By Rod Tennyson, Professor Emeritus, UTIAS
Background
The surge in international interest in UFOs (unidentified flying objects) began around 1947, shortly after World War 2 (WW2). Many historical books document the host of sightings around the world, but little is known about the Canadian activities in this field that took place as early as 1950. Many Canadian government agencies were involved in documenting sightings reported by the public, including the Department of Transport (DOT), the Defence Research Board (DRB), the National Research Council (NRC) and the Department of National Defence (DND). Canada’s official entry into the investigation of this UFO phenomenon started with Mr. Wilbert Smith, who headed up Project Magnet in 1950. While Smith’s main research interest focussed on geo-magnetism at the federal Telecommunications Division of DOT in Ottawa, he was keenly interested in the UFO phenomenon. Subsequently, he was officially authorized by a DOT Deputy Minister to make a detailed study of this phenomenon, called Project Magnet. Smith is quoted as saying that research into the earth’s magnetic field could lead “to something which may well prove to be the introduction of new technology.” He also noted “this is borne out by the investigations which are being carried out at the present time in relation to flying saucers.” Smith believed that UFOs might be operating on geo-magnetic field effects. Mr. Smith went so far as to establish a government experimental detection facility in Shirley Bay to monitor anomalies in the local magnetic and radiation fields. Although he observed one dramatic change in a magnetic field detector, it was never explained. Eventually, Smith produced an ‘unofficial’ government report on his work that probably led to the subsequent involvement of the DRB, and other members of the DND in assessing the UFO phenomenon. It was Dr. Omond Solandt, Chairman of the DRB, who initiated a formal request to set up a government committee to “see if we can make anything out of these flying saucer reports” in 1952. It should be noted at this point that Dr. Solandt was a good friend of Dr. Gordon Patterson, Founder and First Director of the University of Toronto Institute for Aerophysics (UTIA), the forerunner of UTIAS. DRB funded much of the early research at UTIA, and helped finance the relocation from the Downsview airfield and construction of UTIA at its current sight. The committee Dr. Solandt formed was called, inexplicably, “Project Second Story” under the chairmanship of Dr. Peter Millman, who worked at the NRC Dominion Astrophysical Observatory in Ottawa. It is interesting to note the membership of this committee since it indicates a strong government interest in the UFO subject at that time; members included representatives from the Directorates of Air and Naval Intelligence, Military Operations and Planning and members of the DRB. After several meetings spread over the year, the committee concluded that the situation did not warrant a large scale official investigation. Millman himself, however, concluded that there were indeed a number of unexplained cases, and recommended that the international community should establish a standard format for recording and reporting sighting. This committee essentially disbanded after 1953. Curiously, Mr. Smith, who had compiled a file on UFOs, was not a member of this committee. Throughout the following years, DND maintained a UFO file based on reports submitted to the government from the public, and in some cases, actually sent investigators to interview witnesses to such sightings. In fact, DND investigators visited specific sights where ‘landings’ had reportedly occurred. These reports remained confidential and not available to the Canadian public. In 1968, the files were turned over to NRC under the oversight of Dr. Millman, who now worked in the Upper Atmosphere Research program at NRC. These reports were retained at NRC in what was called the “Non-Meteoritic Sighting File.” NRC’s main task in this field, as Millman saw it, was to remain a government repository for public sightings, with no field or investigative work undertaken by NRC.UTIAS Project UFO
In the 1960s, UFO sightings around the world increased exponentially, with many occurring in Canada. One remarkable story was reported concerning a close encounter with a UFO in the wilderness bush of Manitoba. Follow-up stories emerged that the witness had suffered serious illness from his encounter with the UFO. Although Canadian government files were accumulating many of these reported sightings, it appeared that no apparent ‘scientific’ field investigations were being conducted when ‘physical evidence’ was reported. To add to this UFO frenzy, the U.S. established “Project Blue Book” and enlisted the aid of Dr. Allen Hynek, a well-known astronomer from Northwestern University, Illionis, to investigate American sightings. He originally debunked the existence of UFOs."
