In terms of base pay, Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) pilots are among the best paid of any air force. The base pay is comparable to that of US military pilots and is generally more than that of counterparts in Europe. That said, what exactly counts as ‘base pay’ and currency movements, among other factors, can alter the ranking.

But like other Western air forces, the Canadian Armed Forces are struggling to retain their pilots, as commercial airlines can offer much higher total compensation. Like other professional air forces, Canada has been trying to relieve the pressure by paying its pilots better. Here is how Canada has been boosting its military pilot pay, how Air Canada’s pay is rising faster, and why the situation may be stabilizing anyway, while the potential Gripen order adds another layer of uncertainty.

All Canadian Fast Jet Pilots Are Commissioned Officers

Credit: US Air Force

The issues with pilot pay in the militaries are complicated and structural. Pilots are commissioned officers, and their base pay is identical to other officers in the armed forces of comparable rank and years of service. Pay in the military is extremely rigidly structured. This creates dilemmas: to increase base pay for pilots, the armed forces have to increase the base pay of all officers across its army, navy, and air force.

While many officers in the army may welcome a pay rise, Canada may not have retention issues with those officers. Canada, like other countries, has pursued a sort of compromise, like offering retention bonuses and special allowances for pilots, without hiking their base pay. Fortunately, for comparison here, the RCAF and USAF officer rank structures are almost exactly equivalent in the NATO/US pay grade, using the same terminology (Lieutenant, Captain, Major, etc.), although a Canadian Lieutenant is a USAF First Lieutenant​​​​​.

One of the primary ways the US gets around the de facto limitation of being unable to pay pilots better without paying all officers more is by retention bonuses, which are now around $50,000 annually for fighter pilots. Denmark is a country that goes particularly far with its large pilot-specific supplement, which boosts pilots’ base salaries by 29–33%. Canada develops its own systems.

The Underlying Public Sector Problem

Credit: Department of Defense

It is also important to keep in mind that Western governments generally cannot compete with the private sector at the very top end of the market for scarce, highly remunerated skills. For example, a Canadian senator’s base salary is equivalent to around $138,867 in US dollars, while the Prime Minister earns about $235,000. In the United States, the President’s statutory salary is US$400,000, excluding allowances and other benefits. By comparison senior widebody captains at major US airlines can earn well into the US$400,000s, depending on seniority, aircraft, schedule, and other compensation.

To put this in perspective, senior widebody captains flying with large airlines (like Delta, United, American) can earn up to $450,000 annually in total compensation. Governments have long struggled with how to compensate highly talented or highly marketable individuals while remaining fiscally responsible to the public with taxpayers’ funds, without crossing a line that could be seen as corrupt.

Patriotism is a sentiment that only goes so far. An air force can spend $15 million training a fast jet pilot, only for that pilot to resign after ten years, saying, “I’ve done my time serving my country.” As a rule, governments like Canada can pay reasonable salaries to their public employees, but there is an expectation that no one will get rich by working for the government. Military pilots pose a problem that is difficult to solve.

Pilot Pay Was Increased By 13%

Credit: Shutterstock

The headline figure of Canada offering a 20% pay rise for its military pilots is misleading, as the 20% figure applies to entry-level Private/Aviator pay, not to pilots. The major pay adjustment for Canadian Air Force pilots came with the 2025 Military Factor adjustment, which is 13% of gross pay and is on top of several other pay changes implemented since 2021.

It is also important to note that there was a pilot-specific pay restructuring in 2022/2023 that significantly changed how pilot compensation was structured and incorporated the former flying allowance into pilot base pay. The results of this have been mixed, as some Canadian pilots refused promotions because the promotion would decrease their total compensation.

In October last year, Canada’s CBC News reported, “A new experience-based pay rate for military pilots — intended to keep them in uniform rather than flying for commercial airlines — was poorly thought out, badly implemented and has resulted in some officers refusing promotions because it would set them back financially.” The system unintentionally created the potential for a Captain to earn more than a Major, leading some pilots to refuse promotions.

A Senior RCAF Captain 2026 Pay

Credit: Department of Defense

The 13% pay increase in 2025 applied to Captains, Majors, Lieutenant-Colonels, and other officer pilots. Importantly, this was a pensionable increase, retroactive to April 2025, and isn’t a one-off bonus. Between 2021 and 2024, the compounded pay increases, mostly due to inflation, amounted to 10.4%. So with the latest increase, Canadian pilots are earning around 25.9% more than they did five years ago.

One of the biggest hidden components was the adjustments to pensions. The Regular Force pension for Canada is based on: 2% × years of pensionable service × average salary in the five highest consecutive years, with a maximum of 35 years. Making pilot pay part of the pensionable base salary was very significant and was why the pilot pay restructuring was considerably more valuable than a superficially equivalent non-pensionable allowance.

Additionally, Canada’s 2025 package also created the Military Service Pay (MSP), which adds $1,440 for five to ten years of service, $3,500 for 11 to 15 years of service, and $3,600 for 16 to 20 years of service. Pulling this together, a senior RCAF (Captain, PI 20) in 2026 can expect to have a base salary of $150,000. Including Military Service Pay, various allowances, and more, the total compensation is around $180,000 annually.

Commercial Sector Moving Faster

Credit: Shutterstock

While a 26% pay increase over five years may look reasonable, the discrepancy is arguably worse now. This is because commercial airlines are relatively free from the structural limitations that governments face. Over the last five years, the nominal pay increase for commercial pilots at Air Canada has been approximately 53%, considerably more than the air force’s 26% boost.

At the top of Air Canada’s pay structure are senior captains flying Boeing 777 widebody aircraft. In 2021, these captains could expect to earn around $191,000 (USD) annually (based on the 900-hour equivalent). In 2026, that figure has risen to around $293,000 as a realistic minimum and up to $360,000 at the higher end. Air Canada pilot pay has increased markedly in recent years. In 2021, 2022, and 2023, Air Canada agreements provided only 2% annual increases.

But the new four-year agreement that was ratified in October 2024 has significantly increased it. The ratified agreement provides an approximately 42% cumulative wage increase over the four-year contract, as well as improvements to pensions. Put another way, a realistic pay gap between senior RCAF captains and senior Air Canada Boeing 777 pilots in 2021 was around $55,000. In 2026, that gap may have grown to around $110,000-170,000.

Situation Stabilized, But Gripens Add Questions

Credit: Department of Defense

In 2025, CBC News wrote, “According to documents tabled before Parliament, as of June 16, the RCAF’s front line fighter squadrons had a staffing rate of 66%. The overall rate of pilot staff across the entire air force is 90%.” That said, it’s not all doom and gloom. In January 2026, Ontario’s Insauga reported, “A substantial entry-level pay hike for pilots and the acquisition of new and advanced aircraft are ‘absolutely’ helping to shore up Royal Canadian Air Force pilot retention and morale, says the force’s commander.“

It added that the RCAF’s recruitment intake exceeded its attrition by 440 people in the last fiscal year. The most fragile is still the fighter fleet when it comes to pilots, although the RCAF says that has stabilized and the service has enough fighter pilots to meet current demands and support the F-35 transition.

But as Simple Flying has previously reported, the RCAF may be looking to grow its fighter jet fleet, which will result in more pilots being retired. Its current program of record is for 88 F-35A (CF-35s). Canada has purchased the first 16 and appears to be making the advance payments on the second batch of 14. But it is also negotiating to purchase Saab Gripen Es. Recent reporting suggests Canada may be considering trimming its F-35 order to 72 while purchasing 60-72 Saab Gripen aircraft, for a total of 132-144 fighter jets. It needs to be stressed that deliberations are ongoing.