Canada’s Defence Minister Bill Blair announced June 11 as Air Force Day issuing, together with Associate Minister Ginette Taylor, the following statement: “Today, we celebrate Air Force Day on Parliament Hill – an opportunity to highlight the incredible work of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) as we mark its Centennial year. For 100 years, members of the RCAF have served Canadians here at home and around the world, and recently, above the skies into space. We thank them for their incredible dedication to Canada.”
“The RCAF represents the very best of Canada – and its members can count on our unyielding support,” the statement from Blair went on. “Thanks to these investments, the RCAF of 2035 will look vastly different from today as it continues to evolve and respond to our changing needs.
“Since 2022, we have signed agreements for over 200 new or refurbished aircraft for the RCAF. This includes new fleets of F-35 fighter jets, P-8A Poseidon multi-mission aircraft, Remotely Piloted Aircraft, Strategic Tanker Transport Aircraft, training aircraft and more.”
Air Force Day does not fall on the same day every year. The last Air Force Day on Parliament Hill was on September 26, 2023, again with Minister Blair making similar statements.
At a meeting of NATO defence ministers currently underway in the alliance’s Brussels headquarters, Blair told his NATO counterparts, “My defence spending budget will increase by 27 percent next year over this year.” Blair later told reporters, “I believe it brings us inevitably to over two percent of defence spending. But I’ve got some work to do in order to be able to articulate that both to my own country and to our allies.”