Findings of the 2024 Canadian UFO Survey: An Overview
The results of the 2024 Canadian UFO Survey show that UFO sightings continue to be reported in Canada at a significant rate. In 2024, 1008 UFO reports were officially filed in Canada with official government agencies, participating private organizations, media, and social media. The annual Canadian UFO Survey is produced by Ufology Research, based in Manitoba, with the cooperation of investigators and researchers across the country who are working together and sharing data so as to better understand what is being seen and reported across the country. Since the annual Canadian UFO Survey was initiated in 1989, more than 25,000 Canadian UFO reports have been catalogued during the past 35 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 1952 and 1969. And, while Blue Book listed 701 cases as Unexplained, there are currently 2,650 Unexplained cases in the Canadian UFO Survey database.
Total Number of Canadian UFO Reports since 1989
Monthly breakdown of Canadian UFO Reports in 2024
In 2024, most UAP reports were in the fall and winter instead the summer months as usual. This was certainly due to the “drone wave” that received great attention from media. For example, December 2024 had a large number of UAP reports compared with December 2023, from 3.8 per cent last year to 16.87 per cent this year.
Breakdown of UFO Reports by Type
The types of UFOs are categorized in this Survey as follows: NL (Nocturnal Light) - light source in night sky ND (Nocturnal Disc) - light source in night sky that appears to have a definite shape DD (Daylight Disc) - unknown object observed during daytime hours C1 (Close Encounter of the First Kind) - ND or DD occurring within 200 metres of a witness C2 (Close Encounter of the Second Kind) - C1 where physical effects left or noted C3 (Close Encounter of the Third Kind) - C1 where figures/entities are encountered.
C4 (Close Encounter of the Fourth Kind) - an alleged “abduction” or “contact” experience PH (Photo only) – where a witness examines a photo take earlier and notes a UAP RD (Radar) – where a UAP was detected on radar.
Most reported UFOs were simple lights in the sky, known as Nocturnal Lights (NL) in 45.2 per cent of cases, similar to 2023, while Close Encounters comprised less than 1.5 per cent of the total. Slightly more than 20 per cent of cases were daytime observations. In general, provinces with larger populations tend to have the most UFO reports.
Reported Colours of UFOs
As in previous years, the most common colour of UFO in 2024 was White, reported 36 per cent of the time. The next most common was “Multicoloured” with 19 per cent, Silver with 9 per cent, and Red, with 7 per cent. The Silver UFOs were daytime cases.
Number of Witnesses per Case
In terms of the number of witnesses per case, many sightings were experienced by more than one person. The average number of witnesses per report in 2024 was 1.72, up from 1.45 in 2023. This means that it was more likely in 2024 for a case to have more than one witness.
Duration of UFO Sightings
The average duration of UFO sightings in Canada in 2024 was 36 minutes, almost twice the length of a sighting in 2023, which was about 16 minutes, and only 13 minutes in 2022. The length of time an object is seen suggests some simple explanations for what was being observed by the witness. In fact, the duration of a sighting is one of the biggest clues to its explanation. Experience in studying UFO reports has shown that short duration events are usually fireballs or bolides, and long duration events of an hour or more are very probably astronomical objects moving slowly with Earth’s rotation. Long duration sightings tend to occur in the early morning hours, from about midnight until 6:00 a.m.
Hourly Distribution of UFO Sightings
The hourly distribution of cases has usually followed a similar pattern every year, with a peak at 2200 hours local and a trough around 0900 hours local. Since most UFOs are nocturnal lights, most sightings will occur during the evening hours. Since the number of possible observers drops off sharply near midnight, we would expect the hourly rate of UFO reports would vary with two factors: potential observers and darkness.
Reported Shapes of UFOs
The most common shape of UFO reported in 2024 was a simple point source of light (45 per cent), exactly as in previous years. Other shapes reported were Triangle (8 per cent), Sphere (16 per cent), Cigar (4 per cent) and Fireball (4 per cent). The classic “flying saucer” was only reported 18 times (6 per cent) in 2024. An “Irregular” object was reported in 6 per cent of the cases.
Strangeness
The average Strangeness rating for UFO reports during 2024 was 4.4, where 1 is considered not strange at all and 9 is considered exceptionally unusual. This is slightly up from 4.0 in 2023, suggesting reported objects in 2024 seemed to be more unusual than in previous years. The assigning of a Strangeness rating to a UFO report is based on a classification adopted by researchers who noted that the inclusion of a subjective evaluation of the degree to which a particular case is in itself unusual might yield some insight into the data. For example, the observation of a single, stationary, starlike light in the sky, seen for several hours, is not particularly unusual and might likely have a prosaic explanation such as that of a star or planet. On the other hand, a detailed observation of a saucer-shaped object which glides slowly away from a witness after an encounter with grey-skinned aliens would be considered highly strange. A Strangeness rating is assigned during the data entry process, based on the given information about each case. It is subjective, but based on the general criteria noted above.
Reliability of UFO Reports
The average Reliability rating of Canadian UFO reports in 2024 was just under 5, meaning that most cases had minimal investigation, and were likely only report forms filled out by a witness, without extensive supporting documentation or investigation. Higher reliability cases include actual interviews with witnesses, a detailed case investigation, multiple witnesses, supporting documentation, and other evidence. Well-investigated cases comprise only a small fraction of all UFO data, a fact that makes UFO case data have limited value. Reliability and Strangeness ratings tend to vary in classic bell-shaped curves.
Conclusions and Explanations for UFO Reports
The percentage of UFO cases considered Unexplained in 2024 was 3.77 per cent, down from 6 per cent in 2023. This is a result of careful scrutiny of raw report information available for analyses. The percentage of Explained cases in 2024 was 14 per cent, up from 10 per cent in 2023. In 2024, Probable Explanation cases represented 34 per cent of the total and Insufficient Information cases were 49 per cent, much greater than 37 in 2023. This was because of a more rigorous evaluation process during data entry, objectively assessing the amount of information available for review in the reports. Many reports in 2024 did not have enough information to allow assessment, thus the percentage of Insufficient Information cases was higher than in 2023. Conversely, this situation also resulted in a decrease in Explained cases. 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.
Sources of UFO Case Data
Sources for UFO reports in 2024 included civilian Canadian UFO organizations, major USA-based groups such as NUFORC, cases reported directly to Ufology Research, and also Canadian government agencies. Sources also included Paranormal Phenomena Research & Investigation (PPRI) and Groupe d'assistance et de recherche sur les phénomènes aérospatiaux non-identifiés (GARPAN). MUFON case data was not made available to us for this study. One of the most significant hindrances of UFO/UAP research is the lack of a central repository or data collection agency, either civilian or governmental. There are many UFO groups and organizations that claim to be such, and encourage the public to consider them first, but the field is so fractured that coordination is almost impossible. A comprehensive collection of Canadian UFO case data has not been possible due to some organizations withholding proprietary case data from scientific study. A user-friendly UFO reporting app was released in 2023 by EnigmaLabs, which kindly provided Canadian UFO report data for the Canadian UFO Survey. In 2023, 205 Canadian UFO reports were filed with EnigmaLabs, but as adding EnigmaLabs data into the Canadian UFO Survey for 2023 would have skewed comparisons with previous years, this data was not included in the yearly numbers. However, as EnigmaLabs has continued to generously share its data with the Canadian UFO Survey, the 558 Canadian UFO sightings reported to EnigmaLabs in 2024 have been included this year. As there were 571 cases in the 2023 Canadian UFO Survey, not including EnigmaLabs data, if we add in their data, that increases the total number of Canadian UAP reports in 2023 to 776. With the inclusion of EnigmaLabs data in 2004, the 1008 cases represent an increase of about 30 per cent from 2023.
Acknowledgements
Thanks are due to the many researchers across Canada whose dedication and passion for the subject allow studies like the annual Canadian UFO Survey. The willingness to share UFO case data is essential for the analyses and testing of hypotheses that may allow scientists to gain a better understanding of the UFO phenomenon. Thanks are due to Leanne Sallenback, Ashley Kircher, Geoff Dittman, Curt Collins, and Ralph Howard for their assistance in preparation of the annual Canadian UFO Survey.
The full report of the 2024 Canadian UFO Survey (as well as the previous ones) is available at this link
For more information on UFO reports in Canada, please contact:
Chris Rutkowski Ufology Research canadianuforeport@hotmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chris.rutkowski
Instagram: @ufologyresearch
X/Twitter: @ufologyresearch
Canadian UFO Survey: http://canadianuforeport.com
