Saskatchewan UFO reports in 2018 include Jackfish Lake, Prince Albert

These are just three of over 900 UFO sightings reported across Canada in 2018, published earlier this month in a report from UFOlogy Research. The Manitoba-based group annually publishes a Canadian UFO sightings survey and analysis. The goal is to provide data for use by researchers trying to understand this controversial phenomenon.

Last year saw the fewest reports since 2004 when just 882 cases were filed. For the past several years, the number of reports was well over 1,000. Quebec led the nation in sightings, accounting for 41 per cent. Ontario and British Columbia trailed in second with 24 and 13 per cent, respectively.

Despite a decline nationally, 26 were reported in Saskatchewan, more than double the year prior.

Of the 937 cases in Canada, five per cent were classified as unexplained. However, the report notes this “does not imply that an alien spacecraft or mysterious natural phenomenon was observed.”

The study found around 40 per cent of all sightings were simply lights in the sky.

In 2018, like other years, the report said most UFOs were simply described as “point sources” or starlike objects or distant lights. The classic flying saucer or disc-shaped object was reported in only 24 cases, “suggesting perhaps that the classic model is out of vogue.”

Each report is given a strangeness factor, graded from 1 to 9. The average report in 2018 was pegged at 4.4. One is considered not strange while nine is considered exceptionally unusual.

Sightings are provided reliability ratings too. Last year, the average was a level four on the scale, meaning most cases saw relatively little investigation.

Though unidentified flying object reports remain high, the survey credits several theories. Some include more secret or classified military exercises, more people taking the time to observe their surroundings, easier access to the internet and technology to report sightings. Some have suggested even the downturn in the economy led to an increased desire by some to look skyward for assistance.

“Popular opinion to the contrary, there is no incontrovertible evidence that some UFO cases involve extraterrestrial contact,” the report read. “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.”

The report said polls suggest about 10 per cent or 3.7 million Canadians believe they have seen a UFO. But other studies show only about 10 per cent of witnesses report what they saw.

The Canadian UFO Survey is assembled with data from researchers across the country, online UFO organizations, government files, direct witness reports, media and some internet posts. The information is used to determine the location, type of encounter, the reliability of the witness and overall strangeness of the sighting.

OTHER NOTABLE SASKATCHEWAN SIGHTINGS

On Nov. 7, 2018, at 6:42 a.m., a commercial aircraft flying from Cincinnati to Calgary reported observing bright lights around Regina while in flight at 50,000 feet. No other air traffic was in the area at the time. The report came from Transport Canada.

In Saskatoon on March 9, at 10:59 p.m., one person reported they believed they were abducted and tests were being performed on them in a lab. This was classified as a close encounter of the fourth kind.

There were a number of odd lights in the sky reported around Prince Albert throughout the year.

In Carlyle, two different people on Aug. 10, at 10:43 p.m. reported seeing an object flying through the sky in a zig-zag motion.

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tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr

by Tyler Marr

Saskatchewan UFO reports in 2018 include Jackfish Lake, Prince Albert

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