As Hope Air enters its 40th year of service, the organization reflects on a history rooted in the belief that distance and cost should never be barriers to accessing medical care.

In 1984, Air Canada employee Jinnie Bradshaw, learned of a U.S. program using corporate planes to transport cancer patients and was struck that no such service existed in Canada. At the same time, volunteer Joan Rogers saw east coast patients arrive at Toronto’s Princess Margaret Cancer Centre after 15–20 hour bus journeys and knew there had to be a better way. When the two women later met, their shared experiences led to the creation of the non-profit, Mission Air in 1986, now known as Hope Air.

Mission Air’s first flight took place on November 8, carrying a child from New Brunswick to Toronto for cancer treatment and completing eight more flights that year. Now, four decades later, Hope Air has facilitated over 250,000 travel arrangements across Canada, helping patients access life-saving care, marking four decades of Hope Air’s service rooted in compassion, commitment, and hope.