City of Moose Jaw seeking clarity about Snowbirds future

Advocates are pushing back against plans to ground the Snowbirds, launching a letter campaign to keep the iconic team in the air. Donovan Maess reports.

Weeks after the federal government announced plans to ground the Canadian Forces Snowbirds 431 Air Demonstration Squadron, its hometown continues to search for answers about the team’s future.

“They’re everything to our community,” Moose Jaw Mayor James Murdock told CTV News.

“Moose Jaw has been their home since 1971. For 55 years they’re a part of us, but they’re a part of everyone in our in our great nation of Canada.”

Last month the federal government announced the Snowbirds will be temporarily grounded after the 2026 season, until the team’s aging Tutor jets are replaced with the new CT-157 Siskin II.

The Snowbirds have performed at air shows across North America from May to October each year, and have regularly flown overseas - performing nearly 2,900 official shows with another 1,000 fly-bys.

Having made their home in the community since their inception, the Snowbirds are deeply rooted in Moose Jaw’s history.

At a meeting last week, Moose Jaw city council unanimously passed a motion reaffirming their support for the air demonstration team, and to continue advocating for their continuance past the grounding.

“To hear they would not be available till sometime in the 2030’s, and the Snowbirds would cease to fly or operate at the end of this 2026 season, we want to get clarity and answers on a firm date [for their return] so we can bridge that gap there,” Murdock said.

“We just need to firm that message, the snowbirds are ours, they belong to everyone and we need them to keep going.”

‘Everybody has a story’

One of the 2,900 airshows the Snowbirds performed in was Saskatoon’s ‘Canada Remembers Airshow,’ which operated from 1995 to 2017.

Brian Swidrovich organized the show for over 20 years.

“It’s not just at airshows,” Swidrovich described. “It’s all the other stuff that people, I guess after a while, took for granted. ‘Oh, the snowbirds are coming to town. Maybe I’ll go next year.’ Well, like anything else, there might not be a next year.”

Swidrovich was named an ‘Honourary Snowbird’ for his continued support of veterans and the squadron. He’s also joined forces with the Snowbirds Alumni Association to continue advocating for the team.

Last week Snowbirds alumni announced the “No Pause – Keep the Snowbirds Flying” campaign, which encourages Canadians to support solutions that will keep the Snowbirds in operation while preparations are made for a future aircraft platform.

“I’m as concerned about their future as anybody,” Swidrovich said.

Retired Lt.-Col. Maryse Carmichael became the first woman to fly with the Snowbirds in 2000. In 2010 she became the team’s first female commanding officer.

“I saw the Snowbirds when I was ten years old,” she reminisced. “Then later on, it became my career.”

Carmichael believes once the replacement fleet is ready, it will take years for the pilots to get training on the new aircraft, which have yet to be ordered.

“When I joined the Snowbirds, I already had 1,500 hours on the airplane. I was an instructor on the airplane, teaching the young students,” Carmichael said.

“It took six months over the winter to learn to operate in these nine ships, handling the emergencies of flying, the dynamic rejoins.”

“You cannot just put that expertise on the shelf and then in three [to] seven years, take that back and just go ahead and perform,” she added.

The alumni want to see the federal government come forward with a plan for the Snowbirds’ transition – one they hope sees the team continue flying.

“Perhaps reducing to seven airplanes, reducing the length of the show or the complexity of the show and using some of our partners to make it a true Canadian team approach,” suggested Carmichael.

As part of the letter writing campaign, the group urges Canadians to write directly to Prime Minister Mark Carney and send a copy to their local MP, or call their local MP, expressing their opinions on the grounding.

“Everybody has a story or a memory about what the team means to them,” Swidrovich added. “I’ve got lots, obviously. Take the time, write a letter to your MP.”

The Snowbirds are scheduled to perform their final show before the grounding Oct. 10-11, 2026 in Sacramento, Cali.

If the alumni have their way, the hope is that show will not be their last.

CTV News reached out to the federal government for comment, but has yet to receive a response.