Haiti-born Air Canada pilot leads historic all-Black flight crew

Steven Proulx got a call from Air Canada in November. They wanted to know if he'd be interested in something special—a flight crewed entirely by Black aviation professionals, with cameras rolling to capture the moment. He said yes, not quite understanding what he was agreeing to.

When he walked down the jetway on February 11 to board the aircraft bound for Fort Lauderdale, the weight of it hit him. The captain was Black. The first officer was Black. All eight flight attendants were Black. The ground crew managing operations were Black. People were taking pictures on the bridge. "It was really special," Proulx told New Canadian Media, his voice carrying the surprise of someone who had spent nineteen years in an industry where that kind of visibility was almost unimaginable.

Air Canada had organized the flight as part of Black History Month celebrations—a return journey from Toronto to Florida with a crew assembled from across the country. Finding them had been harder than anyone anticipated. Air Canada employs roughly 380 to 390 Black people total. Of those, only 30 are pilots. Seven of those 30 have reached the rank of captain. Proulx himself had to be flown in from Montreal. The flight attendants came from Calgary. Pulling together a single all-Black crew required reaching across the entire airline's network.

For Proulx, now 41 and Haiti-born, the milestone carried a weight beyond the symbolic. He had arrived in Canada at three and a half years old, adopted by a family living near Jumonville, Quebec. At twenty-one, he left for British Columbia to learn English and earn his training license. From there, he moved to the Northwest Territories, where his aviation career began in earnest. The climb upward had been steady but never easy. "It's really hard for Black people to climb up the ladder in the aviation industry compared to white people," he explained. The barriers were structural and relentless: accepting schedule changes, taking positions with smaller carriers, surrendering vacation flexibility—all just to be considered for promotion. "We have to be over-prepared," he said. "A small mistake can draw a lot of criticism. There are fewer chances for Black people to be promoted, so we have to work harder."

The broader context made the February flight even more significant. Black Canadians, like their counterparts in the United States, had largely arrived from the Caribbean and Africa. Many came to Montreal in the 1970s, drawn by the French language—a legacy of colonialism that made employment easier in a French-speaking city. Yet despite language proficiency, university degrees, and work experience, Black Canadians consistently faced higher unemployment and underemployment rates than other visible minorities. Board representation told the story starkly: 3.6 percent in Toronto, 1 percent in Calgary, 0.7 percent in Vancouver. In Greater Montreal, researchers found no Black board members in the corporate, voluntary, hospital, or education sectors. Systemic racism in Canada had been quietly normalized, obscured by history books and media narratives, even as discrimination had been technically illegal for decades.

Proulx considered himself fortunate. "Some lucky people like me get the chance to end up with a nice family," he said. "I was able to realize my dreams and I made it." His parents, who had given him what they could on a farm, were proud. His brother, who had always pushed him forward, was proud. But what moved Proulx most about the all-Black flight was not his own achievement—it was the younger generation watching. "It will show Black people in the younger generation that this is possible," he said. "What got me was the realization that not only was my hard work paying off, but I was also inspiring all those from the younger generation who wished to become a pilot."

Air Canada has scheduled another all-Black flight crew for the following year. Proulx hopes it becomes routine, a regular feature rather than a historic exception. For now, the February flight stands as a marker—proof that the barrier exists, and proof that it can be crossed.