Born on April 16, 1904, in Piedmont, Italy, Ernest Joseph Boffa relocated as a young child to Canada with his family, living first in Calgary and then in Thunder Bay (Fort William), Ontario.
He moved on the Canadian Car and Foundry, working as an apprentice while training in mechanical engineering and drafting through correspondence courses and night school.
He took up automobile racing after his employer closed, using his mechanical skills to help him produce and maintain winning cars.
He earned a license to fly in the United States in 1928 and refurbished a damaged Waco 10 plane before returning to Lethbridge, Alberta.
There, in 1931, he received a commercial pilots license and Canadian Engineers license, working such aviation jobs as he could find before taking a series of jobs with airlines beginning in 1937, M&C Airways, Canadian Airway and McNeal Air Services.