The Moose Jaw Municipal Airport Authority (MJMAA) continues to dream big in terms of maximizing the potential of the City of Moose Jaw-owned airport, which has received major upgrades over the past few years, including a runway extension, apron resurfacing, and hosting the province's first General Aviation and Career Fly-in Conference.
Several of those projects received funding from the Saskatchewan Community Airport Partnership (CAP).
Notably, the runway extension to 4,000 feet, completed in 2022, received nearly $1 million in provincial funding. That funding was added to federal grants, significant private investments, and contributions from the City of Moose Jaw, which owns the land and the airport, to raise the nearly $5 million cost of the extension.
CAP investments have limited eligibility: For an airport to qualify, it must be community-owned and regionally focused, and support economic development, access to surround communities, air ambulance and medevac operations, commercial operations, and aviation safety.
The Moose Jaw Municipal Airport has fulfilled every one of the criteria. MJMAA board chair Greg Simpson has noted in the past that improvements have hugely increased ease of access to Moose Jaw for air ambulance services and commercial operations, and have increased the ability of the airport to partner with nearby 15 Wing military flight training.
This year, the CAP program invested $850,000 in cost-shared grants to 21 community airports. Simpson confirmed the MJMAA had received $50,000 of that funding to help crack-seal the apron, taxiway, and runway. Crack-sealing will extend the lifespan of the new runway surface.
CAP applications for the 2024/25 period opened in early September. The announcement was made in Weyburn by Lori Carr, minister of highways, who also noted changes after a program review in consultation with communities and airport users.
"Communities have expressed the need for more time to tender crucial projects aimed at enhancing their airports, which play a vital role in providing essential transportation," Carr said. “These collaborative investments continue to lead to important upgrades and maintenance for our local airports.”
Grants are cost-shared up to a maximum amount of $275,000. CAP is designed to help offset safety-related improvements such as upgrades to runways and taxiways, lighting, security fencing, and navigational systems.
Simpson said that the MJMAA continues to plan improvements to the airport in the hopes of steadily increasing its economic, community, and recreational value to the region. He confirmed that Moose Jaw would again apply to CAP this year, and promised more information before the program deadline in October.
"We have more exciting news to announce in the next couple of weeks," Simpson said in an email. "It will be a historic event."
Since 2007-08, the CAP program has invested more than $10 million into 43 different community airports.
The application is now open until October 31. Interested communities can find out more about the program at saskatchewan.ca/residents/transportation/airports/community-airport-partnership-cap-program.
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