Canadian North


Bradley Air Services, operating as Canadian North, is a Canadian airline headquartered in Kanata, Ontario, Canada. It operates scheduled passenger services to communities in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and the Nunavik region of Quebec, as well as southern destinations such as Edmonton and Ottawa. It also has an interlining agreement with Air Greenland.

History

Canadian North was established in 1989 as a subsidiary of Canadian Airlines International, specifically to serve northern Canadian communities' needs. The airline traces its roots to former operators Nordair in eastern Canada and the Canadian Arctic, and Pacific Western Airlines in western Canada and also in the Canadian Arctic. Wardair also maintained a significant Arctic presence during its existence.
In September 1998, Norterra purchased Canadian North, whose ownership was divided equally among the Inuvialuit Development Corporation, representing the Inuvialuit people of the western Canadian Arctic, and Nunasi Corporation, representing the Inuit of Nunavut.
After utilizing three different livery schemes, Canadian North adopted its final pre-merger logo in 2003. Its logo displayed three of the distinctive symbols of the North: the polar bear, the midnight sun and the Northern Lights. Canadian North's slogan was changed from "Your North. Your Airline" to "seriously northern", with advertising changed to reflect different aspects of the company.
In June 2007, Canadian North began serving the Kitikmeot communities of Gjoa Haven, Taloyoak, Kugaaruk, and Kugluktuk. In April 2008, flights began to seven communities in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut.
On 1 April 2014, the Inuvialuit Development Corporation, representing the Inuvialuit of the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, bought the 50% share of Norterra held by Nunasi. The purchase of Nunasi's interest in Norterra gave the IDC complete control of Canadian North, Northern Transportation Company, and other companies that were jointly-held. On 11 April 2014, Norterra and Makivvik, owners of First Air announced that they were in negotiations to merge the two airlines. According to a website that had been set up on that same day, the new airline would be owned equally between the two companies and "a merger would create a stronger, more sustainable business, provide better service to customers and lead to new economic development opportunities across the North. We believe the two companies would complement each other's strengths." In October 2014, it was announced the merger would not go through, but Canadian North would still codeshare on some flights with First Air until 16 May 2017. On 23 February 2017, the Inuvialuit Development Corporation announced that arrangements had been concluded to transfer ownership of Canadian North directly into Inuvialuit Development Corporation.
File:Canadian North 737-200 parked at Yellowknife Airport in Northwest Territories.jpg|thumb|left|A former Canadian North Boeing 737-200 at Yellowknife Airport in 2023. The metal bar under the engine forms part of the gravel kit.
Bradley Air Services, later operating under the trade name First Air, was founded by Canadian aviation pioneer Russel Bradley, and started operations in 1946. Beginning as a flying school in Ottawa, Ontario, and moving in the fall of 1946 to Carp, Ontario, First Air started scheduled operations in 1973 between Ottawa and North Bay, Ontario. This service was operated with an eight-seat passenger plane.
In 1979, Bradley acquired the routes and some aircraft from Survair, which itself had taken over the smaller Arctic community routes from Nordair Arctic, which was itself derived from the main airline, Nordair. Future Bradley acquisitions included Ptarmigan Airways, and later NWT Air, both Yellowknife based.
On 28 September 2018, Makivvik Corporation and the Inuvialuit Corporate Group signed a definitive agreement to merge Canadian North and First Air, again awaiting federal government approval. The new airline would use the new First Air livery, but would operate under the name "Canadian North". On 19 June 2019, the federal government gave approval to the merger provided several terms and conditions were met.
On 1 November 2019, First Air and Canadian North completed the merger and combined schedules into one, using the code 5T, dropping First Air's 7F code as well as the name but keeping the livery. In early 2021 the call signs "First Air" and "Empress" were retired and the combined airline began operating as 5T / AKT, call sign "Arctic."
As of 18 December 2021, operations are now under the Canadian North name with a new livery.
Canadian North confirmed in December 2022 that it was to retire its last Boeing 737-200 by early 2023, replacing it with turboprop aircraft with similar gravel runway capabilities. The aircraft made its last scheduled flight with passengers on 6 May 2023.
In 2024, Canadian North began an interline partnership with Air Greenland, with Canadian North providing timed connections for passengers travelling from Kuujjuaq, Montreal and Ottawa to Air Greenland's once-weekly flight between Nuuk and Iqaluit.
On 24 February 2025, Makivvik and the Inuvialuit Development Corporation announced that Canadian North was sold to Winnipeg-based Exchange Income Corporation for $205 million; the sale was approved by regulatory authorities. On July 2, it was announced that the transaction had been completed.

Destinations

As of 5 August 2025, Canadian North services 28 domestic scheduled destinations:
Province/territoryCityAirportNotes
AlbertaEdmontonEdmonton International AirportSouthern gateway
ManitobaWinnipegWinnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport
Northwest TerritoriesFort SimpsonFort Simpson Airport
Northwest TerritoriesHay RiverHay River/Merlyn Carter Airport
Northwest TerritoriesInuvikInuvik Airport
Northwest TerritoriesNorman WellsNorman Wells Airport
Northwest TerritoriesUlukhaktokUlukhaktok/Holman Airport
Northwest TerritoriesYellowknifeYellowknife Airport
NunavutArctic BayArctic Bay Airport
NunavutCambridge BayCambridge Bay Airport
NunavutClyde RiverClyde River Airport
NunavutGjoa HavenGjoa Haven Airport
NunavutGrise FiordGrise Fiord Airport
NunavutIgloolikIgloolik Airport
NunavutIqaluitIqaluit Airport
NunavutKimmirutKimmirut Airport
NunavutKinngaitKinngait Airport
NunavutKugaarukKugaaruk Airport
NunavutKugluktukKugluktuk Airport
NunavutPangnirtungPangnirtung Airport
NunavutPond InletPond Inlet Airport
NunavutQikiqtarjuaqQikiqtarjuaq Airport
NunavutRankin InletRankin Inlet Airport
NunavutResoluteResolute Bay Airport
NunavutSanirajakSanirajak Airport
NunavutTaloyoakTaloyoak Airport
OntarioOttawaOttawa Macdonald–Cartier International AirportSouthern gateway
QuebecKuujjuaqKuujjuaq Airport

Former destinations

Province/territoryCityAirportNotes
AlbertaCalgaryCalgary International Airport
OntarioTorontoToronto Pearson International Airport
QuebecMontrealMontréal–Trudeau International Airport

Charter operations

Canadian North offers charters to anywhere, non-stop flights in continental North America and maintain charter terminals at Calgary and Edmonton.

Interline agreements

Current fleet

Over time the registration of the fleet has moved from Canadian North to Bradley Air Services., the fleet consists of 34 aircraft all registered to Bradley Air Services.

Retired fleet

Aircraft previously operated include:
Canadian North uses Up Here as their inflight magazine.

Corporate affairs

The company headquarters are in Kanata, Ontario, the former First Air HQ.
Canadian North had its headquarters in the Northwest Tower, in downtown Yellowknife. They were later moved to the grounds of Calgary International Airport in Calgary, Alberta but the airline kept its community and marketing support employees in Yellowknife. In addition it has regional offices in Iqaluit, Nunavut, and in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. It also has an operations office in Edmonton, Alberta, on the grounds of Edmonton International Airport. Following the takeover by First Air, the former headquarters in Calgary was shut down and remaining management was transferred to Kanata.