Lapointe to Order of Canada
Photo: KF Centre for Excellence
A successful Kelowna businessmen and philanthropist has been named to the Order of Canada.
Barry Lapointe received the prestigious honour on Thursday when Gov. Gen. Mary Simon announced the 83 appointments.
Lapointe is the founder and chairman of KF Aerospace, which started out as Kelowna Flightcraft in 1970 and has grown into a major Canadian company. It is now the country’s largest commercial aeronautical maintenance, repair and overhaul provider, and also plays a critical role in supporting the Royal Canadian Air Force’s pilot training.
Lapointe, 79, earned his commercial pilot’s licence by the age of 21 and graduated with honours in 1966 from the British Columbia Institute of Technology in aircraft maintenance engineering. Over the years, he has accumulated thousands of fixed-wing flight hours and added a helicopter licence to his credentials in 2016.
Apart from his business achievements, Lapointe is also recognized as a committed philanthropist. He has made numerous contributions to post-secondary education and was the driving force behind the KF Centre for Excellence at Kelowna International Airport.
Lapointe was named to the Order of British Columbia in 2015 and was inducted into the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame in 2019.
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