Article/Document:

Canada's UFO Sightings

Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press, January 4, 1996

original source |  fair use notice

Summary: Dean is among dozens of Canadians who reported seeing an unidentified flying object last year. His description of the eerie encounter is one of 186 official UFO reports filed with the police, military and federal scientists.

Dean was driving west late one Alberta night when he spotted strange lights in the sky.

The bright lights -- forming a green, red and yellow triangle -- dimmed as they passed over the stretch of road just east of High Prairie.

They regained their luminous glow before darting off at a rapid clip -- too fast for a normal aircraft.

Dean is among dozens of Canadians who reported seeing an unidentified flying object last year. His description of the eerie encounter is one of 186 official UFO reports filed with the police, military and federal scientists.

Call them Canada's X-Files. The sighting reports, tucked away in cardboard boxes at the National archives in Ottawa, would make fine fodder for the spooky series.

The reports, kept in folders labelled Non-Meteoric Sightings, include neatly typed police files, handwritten letters, drawings and interview transcripts about celestial oddities across the country. The files were released with most names deleted.

A veteran North Vancouver stargazer reported seeing a dark arrowhead-shaped object -- three times the size of a jumbo jet -- with orange-yellow lights at the tips.

"There was absolutely no sound and the speed was incredible. This was certainly no aircraft or weather balloon," the witness said in a letter to the federal Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics. "I found the experience a little disturbing, to say the least."

A Langley, British Columbia, woman told police two star-like objects came down from the sky and followed her car one spring evening. She became scared, pulled over and turned her lights off in time to see the "stars" take off with three airplanes in pursuit

Royal Canadian Mounted Police [RCMP] in Gimli, Manitoba, received a report from two people who saw "a large donut-shaped object" flying towards Winnipeg. The white object, about 100 metres in diameter, had as many as 12 pulsating lights running evenly around its rim.

A father and son were walking around Taharti Lake near Quesnel, B.C., one summer day when they saw a clear, oval-shaped object about the size of a car. It hovered above the water for three minutes, then sped off. They returned to their cabin and told three companions of the sighting.

Oddly, all five later realized they had "lost" a day. Two who left the site on July 22 discovered it was really the 23rd. The others left on the 23rd, only to hear on the car radio that it was the 24th. "We were somewhat surprised," the son told an RCMP constable. "When we stopped for gas we confirmed that it was actually a day later."

A Nova Scotia woman was driving to Halifax one autumn night when she and her passenger saw a dark diamond-shaped craft featuring a detailed pattern of white lights. It hovered noiselessly overhead for a couple of minutes before speeding off to the west.

Some sightings took place high above the Earth.

The pilot of a Boeing 767 travelling from Vancouver to London reported seeing an object fly parallel to his plane. It was so bright at one point that it lit up the cockpit.

Some UFOs seem more easily explained than others.

Two observers told an RCMP officer in Lynn Lake, Manitoba, of a green fireball falling slowly from the sky. In his report, the constable noted meteorites and the northern lights had been seen in the area recently. That's not all. While taking the witness statements, he detected the unmistakable odor of marijuana.

SAMPLES OF 1994 CANADIAN UFO ACTIVITY:
Source: Canadian National Archives

Pictou, February: A round object, brighter than the stars, grew bigger, separated into three smaller objects, then recombined into one piece.

Moose Jaw, Sask., April 10: Four copper-colored, cigar-shaped objects appeared for 10 seconds, changed positions, then disappeared.

Stittsville, Ont., July 11: A triangle with several lights hovered noiselessly for about three minutes before taking off.

Ottawa, July 12: Two separate reports of a star-like object that appeared at 11:30 p.m., then suddenly vanished. One report says it zigzagged sharply.

Red Deer, Alberta, July 15: A man and woman saw an object with a reddish glow speed along in a straight line for up to three minutes. Though it had flapping wings, they were convinced it was not a bird or plane.

Casselman, Ont., Nov. 20: A young man, driving just before dawn, saw a fuzzy object with white lights flying at treetop level. The lights did not illuminate the ground. There was no noise, exhaust or heat.

Scarborough, Ont., December: A man saw a flash in the sky, then the power went out about for two seconds. He called Ontario Hydro, which reported no problems with equipment.

Metagami, Que., Dec. 5: A pilot saw a bright light and explosion, then falling debris. Two other aircraft also saw the light.

Whistler, B.C., Dec. 12: A man and two friends saw a round object with flashing lights hover above Blackcomb Mountain. The investigating RCMP officer apparently also saw it.

Ferryland, Newfoundland, Dec. 15: A white object with green edges, about the size of a pickup truck, was spotted falling from the sky.

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UFOs in Canada