Canadian Helicopters Limited

Canadian Helicopters Limited is a Canadian helicopter operator whose executive office is at Edmonton International Airport in Alberta. It traces its roots to 1947, when a predecessor called Okanagan Air Services, which operated the first commercially licensed helicopter in Canada, used a single light helicopter to spray insecticide on fruit tree orchards in British Columbia. Through mergers and acquisitions it grew into what the company describes as the largest helicopter operator in Canada.

Services

• Helicopter operations: personnel and cargo transportation for industries around the world, including seismic surveys, aerial lift for construction, forest fire suppression and support for high voltage transmission line projects
• Military support and Antarctic operations
• Maintenance support: helicopter maintenance, repair and overhaul
• Topflight flight training, from recurrent training to advanced flight techniques, plus maintenance training

Its history page lists clients in oil and gas, mineral exploration, military support, hydro and utilities, forest management, construction, air ambulance and search and rescue. In July 2026 the company announced a 25 year contract with SkyAlyne for the Future Aircrew Training rotary wing program.

Fleet

• Single engine: Airbus EC120B, AS350 B2, B3 and B3e, and Bell 407
• Twin engine: Sikorsky S76 variants, Bell 212, Bell 412 EP and Sikorsky S61N, which carries 26 passengers

Company facts

• Roots in 1947 in Penticton, British Columbia
• Listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange from 2005 until it was taken private in 2017
• Bases in British Columbia, Alberta, Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Manitoba, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador
• Topflight flight school in Penticton, British Columbia