The Trans-Canada Trophy, also known as the McKee Trophy, is awarded by the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute to a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 citizen who has made an outstanding, contemporary achievement in aerospace operations, whether a single act within the year prior to the award or a sustained level of performance over a period of several years. The award was founded in 1927 by James Dalzell McKee(1885-1927) and is the oldest aviation award in Canada.

History

In 1926, Royal Canadian Air Force

Royal Canadian Air Force

The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...

 (RCAF) squadron leader Earl Godfrey and McKee flew together in a Douglas MO-2B seaplane from Montreal, Quebec to Vancouver, British Columbia. During the course of the flight it was decided a "Trans-Canada Trophy" would be created to commemorate the flight. In appreciation of the RCAF and the Ontario Provincial Air Services, McKee presented the trophy, requesting it be awarded each year to the person who best advanced aviation in Canada. McKee also provided an endowment for a replica to be given to each winner.

The trophy was deeded to the Crown in the person of the Department of National Defence

Department of National Defence (Canada)

The Department of National Defence , frequently referred to by its acronym DND, is the department within the government of Canada with responsibility for all matters concerning the defence of Canada...

, which controlled all aspects of aviation at the time, both military and civil. In 1971, the administration of the McKee trophy was transferred to the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute.

Winners of the Trans-Canada (McKee) Trophy

• 1927 Harold Oaks *
• 1928 C.H. Dickins
  Punch Dickins
  Clennell Haggerston "Punch" Dickins OC, OBE, DFC was a pioneering Canadian aviator and bush pilot. Northern Indians called him "Snow Eagle;" northern whites called him "White Eagle;" while the press dubbed him the "Flying Knight of the Northland."-Early years:Clennell Haggerston Dickins was born...
  
   *
• 1929 Wilfrid R. "Wop" May *
• 1930 John Henry Tudhope
  John Henry Tudhope
  John Henry Tudhope was a South African flying ace credited with 10 victories in World War I. After the war, Tudhope emigrated to Canada and joined the RCAF....
  
   *
• 1931 George H Phillips *
• 1932 Maurice Burbidge *
• 1933 Walter E Gilbert *
• 1934 Elmer G Fullerton *
• 1935 William M Archibald
  William Munroe Archibald
  William Munroe Archibald was a pioneering Canadian aviator.-Early years:He was educated at McGill University, Montreal, where he graduated in 1897 with an engineering degree...
  
   *
• 1936 Arthur Massey Berry
  Arthur Massey Berry
  Arthur Massey "Matt" Berry was a pioneering Canadian bush pilot.-Early years:Born on a farm in March, Ontario, near Ottawa, on June 19, 1888, Arthur Massey Berry entered the First World War as a Captain with the 153rd Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force...
  
   *
• 1937 J.P. Romeo Vachon *
• 1938 Philip G. Johnson
  Philip G. Johnson
  Philip Gustav Johnson was a pioneer in the manufacturing of airplanes and in the organization of commercial airlines in the United States and Canada. Johnson served as president of Boeing, United Airlines and Kenworth....
  
  
• 1939 Murton A Seymour*
• 1940 Thomas W Siers *
• 1941 A. Daniel McLean *
• 1942 Thomas Mayne Reid *
• 1943 Thomas Mayne Reid *
• 1944 John Armitstead Wilson *
• 1945 Grant W.G. McConachie
  Grant McConachie
  George William Grant McConachie was a Canadian bush pilot and businessman who became CEO of Canadian Pacific Airlines ....
  
  *
• 1946 Zebulon Lewis Leigh *
• 1947 Bernard A Rawson *
• 1948 Roland B West *
• 1949 Dennis K Yorath *
• 1950 Carl C Agar *
• 1951 Philip C Garratt *
• 1952 Keith R Greenaway *
• 1953 Franklin I. Young
  Franklin I. Young
  Franklin Inglee "Frank" Young was a pilot and pioneer of early aviation in Canada.He was born in Toronto in 1909 and was educated in Toronto. In 1927 he began flying in Hamilton, Ontario and piloted with various charter companies until 1932 when he became a bush pilot for Dominion Skyways...
  
   *
• 1954 Jerauld G Wright *
• 1955 Gerald L MacInnis *
• 1956 Robert T Heaslip *
• 1957 John G Showler *
• 1958 Janusz Żurakowski
  Janusz Zurakowski
  Janusz Żurakowski was a renowned Polish fighter and test pilot, who, at various times, lived and worked in Poland, the United Kingdom, and Canada.-Early life:...
  
   *
• 1959 John Alexander Douglas McCurdy
  John Alexander Douglas McCurdy
  John Alexander Douglas McCurdy was a Canadian aviation pioneer and the 19th Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia from 1947 to 1952. -Early years:...
  
   *
• 1960 Wilson George Leach *
• 1961 Welland W Phipps *
• 1962 Not Awarded
• 1963 Frank MacDougall
  Frank Archibald MacDougall
  Frank MacDougall was a pioneering forest ranger in Ontario, Canada. Known as the "flying Superintendent of Algonquin Park", he was important in the development of the park system in the province and for the use of airplanes in forestry.-Life and career:Of Loyalist descent, Frank MacDougall was...
  
  
• 1964-65 Not Awarded
• 1966 Philip C Garratt *
• 1967 Robert A White *
• 1968-1972 Not Awarded
• 1973 Max W Ward
  Max Ward (bush pilot)
  Maxwell "Max" William Ward, OC, AOE is a pioneering Canadian aviator and founder of Wardair airlines, at one time, the third-largest air carrier in Canada.-Early years:Max Ward was born 22 November 1921 in Edmonton, Alberta...
  
   *
• 1974 R.H. Fowler *
• 1975 John A.M. Austin
  John Alexander Austin
  John Alexander "Jack" Austin was a pioneering Canadian aviator.-References:* Oswald, Mary, They Led the Way, Wetaskiwin: Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame, 1999. ISBN 0-9684843-0-1-External links:*...
  
   *
• 1976 David C Fairbanks (posthumously)
• 1977 Albert Earl Godfrey
  Albert Earl Godfrey
  Group Captain Albert Earl Godfrey MC was a Canadian First World War flying ace, officially credited with 14 victories while flying for the Royal Flying Corps. He spent the remainder of his career in the Royal Canadian Air Force.-Early life and service:"Steve" Godfrey was the son of Nellie and...
  
   *
• 1978 R.D. Schultz *
• 1979-80 Not Awarded
• 1981 F.D. Adkins
• 1982 E.N. Ronaasen (posthumously)
• 1983 D.H. Rogers *
• 1984 G.N. Henderson (posthumously)
• 1985 P.Y. Davoud *
• 1986 T.M. Watt
• 1987 S.W. Grossmith*
• 1988 Not Awarded
• 1989 G.A. Neal *
• 1990 B. Granley
• 1991 S. Graham * (posthumously)
• 1992 L. Kerr*
• 1993 L. deBlicquy
• 1994 B.J. Wormworth
• 1995 V. Moshansky
• 1996 A.R. Baker
• 1997 Not Awarded
• 1998 A.O. Dumas
• 1999 John B. Croll
• 2000 J.F. Henley
• 2001 Mr. Wallace K Warner
• 2002 South Pole Rescue Team, Kenn Borek Air
  Kenn Borek Air
  Kenn Borek Air is an airline based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It operates regional passenger and cargo services, contract operations in the Arctic and Antarctic and aircraft leasing. Its main base is Calgary International Airport...
  
  
• 2003 Capt. Robert Piché
  Robert Piché
  Robert Piché is a Canadian pilot. On 24 August 2001, he was captain of the Airbus A330 flying Air Transat Flight 236 and managed to land the aircraft safetly in the Azores after it lost all power due to fuel exhaustion...
  
  
• 2004 William Peppler
• 2005 John Maris
• 2006 John Aitken
• 2007 Captain Gordon Lemon
• 2008 CF Cormorant, 19 Wing, 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron, Captain Sean Morris, Captain Rob Mulholland, Flight Engineer Cpl Derek Agnew, SAR Tech MCpl Kent Gulliford, and SAR Tech Sgt Yves St. Denis
• 2009 Mr. Larry Dufraimont, Bombardier Aerospace
• 2010 Captain S.C. Mullins, CFAWC(O)

Note: "*" denotes Members of Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame