How AQU Reshaped Quebec's UFO Numbers

Introduction

Quebec’s striking rise in recorded UFO reports during 2015 is best understood as a change in how sightings were collected, rather than clear evidence that unusual aerial phenomena suddenly became far more common. The Association québécoise d’ufologie (AQU) expanded its reporting network, improved its visibility and made it easier for witnesses to come forward. At the same time, the Canadian UFO Survey recorded an unusually large proportion of its national database from AQU, making the organisation a major driver of Quebec’s record total.[canadianuforeport.com]canadianuforeport.com/……………… \ =====April 7, 2016…Published: April 7, 2016

This distinction matters because UFO databases measure reported observations, not necessarily unexplained events. A province with more active investigators, easier reporting channels and greater media exposure will often produce more reports than a province where witnesses have fewer ways to submit them. Quebec’s 2015 figures illustrate this reporting effect particularly clearly.

How many 2015 reports came through AQU?

The Canadian UFO Survey recorded 1,267 reports across Canada in 2015, with 450 originating in Quebec. The survey’s own discussion of data sources highlighted an exceptional change: 28 per cent of all Canadian reports were submitted through AQU, almost three times the organisation’s typical contribution. The survey’s authors described the increase as surprising and stated that the exact reason was unclear.[canadianuforeport.com]canadianuforeport.com/……………… \ =====April 7, 2016…Published: April 7, 2016

Those percentages reveal why AQU became so important to Quebec’s apparent surge. Since Quebec accounted for roughly 35 per cent of Canada’s entire annual total, an organisation handling more than one quarter of all Canadian submissions inevitably had a disproportionate influence on provincial statistics. The increase was therefore not simply a matter of more witnesses, but of more witnesses entering a reporting system that was successfully capturing cases previously unlikely to reach national databases.[canadianuforeport.com]canadianuforeport.com/……………… \ =====April 7, 2016…Published: April 7, 2016

It is also important to distinguish between AQU’s own figures and the final Canadian UFO Survey totals. Early in 2016, AQU president Gilles Milot referred publicly to more than 415 Quebec observations during 2015. After combining AQU material with reports from other organisations and applying the survey’s own inclusion criteria, the Canadian UFO Survey ultimately listed 450 Quebec cases. The difference reflects different databases, reporting cut-off dates and duplicate checking rather than disagreement about a single underlying event.[journaldequebec.com]journaldequebec.comles 12 cas les plus etranges dovnis en 2015Les 12 cas les plus étranges d’ovnis en 2015 | JDQFebruary 25, 2016…Published: February 25, 2016

Why local reporting access changes case totals

The evidence from 2015 suggests that AQU’s organisational development mattered as much as any change in the sky itself.

In interviews following publication of the Canadian UFO Survey, Gilles Milot argued that AQU had become significantly better organised than in previous years. The association had established regional directors across Quebec, increased its public profile and developed stronger media visibility. Witnesses who might previously have ignored an unusual sighting, or simply told friends, now had an identifiable organisation to contact.[journaldequebec.com]journaldequebec.comLes Québécois voient plus d'ovnis | Le Journal de QuébecLes Québécois voient plus d'ovnis | Le Journal de Québec

Milot also pointed to an important human factor. People experiencing an unexpected aerial sighting often wanted to speak with another person rather than simply complete an anonymous online form. According to him, some callers were anxious or confused and appreciated having a local organisation willing to discuss what they had seen. That kind of personal accessibility can substantially increase reporting rates without requiring any increase in genuinely unusual events.[journaldequebec.com]journaldequebec.comLes Québécois voient plus d'ovnis | Le Journal de QuébecLes Québécois voient plus d'ovnis | Le Journal de Québec

Earlier media coverage shows that AQU was already investing in public engagement before the 2015 surge reached its peak. During 2015, Quebec newspapers highlighted the association’s growing database, interactive mapping of reports and investigative work while emphasising that most sightings eventually receive ordinary explanations. Increased publicity made the organisation more visible precisely when public awareness was rising.[Le Journal de Montréal]journaldemontreal.comLe Journal de Montréal Des ovnis vus partout au Québec | Le Journal de MontréalLe Journal de MontréalDes ovnis vus partout au Québec | Le Journal de MontréalMay 3, 2015…Published: May 3, 2015

The Canadian UFO Survey itself notes a broader trend that reinforces this interpretation. Since the late 1980s, increasing numbers of reports have arrived through internet-based reporting systems. Organisations with accessible websites, online forms or active publicity naturally collect more cases than equally capable investigators with little public presence. AQU’s expansion therefore fits a wider pattern seen across Canadian civilian reporting networks.[canadianuforeport.com]canadianuforeport.com/……………… \ =====April 7, 2016…Published: April 7, 2016

Why a stronger reporting network does not imply more unexplained cases

One common misunderstanding is to treat a larger reporting total as evidence that unexplained phenomena became more common. The available evidence points in a different direction.

Milot himself repeatedly stressed that many reports received by AQU were eventually identified as ordinary objects or events, including drones and other conventional explanations. The organisation’s success lay in collecting observations, not in demonstrating that those observations represented extraordinary phenomena.[journaldequebec.com]journaldequebec.comLes Québécois voient plus d'ovnis | Le Journal de QuébecLes Québécois voient plus d'ovnis | Le Journal de Québec

Likewise, the Canadian UFO Survey distinguishes between reported sightings and genuinely unexplained cases. The survey combines reports from civilian organisations, official agencies and other sources before classifying them according to available evidence. An increase in submissions therefore increases the size of the database, but not necessarily the proportion of high-quality unexplained incidents.[canadianuforeport.com]canadianuforeport.com/……………… \ =====April 7, 2016…Published: April 7, 2016

This helps explain why Quebec experienced a record year without producing one defining incident comparable to earlier landmark provincial cases. Instead, the province generated many individual reports spread across different communities and dates, consistent with a reporting network that had become substantially more effective at gathering witness accounts.

What the 2016 figures reveal about the pattern

The year after the surge provides an important test of whether Quebec had entered a period of permanently elevated UFO activity.

The Canadian UFO Survey for 2016 shows that Quebec remained one of Canada’s leading reporting provinces, but the exceptional spike seen in 2015 did not continue at the same level. National reporting patterns returned to a more familiar distribution, indicating that the dramatic 2015 jump was not the start of an ever-rising trend.[canadianuforeport.com]canadianuforeport.comThe Canadian UFO SurveyThe Canadian UFO Survey

That moderation strengthens the reporting-network explanation. If an extraordinary physical phenomenon had been responsible for the 2015 increase, similar numbers might reasonably have been expected to continue. Instead, the evidence fits a temporary combination of improved organisational reach, heightened publicity and increased public willingness to report sightings.

The broader lesson extends beyond Quebec. Modern Canadian discussions of unidentified aerial phenomena continue to recognise that provincial organisations such as AQU perform an important public reporting role in the absence of a single comprehensive national civilian reporting system. Their visibility affects how many reports are documented, which means annual statistics should always be interpreted as measures of recorded observations rather than direct measures of unusual activity in the sky.[ised-isde.canada.ca]ised-isde.canada.caManagement of Public Reporting of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena in CanadaJune 1, 2025…Published: June 1, 2025

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Endnotes

1. Source: canadianuforeport.com
Link:https://www.canadianuforeport.com/survey/essay/2015essay.pdf

Published: April 7, 2016

2. Source: journaldequebec.com
Title: Les Québécois voient plus d’ovnis | Le Journal de Québec
Link:https://www.journaldequebec.com/2016/04/12/les-quebecois-voient-plus-dovnis

3. Source: journaldequebec.com
Title: les 12 cas les plus etranges dovnis en 2015
Link:https://www.journaldequebec.com/2016/02/25/les-12-cas-les-plus-etranges-dovnis-en-2015

Published: February 25, 2016

4. Source: canadianuforeport.com
Title: The Canadian UFO Survey
Link:https://www.canadianuforeport.com/survey/charts.html

5. Source: ised-isde.canada.ca
Title: Management of Public Reporting of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena in Canada
Link:https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/science/en/office-chief-science-advisor/sky-canada-project/management-public-reporting-unidentified-aerial-phenomena-canada

Published: June 1, 2025

6. Source: canadianuforeport.com
Title: The Canadian UFO Survey
Link:https://www.canadianuforeport.com/survey/tables.html

Published: March 29, 2021

7. Source: journaldequebec.com
Title: voici a quoi ressemble une soiree avec des passionnes dovnis
Link:https://www.journaldequebec.com/2015/10/07/voici-a-quoi-ressemble-une-soiree-avec-des-passionnes-dovnis

8. Source: journaldemontreal.com
Title: Le Journal de Montréal Des ovnis vus partout au Québec | Le Journal de Montréal
Link:https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2015/05/03/des-ovnis-vus-partout-au-quebec

Published: May 3, 2015

9. Source: anyflip.com
Title: UF O Survey
Link:https://anyflip.com/oxpi/akvg/basic

Published: October 8, 2016

10. Source: journaldemontreal.com
Title: ou des ovnis ont ete observes
Link:https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2015/05/04/ou-des-ovnis-ont-ete-observes

Additional References

11. Source: toronto.citynews.ca
Title: Last Updated
Link:https://toronto.citynews.ca/2016/04/12/annual-survey-says-quebec-leads-the-country-in-sightings-of-ufos/

Published: April 12, 2016

12. Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oK-mqAUdQ7Q

13. Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrzUIrAkrTI

14. Source: youtube.com
Title: UFO sightings rising in Canada
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DF26dbtFwKc

15. Source: globalnews.ca
Title: survey says 1267 ufos sighted in canada in 2015 quebec leads way
Link:https://globalnews.ca/news/2632498/survey-says-1267-ufos-sighted-in-canada-in-2015-quebec-leads-way/

16. Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIi9fCJ2Q3A

17. Source: odla.fr
Title: canada bilan statistique sur les ovnis en 2015 28 février 2016
Link:https://www.odla.fr/2016/02/28/canada-bilan-statistique-sur-les-ovnis-en-2015-28-f%C3%A9vrier-2016/

18. Source: youtube.com
Title: Document reveals first known Canadian UFO study in nearly 30 years
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGCggCRTh1c