Ottawa Invests $23.5M in Infrastructure Upgrades at Six B.C. Airports
Subhadarshi Tripathy
8/27/20262 min read
Six airports across British Columbia will receive a combined $23.5 million from the federal government to upgrade aging infrastructure and improve safety and reliability.
The funding, announced through Transport Canada’s Airports Capital Assistance Program, will support projects at regional airports in northern B.C., the Central Coast and the Interior.
“Local and regional airports are lifelines for many communities across British Columbia,” Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon said in a news release.
“These investments will help maintain safe and efficient airport operations, improve the movement of people and goods, and strengthen the transportation links that connect British Columbians to jobs, services, and the rest of the country.”
Four Northern B.C. Airports Receive Funding
The largest individual investment will go to Masset Airport in Haida Gwaii.
The North Coast airport will receive more than $10.85 million to improve airfield pavement and drainage infrastructure.
Prince Rupert Airport will receive nearly $3.76 million to rehabilitate airfield lighting.
Smithers Airport is receiving approximately $3.62 million for rehabilitation work on its airfield electrical equipment.
Northern Rockies Regional Airport in Fort Nelson will receive $552,600 to replace runway approach lighting.
Bella Coola and Kamloops Airports Also Included
On B.C.’s Central Coast, Bella Coola Airport will receive nearly $3.4 million.
The funding will be used to rehabilitate the airport’s runway, taxiway and apron.
Kamloops Airport will receive approximately $1.35 million to upgrade and replace electrical infrastructure.
The federal government says the investments are intended to ensure regional airports can continue operating safely while maintaining important transportation connections for smaller and remote communities.
Regional Airports Called ‘Vital’ to Communities
James Lindsey, chair of the Regional Community Airports of Canada, said smaller airports play an important role in supporting communities and the broader economy.
“Regional airports provide vital services to the communities that they serve — whether it be health care, whether it be economic development, whether it be natural resource exploration, or whether it be tourism or general aviation,” Lindsey said.
He noted that regional airports can help transport patients to medical centres, move workers to job sites and support industries including fishing and tourism.
Lindsey, who is also president and CEO of the Thompson Regional Airport Authority in Manitoba, said maintaining those facilities has become increasingly expensive.
“The challenge is that regional airports just don't have the financing available to be sustainable financially,” he said.
He added that the cost of maintaining modern airport infrastructure and equipment has become “astronomically high.”
“This funding and these pieces of infrastructure are absolutely critical to maintaining sustainable communities across Canada,” Lindsey said.
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