Municipal leaders in Kamloops are hopeful a pledge by the Mark Carney government to spend more on the Canadian military could eventually translate into better air travel options in and out of Kamloops Airport.

As part of meetings last week in Ottawa, Councillor Stephen Karpuk — who sits on the Kamloops Airport Society Board — says they floated the idea of creating a permanent military presence at YKA — specifically for the Canadian Air Force.

While not lobbying for a full-fledged Canadian Forces Base, Karpuk suggests instead the Kamloops Airport has the potential of being a secondary location for the Air Force.

He notes Canadian Air Force jets flying from CFB Comox on Vancouver Island and CFB Cold Lake in northern Alberta will sometimes use the Kamloops Airport as a location to refuel.

“Build a hangar and create a specific place for when those planes are coming and going from either direction, [when] they’re stopping by, that we have a place that they can be housed securely,” said Karpuk.  “Give them a long-term lease, which would be beneficial for all parties.”

Kamloops has maintained a long-standing relationship with 419 Squadron out of CFB Cold Lake, which included a traditional flyby each year on Remembrance Day.

Fighter jets from CFB Cold Lake fly over Remembrance Day ceremonies in Kamloops, Nov. 11, 2023/via Paul James

While 419 was operationally disbanded in March of last year due to delays in securing new F-35 training aircraft, the government says it intends to re-establish the Squadron sometime in the 2030’s once new trainer jets are purchased, allowing Canadian pilots to resume honing their flying skills in this country.

They’re currently sent to Finland, Italy and the United States to train for the F-35’s.

Karpuk notes Kamloops is not only a location for fly-bys and refueling, pointing out that YKA has also served as a staging area for the Canadian Air Force and broader Armed Forces when called upon to help with disaster assistance in the region.

“When they’re bringing in a lot of their aircraft and military personnel — as we often see with fires unfortunately — we have them [military aircraft] just parked out on a tarmac,” noted Karpuk.  “It would be better and more secure to have them — god forbid we have a hailstorm and damage those planes — that they have a secured hangar.”

Karpuk says a Canadian Air Force aircraft hangar would also require permanent on-site aircraft technicians, which he suggests could help add “International” to the Kamloops Airport title.

“There’s a shortage of aircraft mechanics.  There’s a shortage of people who work within the aircraft industry,” said Karpuk, who suggests on-site military techs could help convince airlines that Kamloops could be another viable location for outbound and inbound international flights from the BC Interior.

“We just see that Kelowna’s announced they’ve got direct service now to Los Angeles starting in December,” noted Karpuk.  “We can’t get there without having the facilities.  If we don’t have those repair facilities, we can’t necessarily develop those routes.   They’re [airlines] reluctant to bring planes in that might not be able to be serviced if they had a problem coming in.”

Karpuk says they also pitched the hangar as a multi-use facility which could also accommodate the Rocky Mountain Rangers and the local Cadet Corps as well.

The concept was floated as part of a one-hour meeting on Friday in Ottawa with the Liberal government’s Minister of State for International Development, Randeep Sarai.

Sarai is the brother of Kamloops Councillor and Chair of the Kamloops Airport Society Board, Bill Sarai.

Councillor Sarai tells Radio NL the pitch for a permanent military presence at YKA is still in the conceptual phase, with no direct discussions taking place at this point with the Department of National Defense or Minister David McGuinty.

Sarai, Karpuk and four other members of Kamloops Council arrived in Ottawa on Thursday to attend the annual meetings of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

They were also able to — through the help of Randeep Sarai and Kamloops-Thompson-Nicola MP Frank Caputo — gain an audience with federal Housing Minister Gregor Robertson.

The Kamloops delegation was also able to observe Question Period on Thursday — the first grilling Prime Minister Mark Carney had to absorb from the Opposition since joining Parliament after taking over the Liberal leadership.