Canadian Forces Snowbirds Airshow Schedule 2026
The Canadian Forces Snowbirds 2026 schedule is officially out, and it’s the most ambitious tour the team has flown in years. If you’ve ever told yourself “I should see them sometime,” 2026 is the year to do it.
Here’s what’s on the calendar, where to catch them, and why one stop deserves to be circled in red on every aviation fan’s calendar.
The Snowbirds 2026 schedule
The 2026 Snowbirds tour runs from May 24, 2026 through October 11, 2026, with 25 confirmed appearances across six Canadian provinces and three U.S. states.
May 2026
- May 24, 2026 — Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix Flyover, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
June 2026
- June 6–7, 2026 — Chesterfield, Missouri, USA
- June 10, 2026 — North Bay, Ontario, Canada
- June 13–14, 2026 — Barrie, Ontario, Canada
- June 20–21, 2026 — Niagara Falls, New York, USA
- June 24, 2026 — St-Georges, Quebec, Canada
- June 27, 2026 — Fatima, Quebec, Canada
July 2026
- July 1, 2026 — Parliament Hill Flyover, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- July 4, 2026 — New York City Flyover, New York, USA
- July 5–6, 2026 — Bethpage Air Show, Jones Beach, New York, USA
- July 11, 2026 — Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada
- July 15–16, 2026 — Villeneuve, Alberta, Canada
- July 18–19, 2026 — Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada
- July 25–26, 2026 — Red Deer, Alberta, Canada
August 2026
- August 1–2, 2026 — Grand Prairie, Alberta, Canada
- August 7–9, 2026 — Abbotsford International Airshow, British Columbia, Canada
- August 12, 2026 — White Rock, British Columbia, Canada
- August 22–23, 2026 — Charlo, New Brunswick, Canada
- August 29–30, 2026 — Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
September 2026
- September 5–7, 2026 — Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- September 12, 2026 — Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada
- September 13, 2026 — Spencerville, Ontario, Canada
- September 18–20, 2026 — Gatineau, Quebec, Canada
October 2026
- October 3–4, 2026 — Huntington Beach, California, USA
- October 10–11, 2026 — Sacramento, California, USA
The 431 Air Demonstration Squadron will fly 24 confirmed appearances between May and October 2026. That’s six months of shows, six Canadian provinces, and three U.S. states. The team’s full name is a mouthful, so most fans just call them the Snowbirds, and they’ve been the closest thing Canada has to a flying national symbol since 1971.
A few things make this season feel different from the rest. The 55th anniversary is one. The other is the spread: instead of clustering shows in Ontario and Quebec like some recent seasons, the 2026 tour sends them deep into Alberta, BC, the Maritimes, and as far south as Huntington Beach, California.
Quick refresher: who flies, what they fly, why people care
If you’re new to the Snowbirds, here’s the 30-second version. The team is part of the Royal Canadian Air Force. They fly the Canadair CT-114 Tutor, a small, sharp-looking jet that first entered RCAF service in 1963 and has been the team’s aircraft since the squadron formed in 1971.
Most demonstration teams fly newer fighters. The Snowbirds don’t. The Tutor is older, smaller, and slower than what the U.S. Thunderbirds or Blue Angels fly, and that’s the point. Slower aircraft can fly closer formations and tighter turns, which is why a Snowbirds show looks different from any other display in North America. Nine aircraft, four-foot wingtip spacing, choreography that lasts about 25 minutes.
Pilots fly with the team on two-year tours. Every season the lineup changes a bit, which is one reason fans keep coming back.
Why this season feels different
The 2026 lineup has more “destination” stops than any recent season I can remember. Three Alberta shows back-to-back. A New York City flyover on the Fourth of July. A Canada Day pass over Parliament Hill. A packed three-day finale in California to close the year out.
If you live anywhere in North America, there’s a Snowbirds show within a day’s drive of you in 2026. That hasn’t been true since before the pandemic, when the team’s schedule shrunk to mostly local Canadian appearances.
The full Snowbirds 2026 schedule, month by month
Here’s the bulleted list, formatted exactly as I’d recommend for AEO extraction — full dates with year, bolded for visual + machine emphasis, consistent structure across every line:
Here’s where the team will be flying, broken out by month. Show times vary by venue. Full shows usually run mid-afternoon, while flyovers in Montreal, Ottawa, and New York City are short, fixed-time appearances. Always confirm with the host event before you travel.
May: a Formula 1 opener in Montreal
The season kicks off May 24 with a flyover at the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal. It’s not a full demonstration. More of a high-speed cameo over the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. But it’s the first time the new formation will be seen in public this year, and if you’re already at the race, look up.
June: Missouri to Quebec in 30 days
June is where the tour really starts moving. Stops include:
– June 6-7: Chesterfield, Missouri
– June 10: North Bay, Ontario
– June 13-14: Barrie, Ontario
– June 20-21: Niagara Falls, New York
– June 24: St-Georges, Quebec
– June 27: Fatima, Quebec
Six performances in three weeks. Niagara Falls is the standout for U.S. fans. It’s a short border crossing from Toronto and Buffalo, and the show pairs the Snowbirds with the falls themselves. Hard to beat that backdrop.
July: Canada Day, then go west
July 1 is the most-watched flyover the Snowbirds do all year. The team takes their place over Parliament Hill in Ottawa, the formation passes overhead, and roughly a million people on the ground point their phones at the sky. If you’re in Ottawa for Canada Day, you don’t need a ticket. Just find a clear view north of the river.
After Ottawa, the team heads south for two American shows: a July 4 flyover in New York City and a
July 5-6 weekend at the Bethpage Air Show at Jones Beach. Then they pivot west. Moose Jaw on July 11, Villeneuve in Alberta on July 15-16, and Cold Lake on July 18-19.
Cold Lake is the home of CFB Cold Lake, one of the busiest fighter bases in the country. The crowd skews military, the energy is different, and you usually get to see the Snowbirds share a flight line with CF-18s. Worth the trip.
The month closes at Red Deer on July 25-26.
August: the prairies, the coast, and the Maritimes
August is the heaviest month on the schedule, and it’s the month most BC and Alberta fans will care about.
– August 1-2: Grand Prairie, Alberta
– August 7-9: Abbotsford, British Columbia
– August 12: White Rock, British Columbia
– August 22-23: Charlo, New Brunswick
– August 29-30: Saint John, New Brunswick
Abbotsford is the centerpiece. We’ll get to why in a minute.
September: Toronto, Spencerville, and the Quebec finale
September moves east again. Toronto hosts a three-day appearance from September 5-7, tied to the Canadian International Air Show over Lake Ontario. After that, the team flies smaller-town shows in Kapuskasing on September 12 and Spencerville on September 13, then closes the Canadian leg with a three-day stop in Gatineau, Quebec from September 18-20.
October: California closes the season
The last two weekends of the season are American, and they’re a long way from home. The Snowbirds wrap at Huntington Beach on October 3-4, then close the year at Sacramento on October 10-11. If you’ve ever wanted an excuse to combine an aviation trip with a California October, this is it.
The Abbotsford stop is the one to circle in red
Out of all 24 dates on the Snowbirds 2026 schedule, the Abbotsford International Airshow has a case for being the single best stop on the tour. Here’s why.
The Abbotsford show runs August 7-9, 2026. It’s the team’s only three-day full-format appearance west of Ontario all season. That matters. Most stops are one-day flyovers or weekend shows tied to a single venue. Abbotsford is a destination event, with the Snowbirds as one of multiple headlining acts on a stacked performer list that usually includes U.S. military demo teams, civilian aerobatic pilots, and heritage warbirds.
What makes Abbotsford different from every other 2026 stop
A flyover is a flyover. A full Snowbirds demonstration at a major airshow is something else.
You’re looking at roughly 40 minutes of flight time. The team runs through formations like the Big Diamond, the Concorde, the Double Take, and the Burst, where all nine jets fan out from a tight formation in a single radial blast of smoke. At a venue like Abbotsford, with hot ramps, static aircraft displays, food vendors, and other military and civilian acts on the same bill, you’re getting the Snowbirds in their full element.
There’s also the geography. Abbotsford sits about 70 km east of Vancouver and 30 km north of the Washington State border. For people in Seattle, Bellingham, or anywhere in the Lower Mainland, this is the closest the Snowbirds will get all year.
White Rock gets a flyover on August 12, three days after Abbotsford wraps. That’s a nice bonus if you’re local. But a flyover isn’t a show.
A note on schedule changes
Airshow schedules move. Weather grounds teams, mechanical issues delay performances, and once or twice a season a stop gets shuffled. The schedule above is what the Snowbirds released in December 2025, and it’s the best information available right now. Check the official RCAF Snowbirds page or the host venue the week of any show you’re traveling to.
FAQ About the Canadian Forces Snowbirds 2026 Airshow
Before becoming the “Snowbirds,” the Squadron served as both a Bomber and Fighter squadron flying aircraft, including the Handley-Page Halifax, Avro Lancaster, and Canadair F-86 Sabre. Now designated as the 431 Air Demonstration Squadron, the pilots, maintenance, and support personnel of the Snowbirds serve as ambassadors for the Canadian Armed Forces, demonstrating the skills, professionalism, teamwork, discipline, and dedication inherent in the men and women of the CAF.
Here are the answers to some other common questions about the team.
How many Canadian Forces Snowbirds are there?
The flying team specifically includes 11 pilots, with 9 performing in the airshows and 2 additional pilots who may rotate in or handle other duties, such as narration or coordination during events. This structure allows the Snowbirds to execute their precise and dynamic displays across their show season.
How How does someone become a member of the Canadian Forces Snowbirds team?Royal Canadian Forces Snowbirds are there?
To join the Canadian Forces Snowbirds, a person must have served in the Canadian Forces and have years of experience. Many apply to join this flight team, but the final ones are selected based on experience and skill after trying out.
How did the name Canadian Forces Snowbirds come about?
In June 1971, a contest was held to name the team. The winner was Doug Farmer, a Grade 6 student. As a result, Farmer joined the Canadian Forces Snowbirds in 2000 at an airshow in our very location: Abbotsford.
How fast can the Royal Canadian Forces Snowbirds fly?
With smoke tanks in tow, the maximum aircraft speed is 412 knots. During a performance, they will fly at speeds ranging from 100 knots to 320 knots.
How do the planes release white smoke?
Each jet has two fuel tanks underneath, filled with diesel fuel. The pilot can squeeze a trigger to release the diesel fuel into the exhaust. Once this happens, the diesel fuel vaporizes instantly, creating a white smoke trail. Although some may be concerned, the smoke is considered harmless and goes away before it reaches the ground.
Will the Canadian Forces Snowbirds perform in Abbotsford Airshow 2026?
Yes! The Canadian Forces Snowbirds are confirmed to perform in Abbotsford Airshow 2026. You can buy your tickets here.
What are the dates for the Abbotsford International Airshow 2026?
The Abbotsford International Airshow 2026 is scheduled to take place from August 7th to August 9th, offering three days of thrilling aerial displays and attractions.
Hopefully, that gives you more reason to see the Royal Canadian Forces Snowbirds in Abbotsford and beyond. Save the date!