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There were 1,101 reported UFO sightings in Canada last year, and two of them came from Barrie.
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.
According to Ufology Research, the first sighting reported in Barrie happened on Feb. 27, 2017, at 7:20 p.m. The witness reported seeing three white lights pulsating and flashing.
The report was originally made to the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), an American-based non-profit organization that investigates cases of alleged UFO sightings. It is one of the oldest and largest civilian UFO-investigative organizations in the United States. It ranks each UFO sighting for strangeness and reliability on a scale of one to 10, based on the witness' ability to recall it, their understanding of naturally occurring flying objects, and their perceived skills in observing.
The first Barrie sighting received a strangeness value of four and a reliability ranking of five.
The second sighting reported in Barrie happened Sept. 22, 2017 at 9:04 p.m. The witness reported seeing three irregular white lights on a fidget spinner-like object that went from west to east on the horizon. This incident was also reported to MUFON.
On the strangeness and reliability scale, it was given a five.
The Ufology Research report states eight per cent of the 2017 sightings remain unexplained.
“The percentage of ‘unknowns’ falls to less than one per cent when only higher-quality cases are considered,” states the report.
There are 10 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 National UFO Reporting Centre (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 per cent 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.
