Apologies in advance for the long write up but thought I'd provide a more comprehensive look at the booking situation for both Canadian rewards programs:
Looking through the
Air Miles partner chart reveals several partners that may be relevant if you're going up North or Northish (i.e. Northern BC).
Calm Air (Air Miles and Aeroplan Partner):
Would need to call Aeroplan to make booking (unsure of Air Miles situation).
Canadian North (Air Miles and Aeroplan Partner):
Bookable online for Air Miles. You'll need to call Aeroplan to make such a redemption. Cost is 15,000 points + ~C$65 for the flight between Ottawa and Iqaluit.
Availability can be found using tools like ExpertFlyer (select Canadian North as Availability and select the Aeroplan redemption option).
Central Mountain Air (Air Miles Partner):
PAL Airlines (Air Miles Partner)
Other AirMiles Partners
Alaskan airlines is also listed as a partner of Air Miles which as you can imagine flies to most destinations in Alaska from its hub in Seattle (i.e. Fairbanks, Anchorage, Juneau, etc.). Delta is also a partner and flies to major Alaskan cities like Anchorage.
First Air (Aeroplan Partner)
As before you'd need to call Aeroplan if you'd like to book this redemption. Montreal/Ottawa to Iqaluit is 15,000 miles + ~C$65 in taxes and fees.
Availability can't be found using ExpertFlyer so you'd need to negotiate that with the call centre.
Air Canada
Limited Northern Destinations (Northern parts of Canadian provinces and the capitals of Yukon and Northwest Territories). Flights between Vancouver and Yellowknife are 15,000 points + ~ C$100 whereas the cash price for those flights are around C$400 if you book well in advance (so decent redemption). Flights between Calgary/Edmonton and Whitehorse are 15,000 points + ~C$150 with similar cash pricing when booking in advance. They also fly to Anchorage (seasonal service from YVR) although you're looking at 25,000 points for that redemption. All of these may be booked online. It may also be possible to book both destinations on a single itinerary for 25,000 points from anywhere in North America. However, I couldn't manage to do this online so I suspect you'll need to call Aeroplan to make such a booking.
Air Creebec
Yet another Aeroplan partner. They fly to Northern Ontario and Quebec from their bases in Timmins, Ontario and Montreal.
Redemptions cost 15,000 miles and again can only be booked by calling Aeroplan.
Bearskin Airlines
Another Aeroplan partner that flies to Northern Ontario from its bases in Timmins, Thunder Bay and Winnipeg. Sadly, they will be
leaving the Aeroplan program on June 30, 2018 meaning no more tickets can be booked after that point (you can travel on those tickets to May 28, 2019 however).
United Air Lines
United is an Aeroplan and Air Miles partner and they fly to both Anchorage and Fairbanks. These redemption would qualify as a standard (25,000 point) Aeroplan redemption since Air Canada isn't operating those flights. One advantage to this approach is that you avoid paying the silly carrier surcharge as United is one of the few that don't have it on Aeroplan. As before, you could combine this reward with another flight within North America, allowing you to build a crazy itinerary like this: Toronto to Anchorage, Anchorage to San Francisco, San Francisco to Toronto for 25,000 points + taxes & fees.
Summary
With plenty of options available across the Aeroplan and Air Miles rewards networks there really is no excuse to explore the great white north. So long as you're flexible with either dates or destinations, you're certain to find a good deal on these programs. The sheer number of Northern Airlines both programs have as partners combine only backs up that point. Combine that with Aeroplan's generous stopover rules for continental flying and you can see the Northern Lights from 2 destinations, or just one and while later sipping a mai tai in Miami.
Safe Travels,
James