Snowbirds Alumni Launch Petition to Gauge Support for ‘No Pause’ Campaign

As Ottawa prepares to ground the Snowbirds aerobatic team at the end of this season, the alumni association is seeking to influence decision-makers by launching a petition to keep the squadron airborne.

The Snowbirds Alumni Association created a Change.org petition called “No Pause: Keep the Snowbirds Flying and Inspiring,” earlier this month. It had garnered more than 4,000 verified signatures as of Aug. 27.

The petition gives the association what it describes as a centralized, publicly visible tally that it can present to federal decision-makers, rather than relying on estimates of emails and postcards submitted separately.

“For more than 50 years, the Snowbirds have been a uniquely Canadian symbol of excellence, inspiring millions while showing the skill, professionalism and teamwork of our Canadian Armed Forces,” the Change.org page says.

“Their specialized expertise in training flying, aerobatics, safety and public engagement is built over decades. Once lost, it cannot quickly or easily be rebuilt. [An] extended shutdown also [threatens] Canada’s air show industry and risks wasting recent investments in the Tutor fleet.”

The federal government announced at 15 Wing Airbase in Moose Jaw, Sask., in May that the team’s nine-plane CT-114 Tutor fleet will retire after the 2026 season. The Snowbirds are expected to remain grounded until the CT-157 Siskin II becomes available in the early 2030s.

A Facebook post by the association said it has received both national and international support to keep 431 Air Demonstration Squadron flying past this season, following performances by the Snowbirds this year that attracted record crowds of fans.

“While we believe that upwards of 30,000 emails and postcards have been delivered, we have no way of quantifying with any certainty what the actual numbers are,” the association said. “To that end, we are starting a petition using a platform which will allow us to quantify to our government leaders the strong support we have across the nation.”

The association, which is staffed by experts, said keeping the Snowbirds airborne is important because the squad inspires millions each year, including many youth.

“In an era of political upheaval and discontent, the Snowbirds are more important than ever as symbols of Canadian pride and patriotism for the world to see,” the association said. “No one flies the Canadian flag more proudly or to more locations in Canada than the Snowbirds.”

Training new Snowbird pilots requires a core team of experienced members, making it daunting to start from scratch after an operational pause, the post said, noting that this inspired the association’s “No Pause” campaign logo.

The association said upgraded Tutor cockpits would allow the CT-114 fleet to operate through 2030, but added that active planes should be scaled back from nine to seven in 2027 to extend their lifespan and facilitate the 2031 transition to new aircraft.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said in May that the demonstrations of the Snowbirds are “absolutely extraordinary and a source of pride,” but added that the planes have “come to the end of their lives.”

“The Snowbirds will continue and new planes are being commissioned and will arrive,” he said.

Other Petitions

The alumni association’s petition is not the only such appeal. Moose Jaw resident Jana Kitts has submitted a petition to the House of Commons,  sponsored by Moose Jaw—Lake Centre—Lanigan MP Fraser Tolmie. It has acquired 1,943 signatures and closes on Oct. 24.

A third petition, Save Our Snowbirds, was started at Change.org by Ottawa resident Austin Kenny and has garnered 1,096 signatures.