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Ufology Research report suggests 986 UFO sightings in Canada in 2011

A report by Ufology Research, listing sightings of unidentified flying objects in Canada, is prompting further research thanks to near-record-high sightings in 2011.

In 2011, there were 986 UFO sightings reported. In Ontario alone, Ufology Research recorded 406 sightings. In Manitoba, there were 81.

Read the entire report here.

"Ontario is getting more of the share of the UFO reports every year. There used to be an emphasis on the west, in some of our earlier reports," Chris Rutkowski, the national Ufology group's research director, said in Winnipeg on Tuesday.

Canada's all-time high for UFO sightings was set in 2008, with 1,004 sightings that year.

Of these sightings, 11 per cent could not be explained. None were linked to alien contacts.

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"Popular opinion to the contrary, there is no incontrovertible evidence that some UFO cases involve extraterrestrial contact," the study noted.

Researchers believe the large number of unexplained sightings suggests more investigation is needed by social, medical and physical scientists.

"Results of this study show many people continue to report unusual objects in the sky, and some of these objects do not have obvious explanations. Many witnesses are pilots, police and other individuals with reasonably good observing capabilities and good judgement," the study concluded.

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The study records that more than half of all UFO sightings were simple lights in the sky, QMI Agency reports. Other reports were of sources of light, spheres and boomerangs.

A December 12th citing south of Winnipeg reported one UFO of interest:

"Somebody had seen a grey, shiny, disk-shaped object flying below the clouds, in a hanging motion, near Morris," Rutkowski said. "There was no estimate of the size. It was hanging below the clouds and was seen for about a minute and a half, before it just disappeared."

And in St. Catherines last February, a man reported seeing a grapefruit-sized object circling around a hydro pole before flying toward him, missing him by as little as two metres, before disappearing.

(Less than 2 per cent of UFO citings are "Close Encounters" like the one above.)

The study claims that approximately 1 in every 10 Canadians have seen a UFO. Have you?

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