Feds source Vancouver Island helicopters for new aerial firefighting fleet

The federal government has established Canada’s first-ever aerial firefighting fleet to help provinces and territories respond to the 2026 wildfire season, and has sourced helicopters from Vancouver Island to build the fleet.

The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) has leased 10 aircraft and two unspecified support assets for 150 days through a $317 million wildfire-related allocation in the federal budget.

The fleet is to be called the Pan-Canadian Aerial Asset Program, and will allow for increased provincial and territorial access to firefighting aircraft.

Wildfire agencies will be able to request the use of four air tankers, one spotter plane and five heavy lift helicopters to fight wildfires. 

The entire fleet will be sourced from British Columbia-based firms, specifically from Conair Group, Coldstream Helicopters and VIH Helicopters, which is located in North Saanich on Vancouver Island. 

“The program increases our availability of aircraft when existing fleets within provincial and territorial agencies are stretched thin, and it strengthens Canada’s collective ability to move aircraft where it is needed most,” said Kelsey Winter, executive director of CIFFC.

The fleet will be positioned within Canada, and will move around based on fire activity forecasts, current wildfire activity and where they are needed most.

According to the Canadian government, the 2025 wildfire season was Canada’s second-worst on record. Nearly 90,000 square kilometres were consumed by fire as of September 2025.

The worst season was only two years earlier in 2023 when more than 165,000 square kilometres burned.

NDP MP for Courtenay–Alberni Gord Johns said in a statement on Monday that setting up the fleet was “an important and overdue step.”

“This announcement is progress, but the scale of the climate crisis demands sustained action and long-term investment,” said Johns.

The fleet was leased—not bought—because the wait for new aircraft can exceed five years, and so the federal government will not have to pay for a plane that will sit idle over the winter months.