A First Nation in Alberta could soon have its health products delivered by drone
On a warm day in early January, council members from Montana First Nation gathered together to discuss a plan that could see the community, 90 kilometres south of Edmonton, have medical supplies delivered by drone.
The central Alberta First Nation is partnering with Ontario-based company Drone Delivery Canada and the Edmonton International Airport to pilot a new service starting this spring that will run over the next year to deliver prescriptions and other medical supplies.
It’s part of an initiative the First Nation launched in 2022 to be more self-sufficient through areas like food supply, green energy and localized healthcare.
Ralph Cattleman, chief of Montana First Nation, said it can be difficult to obtain medical products and services because there are no pharmacies to serve the First Nation’s more than 1,000 members.
The closest pharmacy is 15 kilometres away in Ponoka, a roughly three-hour journey on foot for people who don’t own a vehicle.
“If you go into town, you’re waiting for five hours to see a doctor … so this is a route we are taking to control our own health,” he said.
“This service, I think it’d be a real good opportunity for everybody.”
Through the new agreements, valued at $417,000, Drone Delivery Canada will expand the defined route delivery from the airport with a stop at a medical clinic owned by Montana First Nation in Leduc.
Prescriptions and other supplies will then be flown to an on-reserve clinic.
Sylvia Kolitsopoulos, director of sales and marketing for Drone Delivery Canada, said the expansion is phase two of an existing drone delivery project, which began at the Edmonton International Airport in May 2022 with a location to Pat Wilson Memorial Park in Nisku.
The project is the first-of-its-kind where cargo drones have been approved to operate at airports, Kolitsopoulos said.
She noted First Nations communities would benefit from drone logistics because of the challenges they often face getting essential — and sometimes critical — supplies to remote areas.
“Our drone can carry up to 10 pounds, so there’s a lot you can carry within those 10 pounds,” she said.
A first-of-its-kind project will let cargo drones operate out of Edmonton International Airport to carry and deliver medical supplies to Montana First Nation.
During the first phase of the project, more than 2,400 flights were completed, with a total flight distance of over 6,500 kilometres, said Trevor Caswell, manager of demand and product development for cargo at the Edmonton International Airport.
He said drones have been flying in and out of Edmonton’s airport for several years, but this is its first cargo service.
“There’s a very cool wow factor when it comes to drone operations … but we also have to understand that the applications for drone operations in the future are real,” Caswell said.
“If you can fly it here in controlled airspace, the thought is that we can collaborate and share what we’re doing here so we can see it as a successful mode of transport in other airports, but in other remote areas of Canada where this application is very well needed.”
Cattleman said he would like to see the service to eventually deliver other products. He also hopes this partnership opens the doors for other First Nations to take on similar initiatives.
“The opportunities would be huge,” he said.
