Canadian Air Force Producing Almost 50% Fewer Pilots in Recent Years

Two Royal Canadian Air Force CF-188 Hornet aircraft execute high-speed manoeuvres at the 4 Wing Cold Lake fighters base in Alberta on June 1, 2017. MCpl HJL MacRae, 4 Wing Imaging, CK05-2017-0460

The number of pilots produced by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) has plummeted in recent years, according to the Department of National Defence (DND).

Between 2015-2016 and 2018-2019, 423 pilots received their wings in the RCAF. That figure declined to 240 between 2019-2020 and 2022-2023, nearly halving the number of successful new pilots in the air force.