Canadian Advanced Air Mobility Consortium launched to help integrate electric and hybrid VTOL aircraft across the country
The future of flight in Canada has taken a major step forward today (Wednesday), with the launch of the Canadian Advanced Air Mobility Consortium (CAAM), to help streamline research, development and commercial operations in the Advanced Air Mobility sector.
Initiated and created by Canadian Air Mobility and the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), the multi-stakeholder group currently has more than 20 partners, including TransLink, Helijet International, British Columbia Institute of Technology, the University of British Columbia, Bell Textron and Iskwew Air.
Among its objectives are to create an innovation hub to help small and medium-sized enterprises grow their technology from a low technology readiness level, to certification and commercialisation, while also expanding the AAM sector’s connections to regulators, manufacturers, aviation operators, infrastructure developers, academia, industry, and governments in Canada and across the world.
JR Hammond, Founder & CEO, Canadian Air Mobility and Executive Director of CAAM, said: “We’ve established an outstanding group of strategic members to support the design, integration, and implementation of Advanced Air Mobility in Canada.
“We look forward to demonstrating the economic viability, environmental benefits and social inclusivity factors of this technology and making Canada a world leader in AAM. To that end, we welcome additional members who share our vision that AAM provides the path toward a safer, healthier, and more efficient mode of transportation.”
In a press release announcing the launch, CAAM has said factors which make the Greater Vancouver area a promising market include: a strong aviation infrastructure base; an existing scheduled helicopter service, with heliports in Vancouver and nearby Victoria and Nanaimo and numerous science and transportation research facilities.
Other factors include the Province of British Columbia and City of Vancouver’s commitment to the decarbonisation of transportation; and the Pacific Northwest’s Cascadia corridor (Vancouver-Seattle-Portland), as one of the busiest routes for the movement of goods and people between Canada and the United States.

In addition to providing transportation within urban and rural areas, AAM aircraft will play a critical life-saving role in emergency response situations by enabling faster air transportation of medical supplies, blood, donor organs, or patients to and from hospitals. It will also improve the emergency response and assessment of natural disasters such as floods and wildfires.
Dr. Ibrahim Yimer, the NRC’s Vice-President of Transportation and Manufacturing, said: “The National Research Council of Canada is proud to be a part of the CAAM consortium since the start.
“We look forward to working with our 20 partners who are lending their expertise in the Advanced Air Mobility industry to decarbonise transportation, and create more efficient ways of moving people, goods and services and support more socially connected and integrated communities.”
The future of the new era in aviation means faster medevac services, upwards of 4.2 million AAM travellers over the next 20 years, traveling between downtown Seattle and downtown Vancouver in just one hour, expanding connections in remote communities and more
importantly, creating new jobs.
Canadian Advanced Air Mobility’s white paper which provides further detail on AAM’s missions and services for the Greater Vancouver Area, the Advanced Air Mobility Industry and the importance as well as why Vancouver was selected to be the first region in Canada.
CAAM is also hosting its next quarterly Digital Open House this Friday. October 30th from 10am to 12noon EDT, which will provide the public with an opportunity to connect with current stakeholders and learn more about the progress of AAM work in Canada.
For more information, please visit https://canadianaam.com/ for registration and future upcoming events.