MONTREAL — Air Canada has doubled down on its commitment to advancing diversity in aviation by granting more scholarships to Canadian women wishing to enter the field.
In collaboration with high technology company CAE, the airline will be doubling the number of 2023 Captain Judy Cameron Scholarships granted to young Canadian women studying to become commercial pilots or maintenance engineers. Up to four aspiring commercial pilots will be invited to join the CAE Women in Flight program as an ambassador.
Launched in 2019, the Judy Cameron scholarships were previously awarded to four recipients. This number will increase to eight next year with the support of CAE and its Women in Flight ambassador program.
Scholarship applications open Nov. 1 here.
The annual Captain Judy Cameron Scholarships, established in honour of Air Canada’s first female pilot, Judy Cameron, are awarded in conjunction with the Northern Lights Aero Foundation. Cameron was hired by Air Canada in April 1978 at the age of 23 and was the first woman to graduate from Selkirk College’s Aviation Technology Program in 1975. Throughout her 40-year flying career, she flew over 23,000 hours with the DC-3, Twin Otter, Hawker Siddeley 748, DC-9, Lockheed 1011, Airbus 320, Boeing 767 and Boeing 777 aircraft. She became a captain in 1997, and in 2010 she became the first female captain in Canada of a Boeing 777, the largest aircraft in Air Canada’s fleet. She retired in 2015 and continues her volunteer work mentoring the next generation of female pilots with the Northern Lights Aero Foundation.
“Air Canada has long championed gender equality, particularly in non-traditional, highly specialized aviation careers, and we are incredibly pleased to have CAE, our long-time flight simulation partner, join with us to double the number of Captain Judy Cameron scholarships that will be offered for 2023,” said Murray Strom, Senior Vice President – Flight Operations at Air Canada. “This means together, we can expand the reach to help more young women across Canada in their studies as commercial pilots or maintenance engineers. We look forward to seeing these recipients follow their aviation dreams and in future, certify as airworthy, or be in command of, an Air Canada aircraft.”
To learn more about the program, go to CAE’s website.
