When the First World War was over, those who had served as
pilots during the war returned and wanted to continue flying.
Many opportunities were available to these men as there were
surplus aircraft being sold by the government to encourage the
development of a new commercial aviation industry in Canada.
Civil aviation continued to develop as new adaptations, such as
skis, were introduced. The airplane was seen as the solution for
transportation to remote places like the Canadian wilderness and
the high north. Companies like Imperial Oil began experimenting
with using aircraft to get to remote oil exploration sites in
the Northwest Territories. Prospectors could more easily travel
to new places to discover fresh mineral deposits, and the
minerals they discovered, like gold, could be more easily
transported south. New airfields were developed, like the
Blatchford municipal airfield in Edmonton, which became the
first official "Air Harbour" in Canada. Other air facilities,
such as beacons, were built to assist