Which province reportedly had the most UFO sightings in 2022
Hundreds of Canadians who cast their eye to the sky reported UFO sightings last year, according to a new survey by Ufology Research.
The organization headed up by ufologist and researcher Chris Rutkowski found there were 768 UFO sightings recorded in Canada in 2022. That figure was a slight increase of six per cent from the 2021 survey, but is the fourth-lowest number from the past 20 years.
“That’s still two a day somewhere in Canada, so if you see a UFO, you’re in good company,” Rutkowski said in an interview with CTV Morning Live Winnipeg on Thursday.
An unidentified flying object, otherwise known as a UFO, was defined for the study as ‘an object seen in the sky which its observer cannot identify.’
According to the 2022 numbers, Quebec led all provinces with about 29 per cent of all Canadian UFO reports, narrowly edging out Ontario’s 28 per cent.
Meantime, Manitoba’s reported sightings were down last year, with Winnipeg ranking lowest among metropolitan areas with eight incidents.
“We usually hold our own with the rest of Canada, depending on population,” Rutkowski said.
“There were a smaller number in Manitoba, but it's usually with population with B.C., Toronto. More people around, more UFOs to be seen.”
Other key takeaways - about 8.2 per cent of all UFO reports were classified as unexplained. The typical sighting lasted about 13 minutes.
The majority of the sightings, about 52 per cent, were simple lights in the sky. Witnesses also reported UFOs shaped like triangles, spheres and boomerangs.
Some standouts - a pilot in Toronto reported in June seeing ‘a person in a wingsuit’ flying at an altitude of 13,000 feet. The study said that the incident was filed with Transport Canada.
Witnesses in Vancouver also reported a large, disc-shaped object with a mirror-like finish on its underside hovering over their sailboat on the Fraser River in September.
Many witnesses were pilots, police and ‘other individuals with reasonably good observing capabilities and good judgment,’ the study said.
The survey was compiled from receipts of reports directly from witnesses and through data mining of known websites devoted to UFO reports. The goal of the annual study is to help researchers understand the controversial phenomenon of UFOs.
“From a scientific curiosity, if things like this aren't supposed to exist, and yet people report them and see them all the time - what's going on? And if pilots are seeing things at close range, and they don't know what's going on, and they're familiar with what's in the sky, I want to know what's being seen,” Ratkowski said.
The findings from the report can be read on Ufology Research’s website.
- With files from CTV’s Rachel Lagacé
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Most of the city is evacuating': Gridlock on Alberta highway after evacuation order in Fort McMurray
Four Fort McMurray neighbourhoods were ordered to evacuate on Tuesday as a wildfire gets closer to the city.
'Inappropriate' behaviour shuts down Dublin to New York City portal
Less than a week after two public sculptures featuring a livestream between Dublin, Ireland, and New York City debuted, 'inappropriate behaviour' in real-time interactions between people in the two cities has prompted a temporary shutdown.
Maximum payout for LifeLabs class-action drops from $150 estimate to $7.86
Canadian LifeLabs customers who filed an application for a class-action settlement began receiving their payments this week, though at a much lower amount than initially expected.
Sask. police seize 1.5M pieces of evidence, lay 60 more charges in child exploitation case
Saskatchewan RCMP have revealed that a historic sexual assault investigation has led to the discovery of alleged crimes against children dating back to 2005.
About 1,000 wildfires confirmed so far this year: Here's a quick look at the situation in Canada
Nearly 1,000 wildfires have burned across Canada so far this year. Here's an overview of the situation in Canada.
American sought after 'So I raped you' Facebook message detained in France on 2021 warrant
An American accused of sexually assaulting a Pennsylvania college student in 2013 and later sending her a Facebook message that said, 'So I raped you,' has been detained in France after a three-year search.
Full List Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Tavares scores in OT, rescues Canada from potential upset in 7-6 win over Austria
Captain John Tavares scored 15 seconds into overtime and saved his teammates some embarrassment as Canada held on for a 6-5 win over Austria on Tuesday at the world hockey championship.
BREAKING Dr. Eileen de Villa, who led Toronto through the COVID-19 pandemic, announces resignation
The doctor who led Toronto through the COVID-19 pandemic as the city’s top public health official is stepping down.