The first Tutor flew in January of 1960, and the RCAF promptly ordered 190 to replace the CT-133 Silver Star as a jet trainer. They began arriving in late October of 1963 and the last one was delivered in September 1966.

The Tutor had a wingspan of just over 11 meters and its single General Electric engine, built in Canada by Orenda, enabled it to reach up to 782 kilometers (486 miles) per hour. As a jet trainer, it carried two pilots.

Tutors were used as stunt fliers with the Golden Centennaires, organized in 1967 to mark Canada’s Centennial. That team only flew for the one year, but in 1970, the Tutor was used as a demonstration aircraft at 2 Canadian Forces Flying School in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. In 1971, that team became known as the Snowbirds, and in 1975 the Snowbirds were officially designated as the Canadian Forces Air Demonstration Team. The team became 431 Air Demonstration Squadron in 1978 and is still flying. The Tutors used by the Snowbirds have enhanced engines to improve performance.

The Tutor was replaced as a trainer in 2000.

As the name suggests, the Canadair Tutor CT-114 (also known as a CL-41) was designed as a training aircraft. Tail number 114015 was one of the original Tutors acquired by the RCAF in 1963. It served at No. 2 CFFTS in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan until it was retired on June 8, 1993. It joined the collection of the NAFMC in 2012.