It was founded by James Armstrong Richardson Sr. in 1926 as Western Canada Airways (WCA), was fully established in 1930 following WCA's acquisition of a number of smaller regional competitors. At its peak, Canadian Airways had a total of 51 aircraft of various types that provided both regular scheduled service between settlements as well as charter service to bush locations.
In 1942, Canadian Airways was absorbed into the fledgling Canadian Pacific Airlines, following Richardson's death three years earlier.
James Armstrong Richardson Sr. established Western Canada Airways in 1926 which was later to become Canadian Airways Limited.
In 1926, James Armstrong Richardson Sr. founded Western Canada Airways (WCA), which was fully established in 1930 following WCA's acquisition of a number of smaller regional competitors.
Over time, Richardson obtained 51 aircraft and an assortment of top bush pilots and military pilots, all of which provided various services, particularly cargo transport, to northwestern Canada. Whether it was financing operations, hiring and selecting personnel or selecting the best equipment for operations in Canada's tricky climate, he took a very hands on approach to running the WCA. He was also in constant contact with people throughout the aviation industry at the time, to learn and adapt efficiently. Something that made him so successful in the grain trade earlier in his career.[1]
In 1927, he was made a Director of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), something that would inevitably influence later events involving his venture.[1]
In order to expand WCA at the national level, Richardson convened a syndicate, which led to the formation of the Aviation Corporation of Canada in July 1929. The purpose of this formation was to help in the acquisition of eastern Canadian aviation companies to facilitate the planned expansion. This was done with Sir Henry Worth Thornton, representing the Canadian National Railway and Sir Edward Wentworth Beatty, of the CPR.[1]
In 1930, Canadian Airways Limited was established after the acquisition of several aviation companies, including the previously mentioned Aviation Corporation of Canada. Richardson's goal was realized. Richardson became the president and general manager. Richardson's advanced logistical knowledge, business sense, vision and technological innovation, allowed him to piece together a vision for Canadian Air Services heading into the future.
Air mail was the backbone of aviation at the time as it underpinned regular services and helped cover costs. Richardson was particularly worried about Canadian sovereignty. The budding challenges of international competition and eastern and western Canada's strategic interests weighed on his mind as well. Political activities of varying degrees and the great depression in particular began to take a toll through the very early 1930s.
In 1932, the government mail contracts were cancelled and a host of new restrictions were introduced by the federal government. These actions would serve to gradually undermine Canadian Airways.
By 1936, control of civil aviation was transferred from the Department of National Defence to the newly established Department of Transport, operated under Minister Clarence Decatur Howe.
Around this time, Richardson's earlier fears were on the verge of being realized as American aviation companies were beginning to work towards establishing passenger routes within Canada. The Department of Transport was considering developing a national air transport system to help protect Canada's budding airline industry. Howe led Richardson to believe that his Canadian Airways would be the chosen airline for the task. He repeated this intention routinely.[2]
Using Richardson's Canadian Airways business plan and key personnel from the Airline, Howe formed a government-run entity known as Trans-Canada Air Lines (TCA) in 1937 instead.
Richardson was deeply saddened by the betrayal and the way the events had unfolded. The personal assurances of government support for Canadian Airways were not acted upon and Howe's will to see the government rise to prominence in the field left Richardson and others out in the cold. Unfortunately, Richardson's decency and lack of will to protest publicly left Canadian Airways vulnerable.
After this, Richardson's health began to decline. He suffered from spells of sickness and exhaustion which were attributed by his doctors at the time to stress. He died suddenly on June 26, 1939.
At some point in 1939, Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, led by Sir Edward Wentworth Beatty began to implement a plan to purchase ten bush airlines from around Canada to form a new airline. Whether or not this was decided in collaboration with Richardson is not known for certain. This airline would eventually become Canadian Pacific Airlines, which was a subsidiary of CPR once government approval was obtained to amalgamate the ten airlines. The companies were Ginger Coote Airways (Vancouver), Yukon Southern Air Transport (Vancouver/Edmonton), Canadian Airways (Winnipeg), Wings LTD (Winnipeg), Prairie Airways (Moose Jaw), Mackenzie Air Services (Edmonton), Arrow Airways (The Pas), Starratt Airways (Hudson), Quebec Airways (Montreal), Dominion Skyways (Montreal).[3]
Beatty created Canadian Pacific Airlines as a response to the TCA in 1942.[1][3]
the sixth Ju 52 built, Junkers Ju 52/1m (CF-ARM), a large single-engined monoplane powered by a Rolls-Royce Buzzard received in 1936. Known as the Flying Boxcar, it was the largest aircraft in Canada[10] and operated from wheels, skiis and floats.[11]
Canadian Airlines International Ltd. was a Canadian airline that operated from 1987 until 2001. The airline was Canada's second largest airline after Air Canada, carrying more than 11.9 million passengers to over 160 destinations in 17 countries on five continents at its height in 1996. Canadian Airlines served 105 destinations in Canada, more than any other airline. Canadian Airlines was also a founding member of the Oneworld airline alliance.
Wardair Canada was a privately run Canadian airline, founded by Max Ward in 1952 under the name Wardair Ltd, before formally changing its name to "Wardair Canada" in 1976. The airline was acquired by and folded into Canadian Airlines in 1989.
Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport is a Transport Canada designated international airport located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is the seventh busiest airport in Canada by passenger traffic, serving 3,031,113 passengers in 2022, and the 11th busiest airport by aircraft movements. It is a hub for passenger airlines Calm Air, Perimeter Airlines, Flair Airlines, and cargo airline Cargojet. It is also a focus city for WestJet. The airport is co-located with Canadian Forces Base Winnipeg.
Pacific Western Airlines Ltd (PWA) was an airline that operated scheduled flights throughout western Canada and charter services around the world from the 1950s through the 1980s.
Trans-Canada Air Lines was a Canadian airline that operated as the country's flag carrier, with corporate headquarters in Montreal, Quebec. Its first president was Gordon Roy McGregor. Founded in 1937, it was renamed Air Canada in 1965.
Nordair was a Quebec-based airline in Canada founded in 1947 from the merger of Boreal Airways and Mont Laurier Aviation.
Air Ontario Inc. was a regional Canadian airline headquartered in Sarnia then London, Ontario. In 2002, Air Ontario became Air Canada Jazz.
Time Air was an airline in Canada founded in 1966 by businessman Walter “Stubb” Ross from Lethbridge in Alberta. It was called Lethbridge Air Service before becoming Time Airways Ltd. in 1969, which was later shortened to Time Air Ltd. In 1993 it was merged with Ontario Express to create Canadian Regional Airlines.
Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport is an airport of entry located in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. It is part of the National Airports System, and is owned and operated by the Government of Yukon. The airport was renamed in honour of longtime Yukon Member of Parliament Erik Nielsen on December 15, 2008. The terminal handled 294,000 passengers in 2012, representing a 94% increase in passenger traffic since 2002. By 2017, this number had risen to 366,000. Air North is based in Whitehorse.
Sir Edward Wentworth Beatty was the first Canadian-born president of the Canadian Pacific Railway (1918–1943). He was responsible for building the Royal York Hotel and RMS Empress of Britain, and later helped establish Canadian Pacific Air Lines. During World War II, he co-ordinated Canadian shipping and rail transport before ill health forced him to retire. He was Chancellor of Queen's University (1919–1923) and chancellor of McGill University (1920–1943). A lifelong philanthropist, on his death he left half of his estate to charity. He left his home in Montreal's Golden Square Mile to McGill, and it was known as Beatty Hall for 70 years until its sale in 2016.
Norcanair was the name of a Canadian airline that existed from 1947 to 1987, and again briefly in the early 1990s and from 2001 to 2005.
James Richardson & Sons Limited (JRSL) is a privately-held corporation in Canada that is involved in several industries including agriculture, energy, real estate, financial services, investments, and transportation.
Transair was an airline based in Canada. It was purchased by Pacific Western Airlines in 1979. Transair's operational headquarters was located at the Winnipeg International Airport in Manitoba.
James Armstrong Richardson Sr. was an influential business person in Canada in both business and aviation during the early part of the 20th century. He lived most of his life in Winnipeg.
Clennell Haggerston "Punch" Dickins was a pioneering Canadian aviator and bush pilot. Northern Indigenous Canadians called him "Snow Eagle", northern Europeans called him "White Eagle", while the press dubbed him the "Flying Knight of the Northland".
The Fairchild F-11 Husky was a Canadian bush plane designed and manufactured in the post-Second World War era. Despite a promising design, a lack of a suitable powerplant hurt performance, and stiff competition from the de Havilland Beaver and de Havilland Otter designs meant the type never gained a solid foothold in the marketplace.
The de Havilland DH.61 Giant Moth was a 1920s British large single-engined biplane transport built by de Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome, Edgware. Intended primarily for use in Australia, a number were also shipped to Canada.
The Fokker Universal was the first aircraft built in the United States that was based on the designs of Dutch-born Anthony Fokker, who had designed aircraft for Germany during World War I. About half of the 44 Universals that were built between 1926 and 1931 in the United States were used in Canada. Among the famous pilots who flew the Fokker Universal were Punch Dickins and Walter Gilbert.
The Fokker Super Universal was an airliner produced in the United States in the late 1920s, an enlarged and improved version of the Fokker Universal, fitted with cantilever wings and an enclosed cockpit. It was subsequently also manufactured under license in Canada, and in Japan as the Nakajima-Fokker Super Universal and for the IJAAF as the Nakajima Ki-6 and later in the puppet state of Manchukuo as the Manshū Super Universal.
The history of aviation in Canada begins with the first manned flight in a balloon at Saint John, New Brunswick in 1840. The development of the aviation industry in Canada was shaped by the interplay of Canadian national ambitions, national and international politics, economics, and technology. Experimental aviation started in Canada with the test flights of Bell's Silver Dart in 1909, following the epochal flight of the Wright Brothers in 1903. The experimental phase gave way to use of aircraft in warfare. Many Canadians served in the British Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force during the First World War.
↑ Shirley Render, Double Cross: The Inside Story of James A. Richardson and Canadian Airways, Douglas and McINtyre, 1999, ISBN1-55054-722-4, pages 193,200,204,206
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
