Canada's Snowbirds fly final CT-114 Tutor display before indefinite hiatus

The Snowbirds flew their final display in the Canadair CT-114 Tutor on 16 October at CFB Moose Jaw in Saskatchewan, the team's home base. Military personnel and their families and friends attended.

The nine primary display aircraft took off for a farewell performance over the prairie. According to the source account, lead pilot Major Maciej Hatta, using the callsign Snowbird 1, told those gathered it was "one last ride" before the jets started up and taxied out.

The event closed the team's 2026 season. It is set to be its last public display for the foreseeable future. Officials have described the stand-down as a temporary hiatus while Ottawa works to replace the CT-114s, which Canadair originally designated the CL-41.

In May, defence minister David McGuinty named the Swiss-built Pilatus PC-21 turboprop as the successor to the Snowbirds' 21 Tutors. The fleet has flown for more than 60 years and now faces significant maintenance challenges. The single-engine Tutor was Canada's primary trainer jet from the 1960s until 2000, and has flown with the Snowbirds throughout the team's 55-year history, dating to its formation in 1971.

The jets had been expected to keep flying through the end of the decade, but rising sustainment costs and competing budget priorities brought the retirement forward. Age-related engineering issues were cited as the reason the type will be retiring in 2027, with the PC-21s due to arrive by 2030.