"As the country's flag carrier, Air Canada's increased Canadian summer schedule further reinforces our role in providing critical connectivity to Canadians coast-to-coast,” senior VP-network planning Mark Galardo said in a statement.

The new domestic route—to be started from June 20, 2023—is Montreal (YUL) to Fort McMurray (YMM) in Alberta. The route will be operated 3X-weekly year-round by Air Canada Rouge with an Airbus A319 aircraft configured with 136 seats. The Star Alliance member will resume seasonal service between YMM and Toronto Pearson (YYZ) from May 1, 2023.

Other resumed routes will include seasonal service between: YYZ and Gander (YQX) in the eastern Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, commencing June 1, 2023; London (YXU) in Ontario and YUL, beginning June 17; and Calgary (YYC) and Quebec City (YQB), starting June 19.

The carrier is also increasing frequencies on a number of domestic routes for the 2023 summer season. Flights between YUL and Edmonton (YEG) will be doubled from 2X-daily to 4X-daily. Service between YUL and Vancouver (YVR) will rise to 6X-daily from 5X-daily. Flights on the Calgary-Pearson route will increase to 13X-daily from 5X-daily. YYZ service will also increase to Winnipeg (YWG) from 5X-daily to 7X-daily; to Saint John (YSJ) in New Brunswick from 1X-daily to 3X-daily; and to Kelowna (YLW) in British Columbia from 1X-daily to 2X-daily. YLW service to Vancouver will grow from 7X-daily to 8X-daily, while YVR to Quebec City fights will rise from 3X-weekly to 5X-weekly.

“Our new Montreal-Fort McMurray service brings easier access from eastern Canada to one of the critical economic hubs of Alberta,” Galardo said. “And with the prudent restoration of suspended routes and increased frequencies on others, we are improving our customers' options for domestic travel. We are looking forward to an exceptional summer, with service on 97 domestic routes to 51 Canadian airports.”