A Royal Visit

The prince delivers his speech standing alongside Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Every year, the Manitoba Aerospace Association holds Aviation and Aerospace in Manitoba (AAIM) Day. Every year, almost 650 elementary school students from across the province visit Red River College’s Stevenson Hangar to learn about the aerospace industry and the people that power it.

Every year, AAIM Day is an educational success.

This year it was something more.

Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, and Prime Minister Stephen Harper visited the hangar on Wednesday, May 21, for our eighth annual AAIM Day celebration.

They were joined by over one thousand elementary school students who spent their day launching paper airplanes and exploring the hangar’s inspiring tools.

“Today you have brought me hope,” said Prince Charles in a speech to the students.  “I have been so impressed to see Manitoba’s aerospace sector working together with the Province’s educational institutions to build interest among your bright young people in this important sector. If I may say so, this seems to me a remarkably good way to start to address the skills gap prevalent in so many industries.”

The prince and prime mini

ster showed interest in Manitoba’s aerospace industry. They saw the value in what we do. Their visit acknowledged the industry’s contributions to our province and to our country.

This was not the prince’s first visit to Manitoba. He said the province has changed since his last visit in 1996.

“But what has most assuredly not changed is the vitality of this Province and the optimism for Canada’s future, as reflected in the faces of these young, and dare I say, rather energetic Canadians.”