Gladu sees broad economic future for Sarnia airport

Marilyn Gladu urged Sarnia to look beyond the return of scheduled passenger flights and pursue growing aviation markets including AI-assisted training, drone manufacturing, wildfire suppression, border security and specialized cargo.

Marilyn Gladu believes Sarnia’s airport should compete for the aviation economy now taking shape, not simply wait for the return of services the community once had.

Speaking at a COPA Flight 7 gathering Tuesday, the Sarnia—Lambton—Bkejwanong MP outlined opportunities involving artificial-intelligence-assisted flight training, drone manufacturing and operations, wildfire suppression, border security, cargo and commercial aviation.

Her central argument was that the success of Sarnia Chris Hadfield Airport should not be measured by a single question: whether a scheduled passenger airline returns.

Instead, Gladu presented the airport as economic infrastructure capable of supporting several complementary industries, each potentially producing activity, employment, leases and demand for local services.

Gladu, who is now the Liberal MP for Sarnia—Lambton—Bkejwanong, told the audience that she spent approximately 32 years working in engineering before entering Parliament. She was first elected federally in 2015.

She recalled arriving in Sarnia before she had ever travelled aboard an aircraft, then spending much of her engineering career flying across Canada for work.

Rather than focus only on recreating that earlier transportation system, Gladu encouraged the airport’s new leadership to consider the technologies and markets now changing aviation.

One of the opportunities she emphasized was pilot training supported by artificial intelligence and advanced simulators.

AI-assisted training systems can assess performance, deliver immediate feedback and help instructors identify areas where individual students require more work. Canadian aviation company CAE is already developing adaptive-learning systems, AI coaching and mixed-reality training tools for military and emerging civilian aviation markets.

Simulators also allow pilots to practise emergencies, equipment failures and difficult operating conditions repeatedly without recreating those risks in an aircraft.

Transport Canada assesses and approves simulators and flight-training devices that meet its requirements for recognized pilot training.

For Sarnia, Gladu’s idea could extend beyond purchasing a simulator for an existing flying school.

An advanced training centre could potentially support private and commercial pilots, recurrent instruction, drone operators and emerging aircraft technologies throughout the year, including during weather that limits practical flying.

It would also build upon an industry already present at the airport. Sarnia Chris Hadfield Airport has offered flight training for decades and presently advertises a Transport Canada-licensed flight school alongside refuelling, maintenance, de-icing and ground-handling services.

Gladu also spoke extensively about drones.

Her discussion went well beyond the small aircraft commonly associated with photography. She raised the possibility of manufacturing aircraft or components locally, leasing airport space to drone companies, training operators and basing systems used by governments, emergency services and industry.

Possible applications included military work, border surveillance and large-scale wildfire suppression.

Gladu described heavy drones capable of carrying and dropping fire-suppression material. She did not name a particular company, but the type of technology she discussed is already being actively developed in British Columbia.

FireSwarm Solutions is developing autonomous heavy-lift drone systems capable of carrying approximately 350 kilograms. The systems are intended to detect hotspots and conduct precise water drops, including in remote locations and at night, when conventional crewed aircraft can face additional limitations. The project remains active and has received $500,000 in backing from NorthX Climate Tech.

FireSwarm is not an identified prospect for Sarnia. Its work nevertheless demonstrates that large-scale firefighting drones are a genuine emerging industry rather than a distant or purely theoretical idea.

Gladu suggested Sarnia could compete for several parts of the broader sector, including manufacturing, testing, maintenance, operator training and airport leases.

Federal policy is also creating a larger Canadian market.

The National Research Council’s Drone Innovation Hub is backed by $105 million over three years and is intended to strengthen Canadian drone, counter-drone and autonomous-flight research, testing and commercialization.

On July 23, the federal government also launched a Defence Drone Initiative intended to accelerate the development, testing and production of Canadian uncrewed and autonomous systems for the Canadian Armed Forces and Canadian Coast Guard.

Gladu referred as well to cooperation involving the Canada Border Services Agency, RCMP and military on border-related drone applications.

Sarnia begins with several potentially useful advantages.

The airport is located close to the international border and one of Canada’s largest industrial centres. It has two paved runways, existing aviation businesses and both general-aviation and commercial services.

It is also designated by CBSA as an Airport of Entry/30, allowing the clearance of scheduled and unscheduled aircraft carrying travellers or cargo, subject to advance notice.

Those assets do not guarantee that a drone manufacturer, federal agency or advanced training company will establish operations in Sarnia. They give the new airport corporation a credible foundation from which to approach them.

Gladu also identified cargo as a possible area of growth, particularly for a region with major industrial facilities and companies that sometimes require urgent components, technical equipment or specialized shipments.

That opportunity could begin with chartered or time-sensitive cargo rather than depending immediately on a dedicated freight airline.

Scheduled passenger flights also remain part of the discussion.

Gladu acknowledged that conventional service is difficult to operate economically without enough passengers to consistently fill aircraft. She also noted that restored, affordable passenger rail, although valuable to the community, could create further competition for shorter air routes.

Her argument was not that Sarnia should stop seeking better passenger connections.

It was that one airline route should not be treated as the airport’s only imaginable future.

Flight and simulator training, drone development, border and defence work, wildfire technology, specialized cargo, charter aviation and passenger service could each contribute to a broader economic base.

The new airport corporation will now have to identify the strongest markets, find companies and government agencies seeking locations, and determine where Sarnia can offer a genuine competitive advantage.

Gladu’s discussion offered a positive framework for that work: build from the airport, industrial experience and geographic assets Sarnia already possesses while competing for the aviation industries Canada is now actively developing.