CANADTAN AIRV\IAYS LIMITED THE UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA A THESIS PRESENTED TO THEFACULTYOFGRADUATESTIIDIESANDRESEARCH IN PARTTAL FULFILMENI- OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE MASTER OF ARTS BY SHIRLEY RENDER MARCH l-g9t+ \J !:'t i \; l: ' .,/ tΡ i'iJíii'1iT:'"r"gi\ l. I ¡l it ritt\9"" CANADIAN AIRI,]AYS LIMITED by Shirley Linda Render A thesis subnlittcd to tlrc Faculty oI Craduate Str¡dies of thc University of Manitoba in partial fulfillrnent oI the requirenrents of the degree oI MASTER OF ARTS s 1984 Pernrission has bee¡r grarrted to the LIBRARY OF THE UNIVER- SITY OF MANITOBA to lend or sell copies of this thesis. to the NATIONAL LIBRARY OF CANADA to microfilnr this thesis ar¡d to lend or sell copies of the film, and UNIVERSITY ÌvtICROFILMS to publish an abstract of this thesis. The author reserves other publicatio¡r rights, and neither the thesis nor extensive extracts fronr it may be printed or other- wise reproduced without the author's wrítte¡r perrrrission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT........ l_a ACKNOIIìILEDGMENTS o . !''' o o iv ABBREVTATIONS..O". vi INTRODUCTION..O'O'O' I CHAPTER AND MIITTARY AVTATION IN CANADA, I9l-9- 1O CIVIL 4 L93O..oo"""o aaaal 20 2 O ìiüESTERN CANADA AIRWAYS , L926-L93o.... 3" CANADIAN AIRVìIAYS LIMITED, I 930-L932 . 3t+ 4. PROB],EMS OF THE DEVET,OPING ATR TRANSPORT TNDUSTRY, L932-L937 o . aoo.a.a 56 BO 5. THE IRANS-CANADA CoMMTTTEE' rÐ3-L93t+ o o 6, MARKTNG TIME, L934-L935 . 101 7" THE LIBERALS AND THE AVTATION QUESTION, L935-L937 o . .' o'' o o o o' o'' l.20 B. THE DEMISE OF CANADTAN ATRVìIAYS ],TMITED' L937-L942 . r . o . .''' o' I5B o 190 9 CONCLUSTON .' o'' I' o'''' I a APPENDIX I" CANADIAN AIRWAYS ],IMTTED--BOARD OF DIRECT0RS''' o'''''''' 20I 2. TRAFFIC F]GURES--VÙESTERN CANADA AIRWAYS LIMITED AND CANADIAN AIRVüAYS T,IMTTED . O ' 203 S. GENERAL OFFICERS 0F TRANS-CANADA ATR LTNES INL937.'' t' o''''''' o I' 2oLt' 206 +" COMMERCIAL A]R OPERATORS IN CANADA' L939 BIBtrIOGRAPHY o o o .''' o''' t o o'' o' 208 ABSTRACT Transportation has occupied a major rol-e in the develop- ment of Canad.a. One facet of transportation that has not been adequately explored is that of aviatíon. This thesis examines the major problems of the air transport industry in the 1930s by focusing on Canadian Airways Limited, the largest avj-ation company of the period. Before dj-scussing Canadían Airways Limited, the thesís looks briefty at the civil and mititary aviation picture of the 1920s and the events leading to the formation of Canadian Airways Ln L93O. In particular, the role played by Western Canada Airways and. its fotnder, James A. Richardson, in lay- ing a solid basj-s for the new industry, is examined. This company, fouieded by Richardson in L926 to provide transporta- ti-on into the mining areas of northwestern Ontario, expanded quickly into northern and western Canada and proved that an aviation company could be a viable business. In f930, Richardson consol-idated the main aviation com- panies in Canada and formed Canadian Airways T,imited to pro- vide a trans-continental- aj-r system. Two years l-ater, its financial- basís was wiped out by the federal government. This happened because of the l-ack of government policy on airway development. IirJhy the government had no aviation policy and ii how this affected Canadian Airways are critically examined' Final]y, the reasons for the creati-on of the Trans-Canada Air Lines Ln L93?, its impact on canadian Airways Limited and the events leading to the decision to sell Canadian Airways are reviewed with regard to the economic and political factors of the day. The main sources of information were the papers of Major-General A.G.L. McNaughton, Chief of the Genera] Staff ; J. A. Wilson, Controller of Civil Aviation; and the Richardson papers pertaining to Vrlestern Canada Airways and Canadian Air- ways Limited. Vrihile the papers of Prime Minister Bennett, Prime Minister King, and C. D. Howe, the Minister of Trans- port, were also studied., they provided littl-e insight into the 'aviation question.' The most valuable Source of infor- mation was the Airways' papers. They furnished a detailed account of all phases of the companies' activities and their dealings with the government. III ACKNOI/ILEDGMENTS As with any project of this size, I arn indebted to a number of people for their assistance. First]y, there is Father Jensen who Suggested that I write on Canada's bush pilots. It was that initial paper which l-ed me to my pres- ent subject. Secondly, I would like to thank Professor J. Kendle who encouraged..me to undertake this project and offered support throughout the years of research. Thirdly' I am most grateful to hofessor J. E. Rea, my thesis advisor, who provided constructive criticism throughout the writing stage. I would al-so like to extend my thanks to the staffs at the Public Archi-ves of Manitoba and the Public Archives of Canad.a: in particular, to Margaret Mattson, GIen Wright, Tom Hillman and Ian McClymont for their efforts in finding some of my source material. My thanks also go to Gordon Lawson, J. L. Tackaberry and 'Punch' Dickins of Canadian Airways Limited who oblig- ingly searched their memories to help me fil-l- in the gaps from the written sources. Financial help from the university of Manitoba and the J. S. Ewart Memorial Fund made it possibl-e for me to spend time at the Public Archives of Canada in Qttawa. l-v Finally, I woul-d like to thank my children and mY husband, Doug' for their suPPort and encouragement. V ABBREVTATIONS CAL: Canadian Airways Limited CNR: Canadian National- Railway CPR: Canadian Pacific Railway DND: Department of National Defence DOT: Department of Transport PAC: Public Archives of Canada PAM: Public Archives of Manitoba RCAF: Royal Canadian Air Force TCA: Trans-Canada Air Lines VTICA: Western Canada Airways vl- TNTRODUCTION The economic, political- and social life of Canada has been closely interwoven with the technical advance of trans- portati-on. Indeed, it is doubtful- if the growth of any mod- ern nation has been so predicated on the progressi-ve growth of transport technology. The development of eastern Canada and subsequent unifj-cation with western Canada have been largely the result of the continuous expansion of surface transportation in the form of river, road and rail units' The northern part of Canad.a, however' remained practically inaccessible untíl- the advent of the airplane in the late plane equally ad.aptable f or use in summer L92Os. The bush ' or winter, was ideal for northeçn conditions and aircraft soon penetrated the interior oì nortrrern canada. This facet of transportation has not been closely studied. Vüith the exception of popular works on the ex- ploits of individual airmen, there are few secondary works on civil aviation in Canada. This lack of scholarl-y atten- tion does not detract from the importance of the subject' The aviation companies did not operate in a vacuum and the 'aviation questiono involved decisions that were pertinent to Canada's development at both the national and interna- tional levels. V[hi]e their problems in the L920s were I ¿ mainl-y technical- in nature, by the early r930s the expansion of the air operators had brought them into conflj-ct not only with each other but also with the federal- government. Through- out the ]930s, charges were levelted at the government by the air operators that the government had failed to provi-de ade- quate legislation for the support and regulatj-on of the com- mercial aviation companies and had failed to safeguard canada's position in international air matters' The purpose of this thesis is to study the early develop- ment of the air transport industry in canada and the events lea¿ing to the creation of Trans-Canada Air Lines and Canadian Pacific Air Lines. This will be handled by examining the tech- nical, economic and political problems encountered by Canadian Airways l,imited. canadian Airways has been chosen because it was the major aviation company ín Canada for the period con- cerned and its problems and its retationship with the federal government were typical of the other air operators' The time frame to be covered is from Lg3O to L942, the period in which Canadian AirwaYs oPerated. one point which quickly becomes apparent is that the Canadian government had no official policy regarding the development of the trans-canada airway in particular or com- mercj-al aviation in general. Unlike Great Britain or the United States, whích used commercial aviation to advance their national interests, the canadj-an government did not integrate its handting of aviation with its wider national needs' 3 Vùhile the growth of commercial- aviation in the North was continuous since L926, it was complicated by many problems. Few people realize the struggle waged by the air operators to place commercial aviation on a sound footing or the role played by James A. Richardson and Canadian Airways Limited. Tdea1ly, this thesis will provide a better understanding of the aviation picture in Canada in the thirties. CHAPTER ]- CIVIL AND MILITARY AVIATION IN CANADA, L9L9-I930 kior to vrlorld war 1, Canada had not reached the stage where control of aviation was necessary" Although the canadian contribution to the "war-in-the-air" was a notable one' the Canadian government had taken no direct part until the Summer of l9tg.1 AII active service ureits overseas and training bases in Canada were ureder the iurisdiction of the United Kingdom authorj-ties.