Canada has elected to follow dozens of other countries in grounding the Boeing 737 Max8 aircraft and banning it from Canadian airspace.

Transportation Minister Marc Garneau made the announcement Wednesday morning.

The move came after the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines flight on Sunday that killed everyone on board, including 18 Canadians, three of them from the Edmonton region.

The decision to ground the plane is a precautionary move that was made after a review of all the available evidence, Garneau told a news conference Wednesday in Ottawa that was twice delayed by what he called new incoming information.

The "safety notice" means none of the aircraft can fly into, out of, or over Canada, he added: "I will not hesitate to take swift action should we discover any additional safety issues."

Air Canada has 24 Max 8 aircraft, which it uses mainly for domestic and U.S. routes, while Calgary-based WestJet Airlines Ltd. has 13 Max 8s.

Local impact

The announcement, which came down shortly before 10 a.m. MST forced the cancellation of three flights at the Edmonton International Airport, two flights that were scheduled to depart on Max8 aircrafts, and one incoming flight were scrapped as a result of the decision.

A spokesperson for EIA says 255 flights come and go from the airport every day. The Max8 decision only impacted 1-2 per cent of those flights.

Passengers who left Edmonton for Toronto on a Max8 aircraft found out about the ban when they landed.

“It’s a brand new plane, and if it’s for our safety, then I think it’s a good thing," a woman said.

“It’s better safe than sorry, right? I’m sure they’ll look at it and see where we go from here," a man said.

Bans in other countries

While aviation experts warn against drawing conclusions until more information emerges from the crash investigation, numerous jurisdictions -- including China, Germany, the United Kingdom and the European Union -- have grounded the Max 8 or banned it from their airspace.

Garneau said evidence about multiple Boeing 737 Max 8 flights suggests a worrying correlation between the Ethiopian Airlines crash and the tragedy in Indonesia less than five months ago. In certain circumstances, the planes' systems try to tilt their noses down, contrary to the efforts of pilots -- a pattern that was seen in both flights before they crashed, he said.

"There are -- and I hasten to say not conclusive -- but there are similarities" between the Ethiopian Airlines flight profile and that of a Lion Air flight involving the same aircraft that crashed off the Indonesian coast in October, the minister said.

"I would repeat once again that this is not the proof that this is the same root problem," he emphasized. "It could be something else."

U.S. Ban

The United States became one of the last countries to ban the aircrafts on Wednesday afternoon with Trump announcing that the U.S. is issuing an emergency order to ground the planes.

Boeing, which makes the Max8, issued a statement saying it supports the action to temporarily ground the plane.