The subtle militarism of Canadian air shows
Caption: F-35 Lightning II
Written by: Barbara Waldern
The annual air shows held in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario are promoted as fun events to enjoy the excitement of aviation technology.
Presented as festivals of aviation, such shows, however, are primarily exhibits of actively used, deathly war machines used to wage mass destruction and for no valid or good reason. The connection to past and present wars and occupations is ignored.
The Abbotsford International Air Show
Happening from August 11 to 12 this year, the Abbotsford International Airshow usually attracts thousands from the surrounding regions. Parents bring their children to view military and some non-military aviation machinery and meet both the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and United States Armed Forces (USAF) personnel.
Featured this time around are the following aircraft.
The 431 Air Defense Squadron, dubbed the Snowbirds. Based in Moose Jaw, AB, there are nine in the team after a series of crashes and deaths since 1972 (Kamloops 2020, Toronto 1989 and 2000, and Moose Jaw and US locations over the years).
RCAF CF-18 Hornet built by McDonnell Douglas in Canada in 1982, a twin-engine fighter “heritage” jet.
Other RCAF Heritage aircraft.
The US E/A 18 Growler, described as a souped-up F/A 18 known as the Super Hornet.
The notorious US Air Force F-35 Lightning II, cited for its many technical faults and extremely high maintenance requirements and costs.
The USAF C-17 Globemaster III, a huge cargo plane.
US heritage craft.
The Canadian International Air Show
Though shorter, the program of the Canadian International Air Show (CIAS) is similar. It is taking place from September 2 to 4. Its website advertises star performers, though the F-35 is not listed among them.
The CF Snowbirds
The CF-18 Demonstration Team
The Yakovlev Yak-50, a vintage plane used to train Lithuanian, Russian, Soviet and Ukranian Air Forces.
U.S. Navy Blue Angels fly the F/A-18 Super Hornet and perform a combination of formation and solo maneuvers. It is a four-jet demo squadron.
The USAF F-16 demonstration team. (The US has an air combat command base of Detachment 2 First Air Force-Canada in North Bay, ON, whose 30 personnel are integrated with CF.)
Since 1969, the CIAS has been staged at Exhibition Place on the Toronto waterfront. Today it is timed as part of the finale of the Canadian National Exhibition on the Labour Day Weekend.
As is the Abbotsford show, the CIAS is portrayed as an innocuous display of aviation technology.
“The mission of the Canadian International Air Show is to celebrate aviation by honouring it’s past and inspiring its future by showcasing the best of aviation both vintage and modern including civilian and military aircraft.”
However, both shows are primarily military exhibits with entries funded and put forward by the Canadian defense ministry and the US Department of Defense.
The Alberta International Airshow
The Alberta International Airshow (AIA) is more clearly an event of the war aviation industry and the military. It is an event of the VilleAero Aerospace and Logistics Conference which is supported by the Edmonton International Airport and the City of Edmonton. It happened at the Villeneuve Airport in Sturgeon County near St. Albert this year on August 5-6 for eight hours each day.
The Alberta International Airshow (AIA) home webpage states:
“These High-Flying Thrills Will Bring You Chills - Get Ready for a Weekend of High-Octane Stunts and Fun for the Whole Family at the Alberta International Airshow!”
Newer and bigger than the other two, the AIA was the initiative of the Alberta Real-World Evidence Consortium's (RWE) events division. Ironically, the RWE primarily researches and develops health technology, particularly for military families.
The Alberta airshow more obviously serves to recruit aviation personnel. It hosts the STEAM Career Fair for positions in aviation, engineering, drone and maintenance.
Two AF pilots who were AIA performers died in action over Afghanistan in 2021.
The AIA "Top performers program includes:
the Snowbirds
the CF-18 Demo Team
the CAF Skyhawks Parachutist Team
the USAF A-10 (Thunderbolt II) Demo Team, built for ground attacks by the Fairchild Republic Company for the US Air Force.
The Significance of the Air Shows
These airshows are indications of the militarization of Canadian and US life and add to the pro-war propaganda. They also serve to market their wares, such as the F-35, which is being demonstrated at the Abbotsford show. Presented as local, recreational and cultural events away from the theater of combat, these shows condition their audiences to militarization.
Presented as festivals, the audience may come to associate joy with these death machines. By creating them as family entertainment, children are targeted. The strategic aim is to acclimatize the public to militarization, to make them comfortable with the tools of war and war itself. That is to normalize war. Also, a goal is to excite the youth into joining the military forces.
To celebrate military aircraft is greatly inappropriate, but air shows display marvelous technology out of context and persist in cheering. In reality, for example, the F-18 Hornets A-10 Thunderbolts were used to bomb 100’s of 1000’s of civilians in Iraq in the 90’s and 2000’s.
As major events, air shows stimulate local and regional economic activity. Many businesses, producers and suppliers of anything from tools to soap, are benefiting from air shows-related business. Services bring revenue: construction/ tear-down of displays and facilities, various services, tourism, supp such as cleaning, delivery, mechanics, food, advertising, etc.
The peace movement’s resistance to these airshows has not been big or strong or persuasive enough to cause boycotts and shut them down. One growing obstacle is the reliance of local vendors and producers on military activity in many ways.
The existence and continuation, even expansion, of these air shows reflects the existence, continuation and expansion of the militarization of life at home and beyond. This is a current trend as the US stirs up intensifying antagonism against Russia and China. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and other military alliances such as the Australia, UK and US alliance (AUKUS) are growing. The US and its partners including Canada are building and sharing more military bases, holding more military drills, such as those in northern Europe and the Indo-Pacific. Canada’s defense and foreign policies are bound to those of the US, so its military spending and engagements follow suit.
In general, defense departments are state enterprises with lots of private enterprise involvement that provide employment, military and civilian, as well as large contracts and purchases, to society. Daily life is thus integrated with military activity, and many come to depend on the military. This is how a war economy develops in Canada and elsewhere.
There are 40 Canadian bases in Canada as well as a few abroad. The planned upgrade and expansion of the North Atlantic Air Defense (NORAD) agreement with the US and the acquisition of new war aircraft, as well as naval vessels, would bring more work and business for many people.
Propaganda value
The Canadian air shows described herein are forms of propaganda. John Pilger documented and exposed the system of disinformation and control of state and corporate media in his 2010 film, “The War you don’t See” John Pilger cites Edward Bernays, the man who literally wrote the books on Propaganda and Public Relations. “The intelligent manipulation of the masses is the invisible government, which is the true ruling power in our country,” says Pilger quoting Bernays. So began US psyops and the information war against the people.
Accompanying practices have been devised to control the media, including “in-bedded journalism” wherein journalists ride along with a US military unit, such as they did in Iraq and Afghanistan, and are fed a scripted story, rarely raising questions or exploring the perspective of the occupied. This is the story repeatedly told over television, radio, print and internet news.
The illusions and falsehoods influence attitudes towards national military forces in the imperialist homelands, if minds do not simply disconnect military faces and weaponry, including those exhibited at air shows, from the violence they regularly execute.
The Weakness of the Peace Movement
Aside from the typical complaints about noise, waste and traffic that arise with such big events, there are small forms of objections expressed to the air shows every year. For instance, the Canada-Wide Peace and Justice Network has produced statements against the Abbotsford and Toronto air shows and demonstrated at them. Their interventions, though generally welcomed by non-airshow goers, are very small. It is just hoped that the words will be heard and read to spread some peace education and raise questions.
The peace movement has experienced disorientation and confusion about events and parties to war themselves. They have been divided on understanding NATO’s Libya, Syria and Ukraine wars, for example, resulting in broken unity and failures to take principled action.
Veterans and a few others are persisting in speaking and protesting war and war trade exhibits while trying to stop and prevent ongoing wars and occupations.
The peace movement nevertheless has an urgent and big job to do. The danger of world war and nuclear war is very high today, and inaction will change nothing.
Editor’s note: The Canada Files is the country's only news outlet focused on Canadian foreign policy. We've provided critical investigations & hard-hitting analysis on Canadian foreign policy since 2019, and need your support.
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Barbara Waldern is a peace activist residing in Metro Vancouver, BC, who, holding a Masters in social science, has worked in international educational support services.
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