Construction of the New Terminal (1963) & the Naming of the Airport (1966)
From 1960 to 1961, the airport underwent a number of improvements and a new Department of Transport airport terminal was planned. The new building would also supply various agencies with more office space, and provide airline passengers with a spacious and comfortable waiting area.
The new airport terminal officially opened on December 14, 1963. In August 1966, the airport was renamed the North Bay Jack Garland Airport, and a plaque in his memory was unveiled at the airport. As Nipissing’s MP from 1949 until his death in 1964, Jack Garland had been a driving force behind the construction of the new airport building.
A Trans-Canada Air Lines Viscount airliner in front of the new airport terminal circa 1963–1966.
North Bay Museum, Hicks Collection
Passengers boarding an Air Canada McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 airliner, an American competitor to Boeing, at the North Bay Jack Garland Airport circa 1968. Trans-Canada Air Lines was renamed Air Canada in 1965.
North Bay Museum Collection
Transport Minister George McIlraith cutting the ribbon during the official reopening ceremony of the new terminal at the North Bay Airport on December 14, 1963. Directly behind McIlraith is Hon. J.R. Garland and North Bay Mayor, Cecil Hewitt.
North Bay Museum, Hicks Collection
Airport Manager Lorne Hicks extending his hand towards his wife Anne Hicks, as Transport Minister George McIlraith welcomes the first official air travelers entering the new building.
North Bay Museum, Hicks Collection
Lorne Hicks (right) and four firefighters in front of a Sicard airport crash truck.
The tanks behind the cab held 833 imperial gallons of water and 120 imperial gallons of foam. The pumping system mixed the water and foam together to extinguish a fire.
The foam truck technology allowed North Bay’s airport to receive and handle any type of aircraft in the world, including jet airliners, cargo airplanes, and even the military aerobatic teams that have performed in air shows at North Bay.
Because the North Bay Airport was equipped with the specialized foam fire truck, in the 1990s NASA selected North Bay as a site to conduct atmospheric research and the testing of aircraft braking on runways in winter conditions.
North Bay Museum, Hicks Collection