Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAPs), generally better known as UFOs, or unidentified flying objects, have been a popular topic of speculation, theorizing, and speculative fiction throughout the 20th and 21st century. It has also led to no small number of public panics and misperceptions, however, over whether a particular aerial phenomenon is natural, extraterrestrial, or the work of some nefarious adversary.
In 2022, the Office of the Science Advisor of Canada, Dr. Mona Nemer, sought to apply a more scientific lens to the question of what’s going on up there. That led to the Sky Canada Project, which was created to “review current practices surrounding public reporting of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs) in Canada,” and provide recommendations on how to “enhance transparency and scientific inquiry on UAP issues in Canada.”
Originally the final report was scheduled to be released in April of 2025. It isn’t out yet, as it was delayed by the election.
In the meantime, however, the Office released a version of the Report in January; and in lieu of the full report, this preview is worth looking at in order to see Science Advisor’s vision of how Canada could manage the UAP issue in the future. The preliminary report is called “Management of public reporting of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena in Canada,” and can be found here.
UAP reporting and coordination gaps
Notably, Sky Canada makes it very clear that the goal of the project is not to either collect evidence and first-hand data on UAPs or, especially, to “prove or disprove the existence of extraterrestrial life or extraterrestrial visitors.” Instead, it is focused more on methods and procedures; on means by which the Government can handle the “between 600 and 1000 UAP sightings annually” among Canadians. They said that “one in four respondents say they have personally witnessed a UAP in their lifetime.”
While polling cited in the report suggests that Canadians are generally either “not very concerned” or “not at all concerned” about UAPs, many still consider them a flight safety issue, and they’re still not sure what to do when they see one. “Only 10 percent reported their sightings,” the report said, with 40 percent of respondents not even knowing who to report to or how to do so.
This has led to a government-wide problem where “consultations with many federal departments and agencies revealed that they do receive UAP sighting information and reports from their stakeholders and the public,” but “few of these departments investigate these sightings unless they pertain to specific aspects of their respective mandates.” Even when they do collect reports, “most departments do not compile the reports they receive,” and so “UAP reports are scattered across multiple government and non-government organizations.”
Sky Canada’s preliminary report highlighted five key gaps that need to be addressed to resolve these issues.
- A lack of a cohesive system for reporting and followup, where UAP reports are haphazardly received by various departments with “little coordination or oversight”;
- An absence of public engagement, where Canadians have “no official, accessible platform””” to report UAP sightings and obtain potential explanations, which “contributes to the proliferation of misinformation and disinformation”;
- The limited analysis of UAP reports: reports aren’t analyzed unless they’re deemed to post safety or security risks;
- Insufficient scientific involvement: Sky Canada noted that “efforts to study UAPs with scientific rigour and engage the Canadian scientific community have been limited”; and
- Only modest efforts to enhance science literacy: which combines with the lack of transparency and cohesive reporting and analysis to “exacerbate the impact of misinformation and disinformation.”
Comparing international approaches
Sky Canada’s report looked at some international counterparts, and saw that there were some useful examples of “coordinated, transparent and scientifically driven” UAP reporting approaches.
The United States, for example, has an All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) that was established in 2022 and which “has structured approaches for collecting and investigating data on UAP sightings.” NASA has also created a position of “Director of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Research” to study the issue.
Sky Canada also points to France’s Groupe d’Études et d’Informations sur les Phénomènes Aérospatiaux Non identifiés / UAP Study and Information Group (GEIPAN) operates under France’s space agency CNES, whose mission is “to collect, investigate and archive UAP reports, and make its findings available to the public.” They also pointed to Chile’s SEFAA (Sección de Estudios de Fenómenos Aéreos Anómalos / Section for the Study of Anomalous Aerial Phenomena), which “serves as the official body responsible for collecting, analyzing and scientifically studying UAPs.”
Recommendations for handling UAPs
To resolve these issues, Sky Canada provided recommendations across four different topic areas: Reporting and Data Oversight, Communications, Research, and International Collaboration.
First, and most important: Canada needs to identify and/or create a lead that’s focused on this issue. This is the key first step in resolving the reporting and data oversight issue; someone at some federal department or agency needs to take the lead on this, preferably headed by “a trusted and recognized scientific organization” with communications ability and an “already established international scientific network.” Sky Canada suggested that the Canadian Space Agency might be a good choice on this.
This lead should establish a dedicated service focused on collecting testimonies and investigating cases, posting its analyses publicly to “proactively inform Canadians about UAPs.” Part of this will, the report said, “conven[ing] a network of government and academic partners and experts to conduct scientific analyses and follow up with observers.” This will also include working with civil aviation to encourage people in that space to “report UAP sightings without fear of stigmatization,” which will help avoid pilots being distracted by easily-explained UAPs.
On the question of Communications, Sky Canada recommended that the lead have a proactive strategy to “support public dialogue,” working together with publicly-facing organizations in the name of increasing transparency and communication with the public. They suggest museums, science centres and public libraries as a good place to start.
The government should also promote intra-governmental collaborations via an internal directive to federal agencies to work together with the lead on the issue. Not only will this help resolve the reportage bottleneck, but will help the agencies sort out UAPs that may actually be relevant to them. Sky Canada noted that both Transport Canada and the RCMP might benefit from this kind of collaboration.
They also mentioned the need to improve media relations, centred on the lead, and to set up an expert panel to determine “effective approaches to countering misinformation and disinformation.”
As to research, the report emphasizes the importance of “open access and open data,” as well as periodic surveys of Canadians to “gauge their perceptions of UAPs and assess the impact of the dedicated services.” Sky Canada said that the lead should also “support citizen science,” and that they should take steps to “enable volunteer participation in the study of UAPs.”
Part of that work should involve “the development and deployment of publicly accessible digital and portable tools,” such as smartphone apps and interactive platforms. That will help with data collection, as well as with disseminating information on UAPs. Sky Canada said that it should also involve “build[ing] on Canada’s strength in astronomy and aerospace research”; leveraging Canada’s “superb talent pool and physical research infrastructure” for the task, giving it opportunities “to be part of the public dialogue.”
Finally, in line with the international examples they highlighted, Sky Canada recommended a focus on international collaboration. This includes information-sharing partnerships with international entities dedicated to UAPs like AARO and GEIPAN, as well as international cooperation on research and communication to help with research and public awareness.
Implementing these recommendations, exemplifying a “science-based, collaborative approach,” the preliminary report said, “will help address public concerns, demystify UAPs, and potentially reveal valuable insights into aerial phenomena that are currently unexplained.” It will also “improve public trust but also position Canada alongside some of its allies as leaders in the global effort to elucidate the nature of UAPs.”
