On 27 July, Group Captain G.M. Croil, senior officer of the RCAF, met with Mr. St-Jean and a dozen other signatories. From a list of 31 qualified pilots, including several veterans of 1914–18, he selected 14 who would form the initial nucleus of the new unit. It was on 1 September 1934 that the unit was authorized in Montreal, Quebec as No. 18 Bomber Squadron (Auxiliary). It will initially have an authorized strength of 66 members and will be under the temporary administrative command of Squadron Leader C.E. Trudeau, a regular member personally recommended by Brigadier-General Gibsone.