by Jen Mallia
Last updated: 8:55 AM ET, Thu October 29, 2026
The Captain Judy Cameron Scholarship was created to honour Air Canada’s first woman pilot by helping other aspiring pilots to reach their goals.
“Air Canada is proud to continue investing in the people who will shape aviation’s future and to see former scholarship recipients advancing in their careers, including one of our first recipients who is now a pilot on an Airbus A330 at Air Canada,” said Murray Strom, Senior Vice President, Safety, Security & Flight Operations at Air Canada. “The Captain Judy Cameron Scholarship helps talented women access training, build confidence and pursue rewarding careers across our industry. We are excited to follow the next group of recipients as they move forward in this dynamic profession.”
Captain Judy Cameron was hired by Air Canada in 1978 after becoming the first woman to graduate from Selkirk College's Aviation Technology Program. Her 40-year career with the airline took her to every corner of the world at the helm of many different craft, including Air Canada’s largest: a Boeing 777 — the first woman to do so — she’s even been featured on a postage stamp. Since retiring in 2015, Captain Cameron has continued her volunteer work mentoring and supporting the next generation of pilots as the director of the Northern Lights Aero Foundation.
Air Canada launched the scholarship program in 2019 and was joined by CAE in 2023. This year, in partnership with the Northern Lights Aero Foundation, eight scholarships will be awarded to women in Canada who want to become commercial pilots or aircraft maintenance engineers. Scholarship recipients on the commercial pilot path may also be selected as ambassadors for CAE’s Women in Flight program.
“Aviation will need 300,000 new pilots by 2034, yet women make up only about 5% of commercial pilots today. If our industry is going to meet that demand, we need to inspire and enable a much broader pool of talent to see aviation as a career for them,” said Samantha Golinski, Senior Vice President, Communications at CAE. “That’s what the Captain Judy Cameron Scholarship program is about: opening doors, creating role models and helping more women see a path to the flight deck. We’re proud to work with Air Canada to help build the next generation of aviation talent.”
Applications open Nov. 1, 2026. The application form is available here.
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