Back in the 1930's, Canada used two-letter code for radio and weather stations. When airports starting getting three letter codes, Canada just added a "Y" in front, which literally meant, "yes, there is a radio station here."
- YYZ - Toronto - from old Malton / railways / telegraph code YZ
- YUL - Montreal - from the Kirkland radio / beacon code UL
- YOW - Ottawa - from the old telegraph / aviation code OW
- YVR - Vancouver - Y + local identifier for Vancouver / Radio
- YYC - Calgary - Y + local identifier derived from Calgary / regional code
- YWG - Winnipeg - Y + WG (Winnipeg government radio code)
- YHZ - Halifax - from local station / beacon letters HZ
- YQT - Thunder Bay - from old telegraph / field code QT
- YYJ - Victoria - (inner harbour) based on older station code YJ (James Bay area)
- YXE - Saskatoon - from historic radio / telegraph letters XE
- YQR - Regina - from earlier radio code QR
- YQB - Quebec City - from local beacon / telegraph QB
- YZF - Yellowknife - from local field code ZF
- YXS - Prince George - from older station code XS
So next time you see YYZ or YUL, just remember the "Y" means yes, there is a radio station here!
When I worked for Pacific Western Airlines back in the day, we had to learn all the codes. I will never forget Flin Flon Manitoba. I've never flown there but the code is: YFO
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