Meet the Indigenous Manitoban pilot making history in the skies

A pilot from Opaskwayak Cree Nation is making history in the skies.

Kimberly Ballantyne remembers the exact moment she found her life’s calling.

She was a young girl at her home in Umpherville, a community in Opaskwayak Cree Nation, when a plane flew overhead.

This was not uncommon.

Umpherville is nestled between northern airports, she explained, and the constant aircraft traffic always fascinated her.

“I asked my grandfather what the jobs were called for the people operating the aircraft and he said, ‘They’re called pilots,’” she recalled in an interview with CTV News.

“From that moment I knew. I decided I wanted to be a pilot.”

Last month, Ballantyne made her childhood dream come true, completing her commercial pilot’s licence. The accreditation makes Ballantyne the first female Indigenous commercial pilot from Opaskwayak Cree Nation, she told CTV News.

“I’m just really excited about where my journey has taken me,” she said.

The licence is just the latest layover in Ballantyne’s long journey through the skies.

After graduating from the University of Manitoba with a Bachelor of Arts degree, becoming the first in her family to do so, Ballantyne began working full-time and raising her two children.

But the skies still called.

During the pandemic, she decided to take her initial aviation ground training online through the First Nations Technical Institute in Ontario.

But the costs for the mother became too much. She had to withdraw nine times before winning a scholarship, allowing her to complete the course.

In 2021, she passed her flight test for her private pilot licence.

Last year, she took a year off to focus on landing her commercial pilot’s licence, too.

After passing with flying colours just last month, she’s still processing all she’s accomplished.

“My children have always been my main motivation on why I continue to work so hard, and they see all the work that I am putting into this dream of mine on top of working a full-time job,” she said.

She still has plenty more sky to navigate in her career ahead.

She will next vie for her instrument flight rules and multi-engine aircraft ratings, both accreditations she’ll need en route to her final destination – working for an airline serving northern and remote Manitoba communities, like the one she grew up in.

“That’s how the dream started, as well, once I began to learn more of what the airliners do for our northern communities, and made me that much more motivated to be part of it,” she said.

She also continues to work alongside the Manitoba Aviation Council to mentor the next generation of pilots.

The organization will be at the 2026 Manitoba Aviation Career Fair on Feb. 23. Ballantyne will be on-hand to help other aspiring aviators with their interview skills, resume development, and much more.

Ultimately, she hopes to show others in First Nation communities that they can achieve their dreams, no matter how sky high they may seem.

“Indigenous people belong in these positions, as well. You just have to have the motivation and discipline to follow through, because it’s a lot of hard work,” she said.

“It is a bit of a lonely journey, but that’s what we’re here for, too. The rest of us are here to support you.”