August 2026

 Here comes August and the dog days of summer. August is a month that holds my birthday and the supersonic flight of the Avro Arrow, which occurred on August 29th, 1958 over Ottawa, the sonic boom rattling windows throughout the city and frightening many dwellers. My birthday is also August 29th, but not 1958. It was a very exciting time for our nation. Less than six months later, after Prime Minister John Diefenbaker and President Dwight D. Eisenhower had a fishing trip together, the Avro Arrow was cancelled. The date was February 20^th, 1959, a day known in Canada as Black Friday. 

After WWII a significant number of very gifted aviation engineers came to Canada and the end result was a very advanced and capable long-range interceptor. Now I’m no conspiracy theorist, but I would have trouble swallowing that the USA had nothing to do with the cancellation. Canada had several countries interested in purchasing aspects of the Arrow as part of their military investments. Over 14,000 direct jobs and another 20,000 indirect jobs were lost.  More importantly Canada lost its place on the world stage as a leader in aircraft technology. All the talent Canada had attracted went….wait for it….to the USA. Win-win for the stars and stripes. 

I intended this as an opinion piece, not a history lesson. I just can’t help but imagine where Canada would be today if the Avro Arrow was taken to completion. The track we have followed has made us very dependant on the USA. I know it was only one project, but a very high profile one indeed. It could very well have laid the path for a Canada “can do” attitude in many areas of manufacturing and technology. Now we have a big hill to climb with the exposure of just how reliant we are on our southern neighbours.

Enjoy the rest of the summer, and I look forward to seeing everyone at our August meeting.

President Pat