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The Canadian Forces Snowbirds touched down in Saskatoon on Tuesday, marking a final stop for the red and white Tutor jets in the province.
In May, the federal government announced the team is being grounded until the early 2030’s while aging planes are replaced.
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Here they come! pic.twitter.com/DGiv66C29o
— Mia Holowaychuk (@miaholoway) July 14, 2026
The modern CT-157 II aircraft will take over for the CT-114 Tutor jets.
Around 1,000 people came to the Saskatchewan Aviation Museum by the Saskatoon airport to cheer on the jets as they made a stop for fuel before carrying on to Edmonton.
There is a long lineup at the Aviation Museum in Saskatoon to see the Snowbirds!
— Mia Holowaychuk (@miaholoway) July 14, 2026
This is the last airshow before the planes are grounded @CKOMNews @CJMENews pic.twitter.com/gbNzDu7tYA
Brian Swidrovich, an organizer for the Canada Remembers Air Show, said the team has not done an air show in Saskatoon since 2017.
He added that Saskatoon and many parts of the province were not on the 2026 schedule for the show.
Typically the team would have taken off and hit high altitude towards Alberta, skipping over areas of Saskatchewan.
“Veterans and people that serve in the military don’t just come from big cities; they come from small towns like Davidson and Craik, Hanley and Kenaston,” he said, noting the team agreed to do a low-level pass over those communities.
Swidrovich said the impressive turnout shows how deeply Canadians care about the team.
“It’s not just about watching fancy aerobatics in the air, but it’s what the team means to the soul and to the heart of most Canadians,” he said.
Snowbirds pilots at the Saskatchewan Aviation Museum in Saskatoon on July 14. (Mia Holowaychuk/650 CKOM)
For Ivan Reimer, seeing the Snowbirds brings back a familiar feeling.
Reimer has been a private pilot since 1993, and said he has seen the snowbirds over a dozen times.
“When you get off the ground, you’re in a totally different world than you are on the ground,” Reimer said. “You forget about everything that’s on the ground (and) you concentrate about being in the air.”
James Wickett, who came to watch the Snowbirds, said his nephew flew with the team around two years ago.
“It’s a treasured moment,” he told CKOM news.
Wicket said it’s “sad” to think about the Snowbirds fleet being grounded, because it is a Canadian tradition.
“It’s something that you hate to see dissolving,” he said. “I think that it’s important to keep Canada proud through that way.”
– with files from the Canadian Press
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