VANCOUVER, B.C. – September 16, 2026 – On Tuesday, September 22, Vancouver International Airport (YVR) will once again bring together the aviation, business and broader community for
Hope Air’s Haul for Hope, presented by WestJet, raising critical funds to help Canadians who must travel long distances to access vital medical care.
Teams will take on the ultimate test of strength and teamwork, pulling a
67,000-pound WestJet aircraft 100 metres across the tarmac. The challenge symbolizes the journeys patients and families make every day when specialized healthcare is hundreds—or even thousands—of kilometres from home.
For British Columbians living in rural and remote communities, accessing cancer treatment, organ transplant care, pediatric care and other specialized services can require significant travel. While Canada’s healthcare system covers medical treatment, the cost of getting there often is not covered.
Hope Air helps remove this barrier by providing free flights, accommodations, meals and ground transportation to patients in financial need.
YVR plays a critical role in that mission. In 2025,
more than 5,594 Hope Air patients travelled through YVR, this is, by far, the most of any airport in Canada, making the airport a vital gateway to specialized healthcare for patients from communities throughout British Columbia and an essential connection to treatment in Vancouver and beyond.
“YVR keeps our province and our country connected—to economic opportunity, to one another and, in moments that matter most, to vital medical care. We are proud to stand with Hope Air to help ensure distance does not stand between British Columbians and the care they need,” said
Tamara Vrooman, President and CEO of Vancouver International Airport.
The impact of that connection will be represented at this year’s event by
Devon and his mother, Vanessa, from Kamloops, B.C. Devon was diagnosed with acute advanced Crohn’s disease at age 11 and continues to travel approximately 400 kilometres from Kamloops to BC Children’s Hospital for specialized care. Shortly after Devon’s diagnosis, Vanessa was diagnosed with stage 3 uterine cancer, leaving the family managing two serious medical conditions while travelling between Kamloops, Kelowna and Vancouver for treatment.
Before discovering Hope Air, Vanessa and Devon would drive the nearly
800-kilometre round trip for his care. Hope Air-supported flights and ground transportation have helped reduce travel time, costs, stress and missed school days. Devon and Vanessa will join Haul for Hope at YVR to share their experience and highlight the challenges rural families can face simply getting to the specialized healthcare they need.
In 2025,
20 teams from across YVR, the airport community and Metro Vancouver raised more than $120,000 through Haul for Hope. This year, teams will once again compete for the fastest pull while raising funds to help more patients like Devon overcome the distance and financial barriers to accessing specialized healthcare.
WestJet returns as Presenting Sponsor of Haul for Hope in Western Canada and will provide the aircraft teams will pull at YVR. The event comes during a milestone year for both organizations, with
Hope Air celebrating its 40th anniversary and WestJet celebrating 30 years. WestJet has supported Hope Air since its earliest days, helping patients travel to medical appointments they might otherwise struggle to reach.
“WestJet is proud to stand alongside Hope Air as a long-time partner, helping connect Canadians to essential healthcare for more than 30 years,” said
Christina Iversen, Head of External Affairs, WestJet Group. “We look forward to welcoming participants, partners and supporters in Vancouver as they take on the unique challenge of pulling one of our aircraft to raise critical funds and awareness to ensure more Canadians can access the care they need.”
“Forty years ago, Hope Air was founded on a simple belief: where you live should not determine whether you can access the healthcare you need,” said
Mark Rubinstein, Chief Hope Officer, Hope Air. “Families like Devon and Vanessa’s show us why that mission remains so important today. When specialized care is hundreds of kilometres from home, getting there can become another challenge for a family already facing a serious medical diagnosis. We are incredibly grateful to WestJet, YVR and every team taking part in Haul for Hope for helping patients overcome that distance and focus on what matters most—their health.”
Moving a 67,000-pound aircraft takes a team. Helping a patient overcome hundreds or thousands of kilometres to reach medical care takes a community. A very special thank you to the National Haul for Hope event sponsors for supporting all six Haul for Hope events in Kelowna, Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and St. John’s:
WestJet, Porter, YVR, Uber Canada, De Havilland Aircraft of Canada, Calgary International Airport, Pratt & Whitney Canada, CDW Canada, Signature Aviation, Stolport, Nieuport Aviation, Toronto Port Authority and Edmonton International Airport.
About Hope Air Hope Air is Canada’s national charity providing free flights, accommodations, meals and ground transportation for Canadians in financial need who must travel long distances to access medical care.
In
2025, Hope Air arranged 21,913 medical travel services for British Columbia residents, supporting
5,623 patient and escort trips across 230 communities throughout the province. These services included more than
9,300 flights, 5,000 accommodation nights, 4,000 ground transportation trips and 3,500 meal vouchers.
About our patients: - 58% would delay or cancel needed medical care if they had to pay more than $500 for travel to treatment.
- Annual household income is $40,000, making travel costs a significant barrier to care.
- A patient would pay roughly $2,600 per trip without Hope Air support—more than five times the $500 threshold at which many patients say they would delay or cancel care.
- Patients supported by Hope Air reported a 36% reduction in hospital admissions and a 27% reduction in emergency department visits, demonstrating how removing travel barriers can help patients receive care earlier and avoid worsening health outcomes.
For more information, visit
hopeair.ca.
Hope Air Media Contact Jodi Lumsden
Director, Marketing Communications
jlumsden@hopeair.ca
