Prince George, B.C.- Once again, NORAD has made plans to  track and escort  Santa across Canada.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) special website has been live  since December 1st.  The site, which can be accessed here,  features  a mobile version, a holiday countdown, new games and daily activities.

Oh but that’s not all,  there are now  official “NORAD Tracks Santa  apps  for Windows, Apple and Google Play stores so  you  and the little people in  your life can  count down the days till Christmas on  your smart phone or tablet.  You can also  stay on top of things   on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Google+   by typing @noradsanta into each search engine.

Also new this year, the website features Santa’s elves in the North Pole Village. “NORAD Tracks Santa” is introducing the newest elf and asking the public to help choose the perfect name for him. You can find details on “NORAD Tracks Santa” social media or in the “Name the Elf” video in Santa’s North Pole Movie Theatre at www.noradsanta.org.

Once Santa reaches Canadian Airspace he will be escorted by  CF-18 pilots as he makes his way across the country.

Canada’s Santa escort pilots from 3 Wing, Canadian Forces Base Bagotville, Que.    are Captain Denis “Cheech” Beaulieu,” and Captain Steven “Bunt”  Nierlich. CF-18 Hornet Crew Chiefs supporting the Bagotville escort pilots are Corporal Daniel Boucher, and Corporal Marc-Andre David.
Santa escort pilots from 4 Wing, Canadian Forces Base Cold Lake, Alta. are Major Yanick “Crank” Gregoire, and Captain Thomas “Toast” McQueen (shown in photo at right).
Crew Chiefs supporting the Cold Lake escort pilots are Corporal  Sebastien Morin and Corporal Andrew Shields.

Starting at 12:01 a.m.on December 24, website visitors can watch Santa make preparations for his flight. NORAD’s SantaCams will stream videos on the website as Santa makes his way over various locations. Then, at 3 a.m. PST trackers worldwide can speak with a live phone operator to inquire about Santa’s whereabouts by dialing the toll-free number 1-877-Hi-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) or by sending an email to noradtrackssanta@outlook.com. At any time on December 24, Windows Phone users can ask Cortana for Santa’s location and OnStar subscribers can press the OnStar button in their vehicles to find Santa.

NORAD Tracks Santa is celebrating its 40th year as it all started in 1955 when an ad directed children to call Santa direct – only the number was misprinted. Instead of reaching Santa, the phone rang through to the crew commander on duty at the Continental Air Defense Command operations center. Thus began the tradition which NORAD carried on since it was created in 1958.