Ufology Research

News Release: 2016 Canadian UFO Survey                                                        30 March 2017

UFOs haven’t gone away:

Number of UFO reports still high

The results of the 2016 Canadian UFO Survey have been released, and despite an apparent quiescence in media, UFO sightings are still being reported at a near-record level. In 2016, 1,131 UFO reports were officially filed in Canada, the fifth year in a row above 1,000 cases.

Since the annual Canadian UFO Survey was initiated in 1989, 18,038 Canadian UFO reports have been catalogued during the past 28 years. This is much more than the files of the United States Air Force’s infamous Project Blue Book, which investigated and recorded 12,618 UFO reports from around the world between 1947 and 1969.

This data clearly contradicts comments by those who would assert that UFOs are a ‘passing fad’ or that UFO sightings are decreasing in number.

In 2016, Most UFO reports were recorded during the summer with June, July and August having a combined 37.7 per cent of all cases. Most UFOs were simple lights in the sky, known as Nocturnal Lights (54.9 per cent), and Close Encounters comprised less than one per cent of the total.

The provinces with the largest populations also tended to have the most UFO reports: Ontario (26.3 per cent), BC (17.2 per cent), but Quebec had a significantly unusual overabundance of UFO reports in 2016 (38.5 per cent).

The most popular shape of UFO reported in 2016 was a simple point source of light (57 per cent). Other shapes reported were Triangle (4 per cent), Ball (9 per cent), Cigar (3 per cent) and Fireball (5 per cent). The classic “flying saucer” was only reported 48 times (5 per cent) in 2016. 

The percentage of UFO cases considered Unexplained in 2016 has dropped to 4 per cent, the lowest in 28 years of study. This is likely a result of more careful scrutiny of raw report information available.

It should be emphasized the classification of Unknown does not imply alien visitation. Each case may still have an explanation following further investigation. And of those that remain unexplained, they may remain unexplained, but still are not incontrovertible proof of extraterrestrial intervention or some mysterious natural phenomenon.

The Canadian UFO Survey is produced by Ufology Research, based in Manitoba, with the cooperation of investigators and researchers across the country.