Rain fails to dampen spirits at North Bay’s Armed Forces Day

North Bay’s Armed Forces Day drew a crowd of thousands despite the rain. Events featured the final appearances of the Snowbirds in this form across the sky.

A wet start to Armed Forces Day did not deter hundreds of residents from gathering at the Lake Nipissing waterfront to honour Canadian military personnel and watch the Canadian Forces Snowbirds perform in what is scheduled to be their final season in their current iteration.

The annual event, now in its 14th year, recognizes the roughly 500 military personnel stationed at 22 Wing/Canadian Forces Base North Bay, including Royal Canadian Air Force members, civilians and approximately 25 U.S. Air Force personnel.

“I wanted to see them do a flip and turn around,” said Edison Bellgiroux, a Grade 3 student at M.T. Davidson Public School, as the iconic aerial demonstration team, the Snowbirds, zoomed overhead.

His older sister, Ellyn, told CTV News the moment carried extra weight for the community.

“I’m happy that the military is here because we know that we’re safe in this community,” she said.

‘It would not be the same, the city, if we didn’t have it here’

The base has been part of North Bay for 75 years, opening Sept. 1, 1951, as part of Canada’s national air defence network built in response to the Cold War threat from the Soviet Union. In 1963, Canada’s North American Air Defence Command underground complex opened in the city, engineered to withstand a four-megaton nuclear explosion and keep operating. The station was renamed CFB North Bay that same year and at one time was the world’s most advanced air defence flying training school.

At one point, the Canadian government considered moving the base, but the late MP Bob Wood played a key role in keeping the military installation in the city.

“It would not be the same, the city, if we didn’t have it here,” said Mayor Peter Chirico.

“We embrace the armed forces. We embrace the people that serve in our armed forces. They are a part of our community.”

On Armed Forces Day, personnel who normally work to protect North American airspace found themselves treated like celebrities, signing autographs on shirts, sweaters and scraps of paper.

“I’ve been out of the city for about 10 years and back for about a month. It’s really great to get out here and be around the people,” said 22 Wing/CFB Commander Col. Shawn Guilbault.

“The kids have questions. So, my members at 22 Wing love to be able to talk about what they do and what they’re doing in service of the nation.”

SkyHawks grounded by weather

The aerial parachute demonstration team, the SkyHawks, did not jump due to safety concerns over rainy weather, though they remained on hand to greet the public and take selfies.

Despite the drizzle, a crowd of about 2,000 people waving Canadian flags packed the waterfront, many of them students who have been learning about the military’s role in Canadian security and sovereignty.

“We’ve been learning about lots of world crises right now and the wars that are going on,” said Makenzie Cooper, a Grade 8 student at M.T. Davidson.

Veteran Bruce Hofferd, who served two tours of the Middle East with the Royal Canadian Air Force and was enlisted from 1967 to 1992, retiring as a master corporal, said he was proud to see the turnout. He was stationed at the Golan Heights, the strategically vital, resource-rich rocky plateau in southwestern Syria that was captured by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War and unilaterally annexed in 1981.

“The UN is still being supported by Canada,” Hofferd said.

“The kids are our future. Hopefully they’ll talk to some veterans or people in uniform and maybe some of them will come and join the Canadian Armed Forces.”

‘I’m just happy that I can be here’

With face painting and a chance to try on heavy military gear, helmets and a gas mask, attendees expressed a strong sense of patriotism.

“I’m just happy that I can be here and see all of this,” said Emi Cooper, a Grade 3 student from M.T. Davidson.

The event proved once again, as the mayor said, that the city and its people remain deeply proud of their nation’s service men and women.