North Bay area incidents on list of 2017 reported UFO sightings

There were 1,101 reported UFO sightings in Canada last year, and two of them came from Collingwood.

That’s according to the Canadian UFO Report put out by Ufology Research (formerly Ufology Research of Manitoba), which has been gathering data on Canadian UFO sightings since 1989.

In one report, a North Bay couple reported of a white sphere about the size of a golfball traveling in a straight line then fading.

Another describes an unusual object discovered through a Snapchat video which was examined, but also questions whether it's a bug.  

In Mattawa, it was reported that a white irregular object like a parachute was hanging in the sky and moving slowly while in South River, an orange sphere approached witnesses then moved away.

The Ufology Research report states eight percent of the 2017 sightings remain unexplained. 

“The percentage of ‘unknowns’ falls to less than one percent when only higher-quality cases are considered,” states the report.

There are ten reports considered "high-quality" unknowns from Canada last year. Four are from Ontario towns or cities including Smithville, Ottawa, Pakenham and French River. 

In addition to sightings reported by MUFON and NUFORC, Ufology Research gathers sighting details from other organizations established to investigate UFO/alien sightings from across North America. According to the data they’ve amassed, there is an overall average of two witnesses per UFO sighting. A typical UFO sighting lasted approximately 15 minutes in 2017 and the study found 43 percent of all UFO sightings were of simple lights in the sky.

“Results of this study show that many people continue to report unusual objects in the sky, and some of these objects do not have obvious explanations,” states the Ufology Research report. “Many witnesses are pilots, police and other individuals with reasonably good observing capabilities and good judgment.”

The report further suggests there are several theories for the high instance of reported UFO sightings including more UFO’s present, more secret or classified military exercises and overflights, more people are unaware of the nature of conventional or natural objects in the sky, more people are observing their surroundings, more people are able to report their sightings via the Internet and even that the downturn in the economy is leading to an increased desire by some people to look skyward for assistance.

“Popular opinion to the contrary, there is no incontrovertible evidence that some UFO cases involve extraterrestrial contact,” states the report. “The continued reporting of UFOs by the public and the yearly increase in numbers of UFO reports suggests a need for further examination of the phenomenon by social, medical and/or physical scientists.”

To read the Ufology report, click here. To see a spreadsheet listing all 1,101 UFO sightings in Canada, click here.