Pilot licensing in Canada

A Bell 212 crew from Alpine Helicopters scrambles on a medevac mission. Both the aircraft captain (right seat) and the copilot (left seat) in this case are holders of the Airline Transport Pilot Licence - Helicopter.

Pilot licensing in Canada is administered by Transport Canada under the Aeronautics Act and the Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARs).

Other than when flying a hang glider or paraglider, a person may only operate a Canadian-registered aircraft or act as a flight crew member in Canada with a licence or permit issued by Transport Canada.

At the end of 2008 there were 64,932 Canadian licences and permits held,[1] giving Canada the second largest population of licensed pilots in the world.[2]

The first Canadian private pilot's licence was issued to James Stanley Scott on January 24, 1920, and the first Canadian transport licence was issued to Douglas G. Joy on April 1, 1939.[3]

  1. ^ Transport Canada (December 2008). "Summary of Flight Crew and Air Traffic Control Licences". Archived from the original on July 2, 2010. Retrieved March 5, 2009.
  2. ^ Transport Canada (May 2010). "Aviation Enforcement Team: Here for Aviation Safety". Retrieved October 7, 2010.
  3. ^ Ellis, Frank H. (1954). Canada's Flying Heritage (Second ed.). Toronto, Ontario, Canada: University of Toronto press. ISBN 0-8020-6417-5.