Elevate Aviation 2023 Cross Country Tour

EVENT DATES

The Cross Country Tour will visit 24 locations from coast to coast.

14 MARCH: Fort St. John, BC

15 MARCH: Charlottetown, PEI CFB Cold Lake, AB Whitehorse, YT

16 MARCH: Calgary, AB Moncton, NB

17 March: CFB Winnipeg, MB Edmonton, AB Ottawa, ON Saint John, NB Yellowknife, NT

20 MARCH: CFB Gander, NL North Bay, ON Toronto, ON Victoria, BC

21 MARCH: Kelowna, BC Kitchener-Waterloo, ON Halifax, NS

22 MARCH: CFB Goose Bay, Labrador Hamilton, ON London, ON Vancouver, BC

23 MARCH: CFB Trenton, ON

TBA: Montreal, QC Iqaluit, NU

Between March 14 and 23, 2023, Elevate Aviation is hosting their 7th Annual Cross Country Tour. This year we will showcase 96 guest speakers across 24 Canadian cities made possible by a team of over 300 volunteers. The Elevate Aviation Cross Country Tour empowers youth to consider a career in aviation through inspirational presentations and behind the scenes tours by women in aviation.

Each tour day is free of charge and features incredible guest speakers, lunch, and behind the scenes tours of the airport. Participants will hear from pilots, air traffic controllers, aerospace engineers, aircraft mechanics, and other industry professionals.

Elevate Aviation is a not-forprofit based out of Edmonton, AB with a mission to help women and underrepresented groups thrive and succeed through careers in aviation. The Cross Country Tour began in 2015 to introduce aviation careers to Canadians from coast to coast. 2023 marks the return of in person tours, as public health restrictions forced the tours to be moved online from 2020-2022.

With the aviation industry facing massive shortages, now is the time to promote careers. “The Cross Country Tour is one of our most important programs,” said Kendra

Kincade, President and CEO of Elevate Aviation. “When young girls see women as pilots, air traffic controllers, engineers, and mechanics, they then start to picture themselves in that career.”

Currently women make up only 6% of private pilots in Canada and fewer than 5% of all airline transport pilot license holders are female. Female mechanics make up less-than 2% of mechanics worldwide and women hold only 15% of jobs as Air Traffic Controllers in Canada.

“By reaching out to youth, Elevate Aviation's Cross Country Tour is helping to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in the aviation industry by encouraging the next generation of female pilots, engineers, and aviation professionals", said Emily Reiman, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Elevate Aviation and CoDirector of the 2023 Cross Country Tour. “We hope to demonstrate to the students that the future of women in aviation is limitless.”

For more information and to register please visit: https://elevateaviation.vca/ programs/tours/

ABOUT ELEVATE AVIATION

Our mission is to provide a platform for women and underrepresented groups to thrive and succeed through careers in aviation. Our vision is to be a primary provider of aviation career support for women, working alongside industry professionals to promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

Elevate Aviation has several programs in place to assist women in becoming successful in the challenging and rewarding aviation industry, including Junior Jets (an introduction to aviation program for kids ages 5-10), ACE (an Aviation Career Exploration program targeted to youth and women to discover aviation careers), and many more.

There are also numerous other events, such as the Cross-Country Tour, speaking engagements, and a mentorship program.

Bursaries are also available for women in Canada who show exceptional potential and require financial assistance throughout training are eligible for our bursaries. Since 2015 we have awarded over $50,000.

For more information, please visit: elevateaviation.ca, or follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Linkedin, or Facebook.