For the first time, Canadians will be able to fly nonstop to the Canary Islands. Air Canada touches down at Tenerife South for the first time on October 25, launching from Toronto Pearson with the Montréal–Trudeau service following just six days later on October 31. Until now, anyone in Canada wanting the Canary Islands' winter sun had to connect somewhere in Europe.
Both routes run on Air Canada's new Airbus A321XLR, a long-range narrowbody with 182 seats — 14 Signature Class suites in a 1-1 layout with fully flat beds, plus 168 economy seats. The aircraft's roughly 5,400-mile range lets the airline fly these near nine-hour sectors without committing to a widebody. Toronto starts with two weekly departures (Thursday and Sunday evenings, landing at 9:00 AM local), while Montréal begins with one weekly Saturday flight and is already set to grow — a second weekly frequency arrives in February, three weekly from April, and the route is slated to go year-round through summer 2027. Toronto's service stays winter-seasonal, running until late April.
The competition won't take long to show up. Air Transat launches its own weekly flights from both Toronto and Montréal to Gran Canaria on December 12, meaning Canada's two biggest cities will each have nonstop links to two different Canary Islands within weeks. That's a remarkably competitive niche for a market that had zero scheduled nonstop service a year ago. There's a cautionary tale, though: United Airlines tried Newark–Tenerife from 2022, extended it through winter, and still quietly dropped the route by April 2025. Both Canadian carriers are hedging accordingly, using low frequencies and smaller aircraft rather than flooding the market with seats.
Tenerife is also just the opening move. Air Canada is calling this the largest intercontinental expansion in its history, with new or returning routes rolling out from late 2026 into 2027: Vancouver to Sapporo in December and Guangzhou from May, Montréal to Dubrovnik and Basel, Toronto to Oslo, Shannon and Nice, plus a return to Tel Aviv. Canada and Vietnam also just expanded their air agreement to allow direct passenger flights, so a future Vancouver–Vietnam route looks plausible even though nothing is announced yet.
For travellers, this is genuinely good news. Snowbirds and winter-sun seekers get a fresh alternative to the Caribbean — volcanic scenery, hiking on Mount Teide, and reliable 20-degree December days — with lie-flat seats available on an overnight schedule that lands you mid-morning. Book early if you want the first season: with only a handful of weekly seats per city, the cheap fares tend to vanish quickly.
