The airport was completed in 1962 for the
Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) by
Boeing to military specifications, as an RCAF emergency landing field, with a runway of . It became home to 447 SAM Squadron, armed with 29 nuclear tipped
CIM-10 Bomarc missiles. After 1968 the station became CFB La Macaza and closed as an active base in 1972 following the removal of the Bomarc missiles. The area that was used for the Bomarc launchers was converted into the
La Macaza Institution, a federal penitentiary operated by the
Correctional Service of Canada, in 1978. It was converted to be a civilian airport, and then turned into an international airport in 2000 despite a referendum held in the region in which the citizens of La Macaza opposed the project. In December 2007,
Continental Airlines began seasonal service to its
Newark hub. The airport was served during the ski season and summer months by
Porter Airlines until 2022 and between December and March by
Air Canada until 2019. ==Facilities==