Few well-documented UFO incidents in Canada predate 1947, the year the Canadian government began officially recording UFO reports. This was also when Kenneth Arnold’s famous sighting and the Roswell Incident sparked widespread international attention. Although accounts of aerial phenomena exist from before the 20th century, the lack of detailed records or reports prior to 1947 can be attributed to several factors.
First, public interest in unidentified flying objects was minimal, as the concept was not yet part of mainstream discourse. Additionally, terms like "UFO" and "flying saucer" had not entered common usage, making it less likely for such phenomena to be recognized or categorized in this way. Finally, sightings that did occur were often dismissed as misidentified natural events or explained informally, rather than being investigated or documented systematically. These factors combined to limit the visibility of UFO-related events in historical records from this period.
Matthew Hayes identifies archival practices as a major obstacle in researching UFO history. His 20th-century findings reveal fewer than ten surviving sources from the 1940s, including only two sighting reports. According to an early correspondence from Canada’s Department of National Defence (DND), it was standard to destroy records after five years if they were no longer deemed relevant to national security. This practice likely resulted in the loss of many early UFO-related documents.
Towards the Second World War and early postwar period, we see Canada's burgeoning aerospace industry, evolving defence strategies, and a shifting dynamic between the government and citizens. The Second World War marked a turning point for defence research in Canada. While rudimentary efforts existed during World War I, it was during World War II that the Canadian government began focusing on defence technology innovation. This led to the establishment of various research institutions (like the National Research Council, and Canadair Ltd.) dedicated to areas like aviation, ballistics, radar, etc.
While the pre-war era was characterized by a high degree of deference to state authority, after the war, there is growing citizen distrust of the government. The sources attribute this shift, at least in part, to the post-war anxieties and eroding public confidence in the government's ability to ensure citizen safety and well-being. More and More, in this new modern world, Canadians found themselves in opposition of their government. Which will lead, as we will see in later periods, to the rise of citizens led intiatives field of UFO investigation and access to information.
A few incidents provide some information on the types of events that unfolded in Canadian Colonial history and early 1900s: (For information on Indigenous and pre-colonial perspectives, view the Indigenous Perspectives Page[doesn't exist yet])
David Thompson's 1792 Sighting: Source notes an even earlier report of a "bright blob flying overhead" observed by explorer David Thompson in northern Manitoba in 1792.
Heritage Toronto released and article focusing on a series of "strange aerial sightings" over Toronto in 1909: Events that predated the widespread adoption of airplanes, but coincided with growing public awareness of early aviation developments, like airships. Witnesses described an object that moved unlike a conventional airship, fluttering "like a kite" and resembling a "huge bird."
There was no confirmation what this sighting was, but notably several individuals in Toronto were secretly building and testing airships at the time. It is possible that one of these individuals was responsible for the sightings.
The 1915 sighting of unknown lights over the St. Lawrence River near Ottawa was ultimately attributed to firework-laden balloons released in New York. The authorities' initial fear of a potential attack prompted a dramatic response, extinguishing the lights of prominent government buildings: Parliament Hill, Rideau Hall, and the Royal Mint. This incident reflects the public's heightened sensitivity to aerial events, particularly in a context of growing international tensions leading up to World War I.
In 1992, a Sidney, BC resident wrote a letter to the National Research Council (NRC) describing a UFO sighting he claimed to have witnessed in 1936 while working on aerial mapping in the Arctic. The event, taking place at Aylmer Lake, NWT, involved a "completely stationary" object in the sky that resembled "the most magnificent configuration of an airship one could imagine." The object later took off at "fantastic speed" and vanished. In his letter he wrote: “Having now passed my 81st birthday with time running short, I feel I should try to outline and describe the incredible sighting I was so privileged to see, and to say that I firmly believe I was the only person likely to have observed this phenomenon.”
"UFOs airships Toronto History." Heritage Toronto Accessed October 31, 2024. https://archivehtsite.heritagetoronto.org/explore-learn/ufos-airships-toronto-history/.
"UFO sightings in Manitoba date back to 1792." CBC News, July 13, 2015. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/ufo-sightings-in-manitoba-date-back-to-1792-1.3154855.
Department of National Defence Memo on UFOs. Library and Archives Canada. December 14, 1954. https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/unusual/ufo/PublishingImages/1954-12-14.jpg.
Hayes, Matthew. Search for the Unknown: Canada’s UFO Files and the Rise of Conspiracy Theory. McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2022. https://www.amazon.ca/Search-Canadas-Files-Conspiracy-Theory/dp/0228010748
Hayes, Matthew. A History of Canada's UFO Investigation, 1950-1995. Trent University, 2018.https://digitalcollections.trentu.ca/objects/etd-776