I am looking for a good reference book on radio comms to give as a gift to my student pilot son. Any ideas? Thanks.

They also just released an IFR phraseology guide recently:

http://www.navcanada.ca/EN/media/Public ... E6_WEB.pdf

The problem with those guides is that NavCanada likes to make up their own phraseology rather than following ICAO phraseology (or use the same phraseology but redefine what it means). If you're planning on being an international pilot, you're better off with the Eurocontrol one.

https://www.skybrary.aero/bookshelf/books/115.pdf

Except if you're going to be flying in the U.S., which like Canada has their own nonstandard standard phraseology. See attached.

Another useful tool is to listen to the actual ATC - aircraft communications https://www.liveatc.net/feedindex.php?type=canada

Learned a lot. Especially listening to a busy flight training airport like CYKF.

That's a good idea for hearing but a terrible idea for speaking. Listening to what others do on the radio is the way we end up with "and center its abc checking in with you two eight oh please advise of conflicting traffic". By all means listen, but don't copy.

In any case the op was looking for a book as a gift, which no one has come up with. I know those books exist, I don't know if any of them are any good.