RCAF Detachment Edwards

The facility was decommissioned by the Canadian Armed Forces following the end of the Cold War. Its strategic purpose as a nuclear fallout shelter for the continuity of government became obsolete with the reduced threat of nuclear war.

The site is now private property. After being decommissioned and stripped of its military equipment by the Department of National Defence, the bunker and surrounding land were sold. The site has had various private owners. As of the late 2010s, it was purchased by a company with plans to convert the secure, climate-controlled underground bunker into a large-scale cannabis cultivation facility. The former helipad area remains visible but the entire site is a secure, private industrial property and is not used for any aviation purposes.

The site, identified by the non-standard ICAO code CA-0527, was not a traditional airport with runways but a dedicated military heliport. It served the 'RCAF Detachment Edwards', which was a Regional Emergency Government Headquarters (REGHQ). This facility was one of several top-secret, fortified nuclear fallout shelters built across Canada between 1959 and 1961, colloquially known as 'Diefenbunkers'. The Edwards bunker was designed to house several hundred key federal government and military officials to ensure the continuity of government for the National Capital Region in the event of a nuclear attack. The heliport was a critical component, intended for the rapid and secure transport of designated personnel to the underground shelter during a national emergency.

There are no known plans or prospects to reopen the site as a public or military aviation facility. Its function was exclusively tied to the military bunker it served. As the property is now privately owned and being repurposed for industrial use, its reopening as an airport is not a consideration.