Portage-la-Prairie / Southport Airport (YPG)

Portage-la-Prairie / Southport Airport serves Manitoba's wheat heartland from the historic RCAF Station opened December 1940 for Commonwealth Air Training Plan operations that trained thousands of Allied pilots during World War II, initially delayed when construction problems forced No. 14 Elementary Flying Training School to establish at Winnipeg's Stevenson Field before moving here December 4, 1940. Built by Claydon Construction for $450,000 under Assistant Engineer E.H. Fleishman, this facility operated 25 de Havilland Tiger Moths through Central Manitoba Flying Training School Limited—a Winnipeg Flying Club charter—until July 3, 1942, when operations transferred to Assiniboia allowing No. 7 Air Observers School to expand across the entire site.

The airport features infrastructure evolved from wartime facilities including the original double-hangar (224 x 160 feet), standard hangar, and twelve buildings supporting AOS training where pupils underwent 12-week regimens in air navigation, aerial photography, reconnaissance, observation, mapping, and description beginning April 28, 1941. Terminal facilities now serve Southport Aerospace Centre Inc.'s commercial-industrial operations after military cutbacks closed CFB Portage la Prairie in September 1992, transforming from NATO pilot training center (1950s) through Canadian Forces base (1966) to modern civilian aerospace hub.

Operational characteristics center on diverse aviation activities from agricultural operations supporting surrounding wheat farms to aerospace training and commercial services, utilizing the strategic location in Manitoba's agricultural corridor where prairie wheat production sustains the regional economy. The facility handles general aviation, charter operations, aerospace education through 3CFFTS (3 Canadian Forces Flying Training School) contract training, and industrial operations supporting both agricultural and aerospace sectors throughout south-central Manitoba.

Strategic importance encompasses preserving the legacy of Commonwealth Air Training Plan operations that made Canada the 'Aerodrome of Democracy' training 131,553 aircrew including 49,808 pilots from Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and Allied nations, maintaining aviation connectivity for Portage la Prairie's 13,000 residents in Manitoba's agricultural heartland, supporting modern aerospace industry development through Southport Aerospace Centre's transformation of military infrastructure for civilian innovation, and honoring the memory of young airmen who trained here before facing combat skies over Europe where many never returned to see Manitoba's golden wheat fields again.