• Eight scholarships will be awarded to young Canadian women studying to become commercial pilots or maintenance engineers
• Four aspiring commercial pilots to become CAE Women in Flight ambassadors
• Scholarship applications open as of November 1, 2024 here
Captain Judy Cameron with 2024 scholarship recipients from Air Canada, CAE and The Northern Lights Foundation.
Air Canada and CAE, two Montreal-based global aviation companies, proudly continue their collaboration to foster the next generation of women in non-traditional airline careers through the Captain Judy Cameron Scholarship. Today, they announced that applications for the 2025 edition of the Scholarship will open on November 1, 2024.
Up to eight young Canadian women studying to become commercial pilots or aircraft maintenance engineers will be awarded scholarships to pursue their training in 2025. Of the eight, four recipients training to be commercial pilots will join the CAE Women in Flight program as ambassadors.
“As we go into our sixth year of the Captain Judy Cameron Scholarships, I am proud to see that past recipients are now first officers and flight instructors from across Canada. Meeting scholarship recipients at the Northern Lights Aero Foundation gala each year is the highlight of the evening for me. These young women are the future of aviation. They have not only shown determination and excellence in their training, but they have also encouraged other women by mentoring and volunteering. Thanks to Air Canada and to CAE for supporting them in their journey,” said Judy Cameron, Boeing 777 Captain at Air Canada (retired), and Director, Northern Lights Aero Foundation.
“At Air Canada, we are incredibly proud of the strides taken by the past recipients of the distinguished Captain Judy Scholarship. This initiative is important as we continue our work developing and supporting the next generation of aviation professionals. The success of this scholarship is already being seen, with past recipients achieving their goals of becoming pilots or Aircraft Maintenance Engineers,” said Murray Strom, Senior Vice President, Flight Operations and Maintenance at Air Canada.
“Attracting more women to a career in the flight deck is a priority for CAE’s Women in Flight program, especially with the need for 63,000 commercial pilots in North America by 2032. We are proud to play a part in broadening the appeal of aviation careers and supporting underrepresented groups with initiatives like the Captain Judy Scholarship for aspiring women pilots. As CAE Women in Flight Ambassadors, CAE’s scholarship recipients will also serve as role models to the young women who will form the next generation of aviation professionals.” said Marie-Christine Cloutier, CAE’s Vice-President, Performance, Strategy and Marketing.
The annual Captain Judy Cameron Scholarships, established in honour of Air Canada’s first female pilot to help foster the next generation of women following in her trailblazing footsteps, are awarded in conjunction with the Northern Lights Aero Foundation.
The Captain Judy Cameron scholarships were launched in 2019 and initially awarded to four recipients. In 2023, Air Canada and CAE joined forces to double the number of recipients and award eight scholarships to eligible students.
Scholarship applications open on November 1, 2024, here.
Judy Cameron became the first female pilot hired by Air Canada, Canada's largest airline, in April 1978 at the age of 23. She was the first woman to graduate from Selkirk College's Aviation Technology Program in 1975. Throughout her flying career of 40 years and over 23,000 hours, she has flown the DC-3, Twin Otter, Hawker Siddeley 748, DC-9, Lockheed 1011, Airbus 320, Boeing 767 and Boeing 777 to the far corners of the world. She became a captain in 1997 and in 2010, she became the first female captain in Canada of a Boeing 777, the largest aircraft in Air Canada's fleet. She retired in 2015, received the Elsie MacGill Northern Lights award in the Flight Operations category that year, and in 2016 she was chosen by the 99s (International Organization of Women Pilots) to be on its Canadian postage stamp. Today, Captain Cameron continues her volunteer work mentoring and supporting the next generation of female pilots with the Northern Lights Aero Foundation.
Air Canada proudly launched the Captain Judy Cameron Scholarship in her honour in 2019.
CAE's Women in Flight Ambassador program is helping create a movement to encourage young girls and women to dream big and have no limits. As only five percent of pilots worldwide are women, this program is geared to show women that they too can reach for the sky. The goal of the program is to build a community of ambassadors who demonstrate leadership skills, active involvement in their communities, perseverance, who are passionate about aviation, and
inspire women to join the pilot profession.
Launched in 2018, the Women in Flight Ambassador program was expanded in July 2022 to include partnerships with more airline customers to increase the number of scholarships given.
This is a co-branded program in which CAE is partnering with airline customers globally to create women pilot ambassadors via scholarships ranging from partially funded to fully funded pilot training.
To learn more about the program, go to CAE Women in Flight Ambassador Program | CAE
Air Canada is Canada's largest airline, the country’s flag carrier and a founding member of Star Alliance, the world's most comprehensive air transportation network. Air Canada provides scheduled service directly to more than 180 airports in Canada, the United States and Internationally on six continents. It holds a Four-Star ranking from Skytrax. Air Canada’s Aeroplan program is Canada’s premier travel loyalty program, where members can earn or redeem points on the world’s largest airline partner network of 45 airlines, plus through an extensive range of merchandise, hotel and car rental partners. Through Air Canada Vacations, it offers more travel choices than any other Canadian tour operator to hundreds of destinations worldwide, with a wide selection of hotels, flights, cruises, day tours, and car rentals. Its freight division, Air Canada Cargo, provides air freight lift and connectivity to hundreds of destinations across six continents using Air Canada’s passenger and freighter aircraft. Air Canada aims to achieve an ambitious net zero emissions goal from all global operations by 2050. Air Canada shares are publicly traded on the TSX in Canada and the OTCQX in the US.
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At CAE, we equip people in critical roles with the expertise and solutions to create a safer world. As a technology company, we digitalize the physical world, deploying software-based simulation training and critical operations support solutions. Above all else, we empower pilots, cabin crew, maintenance technicians, airlines, business aviation operators, and defence and security forces to perform at their best every day and when the stakes are the highest. Around the globe, we’re everywhere customers need us to be with approximately 13,000 employees in more than 240 sites and training locations in over 40 countries. CAE represents more than 75 years of industry firsts—the highest-fidelity flight and mission simulators as well as training programs powered by digital technologies. We embed sustainability in everything we do. Today and tomorrow, we’ll make sure our customers are ready for the moments that matter.
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