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International Context The First Aerial Companies

Mail being loaded
Mail being loaded in the front hold of a Trans-Canada Air Lines Lockheed in Winnipeg, April, 1940. The company inaugurated the transcontinental mail service between Vancouver and Montreal.
Courtesy of National Archives of Canada, C-71132


Aviation was so successul in Canada that aerial companies were plentiful. Small regional companies, scattered across the country, transported mail and a variety of merchandise. In 1937, with a view to building a transcontinental aerial network, the Canadian government created Trans-Canada Air Lines (TCA). The company later became Air Canada in 1965.

Mail being loaded
Mail being loaded on board a Trans-Canada Air Lines plane in Toronto, ca. 1940.
Courtesy of National Archives of Canada, PA-143521


Canadian Airways Ltd. started as a bush flying service. In 1941, Canadian Airways Ltd. is amalgamate with other airline companies and bought by Canadian Pacific Railway. It becomes the Canadian Pacific Airway. The last transformation happen in 1986 with the birth of Canadian Airlines International.

Trans-Canada Air Lines plane.
Trans-Canada Air Lines plane.
Courtesy of National Archives of Canada, PA 130739




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