jeffb:-
In addition to the BCATP in Canada, there were several out of the norm training schemes going on. For example, the Norwegians trained at Toronto island airport, with a satellite field at Emsdale Ont ( known affectionately as Little Norway). The Royal Navy established a training field at Kingston Ont, and RAF Ferry Command established a facility at North Bay Ont to train pilots and navigations in the art of Trans Atlantic flying
Canada's vast and remote territories lent themselves uniquely to supporting the allied war in the air, particularly in connection with the arsenals of the USA. I've recounted before of the saga of ferrying Lockheed Hudsons to the UK before the US entry into the war. The aircraft were flown within the US to an a/f very close to the Canadian border, and then drawn across it by teams of horses. RAF aircrew, no doubt trained at North Bay, flew the prepositioned aircraft from the Canadian east coast on a series of hops via Greenland and Iceland to Scotland (often to Prestwick). One of my RAF Instructors (the renowned Jack Huntington) told of one such delivery when on the final leg they were continuously between layers, so that the nav could neither take sun shots nor sight surface drift and was thus reduced to D/R on the rather iffy forecast winds. Eventually they got to the calc TOD and so started down to Safety Altitude (determined by the Scottish mountains). Cloud still prevented any further updates and the fuel was becoming critical. Eventually the nav reckoned that they must have cleared Scotland and were now over the North Sea, so they maintained heading and continued descent on the forecast QNH. At about 200' they broke cloud and saw the sea below. The problem was which sea? The nav assured them that it was the North Sea so they did a 180 and retraced their steps, keeping the sea in sight. The gauges were now showing empty and they were braced for a ditching when cliffs loomed ahead. They were able to just clear them and still stay out of the cloud and miraculously a runway loomed into view straight ahead, and on which they landed without further delay. As the tail came down the little fuel left in the tanks flowed to the back of the tanks leaving the fuel lines to run dry, and the engines soon quit in turn.
A close run thing indeed and many others were not so lucky. I'm afraid that if I was ever told the location of that runway I have since forgotten it, but it was certainly in the right place at the right time!