Public Accountability
Canada’s airports operate under public accountability rules set by the federal government.
Those rules are written into the long-term leases signed by every airport.
How we got here
Canada’s airports were once run from Ottawa, funded by taxpayer subsidies reaching hundreds of millions of dollars a year.
In the 1980s, Transport Canada began handing airports to local control, so each one could be run as a business serving its own market and region. The transfer was completed through legislation in the 1990s, with the largest airports accountable to local boards and others to community organisations, municipalities and territories.
Canadian airport authorities are accountable
The federal government’s Public Accountability Principles require each airport authority to be incorporated “for the general benefit of the public in its region.”
They also require each authority to manage, operate and develop its airport safely, securely, efficiently and cost-effectively, to remain financially viable, to keep user charges reasonable and to give all air carriers equitable access.
These are different accountabilities than a regular corporation would face, but airport authorities are accountable in a different way because of their unique role in a community, the economy and in serving the travelling public.
Where the money goes
Canadian airports are non-share-capital corporations (non-profit). Airport revenues are used to operate, maintain, and invest in the airport. Except for federal rent and other government payments, every dollar possible stays in the airport to support passengers, grow service and fuel growth.
What we earn is reinvested: in runways and terminals, our people and the communities we serve. More than $30 billion has been reinvested in that way since the 1990s.
No shareholders. No dividends. Every dollar stays in the airport.
Who sits on the board
A Canadian airport is accountable to a board that usually has between seven and 15 directors, nominated by different bodies, reflecting a range of perspectives and skills. Directors are drawn from the communities the airport serves, and from business and economic development groups.
The majority are nominated by non-government organisations, including chambers of commerce and boards of trade, labour councils, professional associations, and these directors are recruited using a skills-alignment process to strengthen governance and leverage expertise in many key business areas. The federal government, provincial government and local government(s) each have a fixed number of appointees that fill out the remainder.
How standards are maintained
The Public Accountability Principles and lease both require frequent, meaningful consultation with the public and stakeholders, and transparent reporting of results.
Airports balance a wide set of interests in that process: air carriers, passengers, the communities they serve, the businesses that depend on air transportation, and municipal, provincial and federal governments.
Boards have also added accountability practices above and beyond those required of them:
- Skills matrices matched to what the organisation actually needs
- Thorough vetting and onboarding of incoming directors
- Active management of conflicts of interest
- Regular board assessments, documented succession planning and structured evaluation
Airports have grown into complex, technically sophisticated enterprises running major capital programs, cyber security, climate risk and intricate commercial operations.