Improving Infrastructure at Alberta’s Community Airports

From Cardston in the south to Lloydminster in the east, to Mackenzie County in the north, to Grande Prairie in the west, 93 smaller urban and rural communities across the province are served by community airports. They have varying levels of infrastructure, supporting services, and operations and maintenance that determine the level of service they offer. While some are independently or jointly owned, most are owned by the municipality.

Despite their differences, Alberta’s community airports have one thing in common – aging infrastructure. According to a 2024 study conducted by HM Aero Aviation Consulting, 24 per cent of the province’s community airport operators report primary runways that are in very poor, poor or fair condition. Thirty-eight report the same for their taxiway(s). When it comes to terminal buildings, 57 per cent are in either very poor, poor, or fair condition. Only 37 per cent report having perimeter fencing that is in good or excellent condition.

Inadequate infrastructure at the province’s community airports is a real and growing threat to public health and safety. When an emergency strikes and every minute counts, safely and quickly connecting Albertans with the health care they need is crucial. Fixed-wing and rotary-wing air ambulance services are essential for delivering health and emergency medical care for those living in smaller urban centres and rural areas. As of between 2018 and 2023, 74 community airports supported fixed-wing air ambulance access.

The use of air ambulances has risen steadily in recent years. Between 2018 and 2023,

fixed-wing transfers grew by 29 per cent, with nearly 6,700 fixed-wing patient transfers to and from Alberta’s community airports taking place in 2023. Unfortunately, providing year-round ambulance access is an ongoing struggle for many community airports because of infrastructure deficiencies. In November 2022, for instance, Alberta Health Services (AHS) had to pause operations at three community airports (Ponoka, Spirit River, and Two Hills) because of concerns regarding runway lengths and widths and winter maintenance service levels.

Without a change in course, the ability of the province’s community airport to support firefighting efforts will also suffer. The 2023 wildfire season saw the largest area burned in recorded history (2.3 million hectares), while last year’s fire in Jasper was the second most costly in Canadian history. Fixed-wing aircraft are critical tools in wildfire suppression due to their unique capabilities. They can quickly reach wildfire sites, delivering resources to contain fires before they grow to an uncontrollable level, while the latter excels at targeted water or retardant drops and accessing remote areas.

The resources required by Alberta Wildfire to mount effective responses are significant. To improve readiness, the Government of Alberta recently undertook an air tanker fleet renewal process that involves purchasing new aircraft, re-engining existing ones, and potentially purchasing new air tankers to improve the fleet's ability to address different wildfire seasons.

The fixed-wing airtanker program is operated from 13 bases throughout Alberta, nine of which are located at community airports (Edson, High Level, Lac La Biche, Manning, Pincher Creek, Slave Lake, Rainbow Lake, Rock Mountain House, and Woodlands). Airtanker bases, which are located at community airports, are developed by Alberta Wildfire and include refuelling facilities, retardant loading infrastructure, and supporting facilities. The airport operator is responsible for maintaining the airfield infrastructure required to support airtanker arrivals and departures. Investing in community airport infrastructure will ensure these aircraft can reach communities across the province when they’re needed most.

Alberta’s community airports are also critical for economic diversification, beginning with worker, supply, and equipment transports. Beyond that, they also support a broad range of economic drivers, including heliskiing, hunting, fishing, other outdoor adventures, and events such as air shows and the Special Olympics.

The province’s Strategic Transportation Infrastructure Program (STIP) is the main external source of support for community airports (STIP does not cover heliports, which are usually funded and maintained by the provincial government). Created in 1999, STIP provides funding to municipalities under four funding streams: the Local Road Bridge Program, the Resource Road Program, Local Municipal Initiative, and the Community Airport Program (CAP). Unfortunately, CAP’s funding under STIP has not kept up with the growing need. Between 2017 and 2024, the provincial government spent just over $2.7 million on average on community airports through CAP. This is simply inadequate given the extent of the need. According to HM Aero Aviation Consulting, the province’s community airports will need more than $220 million in capital rehabilitation and replacement projects over the next decade. As Alberta Municipalities’ members know well, Alberta is facing a historic multi-billion-dollar infrastructure deficit. Municipal governments manage over $100 billion in assets and maintain 60 per cent of the province’s public infrastructure. Many can’t fund the basics, let alone airport infrastructure. In the absence of new funding, the infrastructure at Alberta’s community airports will continue to deteriorate, which will further increase the financial burden faced by municipalities.

Beyond the actual funding amount, STIP is too restrictive in terms of eligible projects and eligible applicants. To ensure the viability of community airports, it needs to be expanded to include more projects (e.g., terminal buildings, de-icing equipment, wildlife fencing, aviation weather observation systems) and non-municipal community airport operators, including private organizations, charitable societies, and non-government operating authorities and agencies.

The Town of Edson tabled a resolution at the 2019 Alberta Municipalities’ AGM calling for the organization to “advocate for the Government of Alberta to consider review and institution of an aviation fuel fee in order to attribute a portion of the cost of community airports directly to the user.”

While the resolution was adopted, the provincial government responded by saying that, in the interests of maintaining a competitive tax environment, no aviation fuel tax increases would be considered. This resolution isn’t asking the government to increase taxes on users, but rather to increase STIP funding to ensure community airports can continue to support public health, safety, and economic development.

This resolution supports several strategic initiatives in Alberta Municipalities’ 2025 Business Plan, namely emergency/disaster management, asset management, the viability of small communities, economic development, and access to health care.

Further to that, it also strongly supports a broad swath of the Government of Alberta’s strategic objectives. In terms of health care, it will help improve access to specialized care not offered in rural areas. It also supports Advanced Education’s work to train more pilots (the province is facing a serious and growing pilot shortage). When it comes to Transportation and Jobs, Economy, Trade, and Immigration, the resolution supports Premier Smith’s directive to the respective ministers to facilitate the growth and development of key regional airports that allow Albertans to connect themselves and goods to major international airports.

This resolution also aligns with the roles and responsibilities of the Strategic Aviation Advisory Council (SAAC), which was created by the provincial government in 2020. The SAAC’s mission supports emergency and fire transport by advising on improvements to aviation services and infrastructure that enhance the province’s ability to provide rapid medical, rescue, and firefighting responses through air operations. Additionally, the council focuses on optimizing airport services and infrastructure to better serve remote communities, ensuring reliable air access for essential services, supplies, and emergency support. Together, these efforts help strengthen Alberta’s overall resilience and emergency preparedness, particularly in hard-to-reach areas.