hangarage and parking revenue, as well as a reduction in AMO revenue. As Canada faces a housing shortage, international student pilots might be challenged with finding accommodation. Some FTUs have purchased residential properties (near their airport) to create housing for students. The impact could cause the FTU to divest their properties, while facing a capital gains taxation impact. With roughly 9,000 student pilots in the system, the impact to the Canadian economy of the reduction of international students could be as high as $349 million and a taxation loss of $45 million (during their study period).

Historically, we have found the support from all levels of government can change on a dime, based upon bad things happening, like a world war. World War II is a great example of when government and private sector came together to build airports, aircraft and train copious amounts of pilots. Canadian aviation today needs new structures to build new pipelines.