Within Project Magnet
Why Ottawa Split UFO Work in Two
Project Magnet pursued physical detection, while Second Storey turned UFOs into a reporting and security-assessment problem.
On this page
- Project Magnet's experimental purpose
- Second Storey's reporting committee role
- Why official confidence moved away from Smith
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Introduction
In the early 1950s, Canada did not respond to flying-saucer reports through a single programme. Instead, Ottawa split the issue into two distinct tracks. Project Magnet, based in the Department of Transport and closely associated with engineer Wilbert B. Smith in Ottawa, attempted to find physical evidence that might explain or detect unidentified aerial objects. Project Second Storey, created under the Defence Research Board, treated the same phenomenon as a reporting, assessment and policy problem. One project looked for measurable effects; the other tried to decide what government departments should make of the growing number of sightings. This division is important in Ontario’s UFO history because it reveals how federal authorities balanced scientific curiosity, Cold War security concerns and public pressure at a time when UFO reports were attracting increasing attention. [UTIAS+2Wikipedia]utias.utoronto.caUniversity of Toronto Institute for Aerospace StudiesCanada's official entry into the investigation of this UFO phenomenon started with M…
Why Ottawa Split UFO Work in Two
The common assumption is that Project Magnet and Project Second Storey were essentially the same effort under different names. The historical record shows something more complicated.
Project Magnet originated in 1950 when Wilbert B. Smith received approval to investigate whether UFOs might use geomagnetic forces for propulsion. His work centred on experiments, instrumentation and the possibility that unidentified objects could leave measurable physical traces. The project eventually included the Shirley Bay detection facility west of Ottawa, where Smith hoped to record magnetic, radio or radiation anomalies associated with UFO activity. [Science.gc.ca+2UTIAS]science.gc.caManagement of Public Reporting of Unidentified AerialProject Magnet, as well as taking over the management of previous UFO reports. According to the NRC, until 1995, they were officially tas…
Project Second Storey, established in 1952, had a different mandate. Sponsored by the Defence Research Board and chaired by astronomer Peter Millman, it was an interdepartmental committee intended to examine UFO reports and help formulate an official governmental position. Rather than building detection equipment, it evaluated reports, considered possible explanations and assessed whether the phenomenon represented a defence or scientific issue requiring further attention. [Wikipedia+2Arcs Atom]WikipediaProject Second StoreyProject Second Storey was an interdepartmental committee set up by the Government of Canada on April 22, 1952 to est…
The split reflected a practical reality. By 1952, federal departments were receiving enough UFO correspondence and sighting reports that Ottawa needed both a research response and an administrative response. One effort attempted to discover whether there was anything physically unusual to investigate; the other attempted to manage information and determine whether the reports warranted government concern. [Batadora+2Digital Collections]batadora.trentu.caetd 776From 1950-1995, the Canadian government investigated the phenomenon of unidentified flying objects (UFOs)…Read more…
Project Magnet’s Experimental Purpose
Smith viewed UFOs primarily as a technical problem. His central question was whether sightings pointed to a real physical technology that could be measured and perhaps understood.
This led him toward experimental methods unusual for government UFO investigations of the period. Rather than relying solely on witness statements, he sought objective indicators. Instruments at Shirley Bay monitored radio signals, magnetic disturbances and other environmental factors that Smith believed might accompany advanced aerial vehicles. The goal was not merely to catalogue sightings but to detect a repeatable physical effect. [UTIAS+2DECLASSIFIED]utias.utoronto.caUniversity of Toronto Institute for Aerospace StudiesCanada's official entry into the investigation of this UFO phenomenon started with M…
That approach made Project Magnet distinctive within Canada’s UFO history. Many governments collected reports. Few attempted to establish a dedicated observational site designed around the expectation that UFOs would leave measurable traces. Ontario’s role was therefore not simply administrative; it became the location of one of the most unusual official UFO experiments conducted anywhere in North America during the early Cold War. [DECLASSIFIED+2UTIAS]declassified.caProject MagnetProject Magnet - DECLASSIFIEDFinally, he built a UFO observatory at Shirley's Bay, a restricted military site west of Ottawa…
Yet Magnet’s ambitions exceeded its results. Despite years of work, the project failed to produce evidence convincing enough to establish that UFOs represented a new physical phenomenon. The available records suggest that the experiments remained inconclusive, leaving officials without the kind of empirical proof Smith hoped to obtain. [DECLASSIFIED+2Literary Review of Canada]declassified.caProject MagnetProject Magnet - DECLASSIFIEDFinally, he built a UFO observatory at Shirley's Bay, a restricted military site west of Ottawa…
Second Storey’s Reporting Committee Role
Project Second Storey approached the UFO issue from almost the opposite direction. [arcs-atom.uottawa.ca]arcs-atom.uottawa.caArcs Atom Project Second Story/StoreySecond Story/Storey - University of OttawaProject Second Storey was a committee within the Canadian government,… Read more and establishe…
Its purpose was not to prove a propulsion theory or detect unusual energies. Instead, it assembled expertise from different departments to examine reports already entering government channels. The committee reviewed cases, discussed possible explanations and considered whether sightings posed a threat to national security or revealed a legitimate scientific problem. [Wikipedia+2Arcs Atom]WikipediaProject Second StoreyProject Second Storey was an interdepartmental committee set up by the Government of Canada on April 22, 1952 to est…
This made Second Storey less a research laboratory than an assessment mechanism. It functioned as a forum where officials could compare information and develop a coherent response to public questions. In modern terms, it resembled a reporting and evaluation system rather than an experimental programme. [Wikipedia+2The Walrus]WikipediaProject Second StoreyProject Second Storey was an interdepartmental committee set up by the Government of Canada on April 22, 1952 to est…
The committee’s leadership also signalled a different institutional culture. Peter Millman was a respected astronomer whose professional background inclined him toward conventional scientific explanations. While committee members considered reports seriously enough to discuss them, they generally sought ordinary causes before entertaining extraordinary conclusions. [The Walrus]thewalrus.cawhat ufo fears tell us about government trustThe WalrusWhat UFO Fears Tell Us about Trust in Government17 Feb 2023 — For scientists like Peter Millman, the NRC astronomer who chaired…
As a result, Second Storey increasingly framed UFOs as a problem of identification, record-keeping and public communication rather than evidence of revolutionary technology. That distinction became crucial in shaping Ottawa’s later policy. [The Walrus]thewalrus.cawhat ufo fears tell us about government trustThe WalrusWhat UFO Fears Tell Us about Trust in Government17 Feb 2023 — For scientists like Peter Millman, the NRC astronomer who chaired…
Why Official Confidence Moved Away from Smith
The divergence between the two projects became more pronounced as the decade progressed.
Smith’s work began with support because it could be presented as an investigation into geomagnetism and atmospheric phenomena. Over time, however, his increasingly firm belief that UFOs represented advanced craft drew concern among officials who wanted stronger evidence before reaching such conclusions. Historians of Canada’s UFO investigations note that Project Magnet gradually came to be viewed less as a neutral scientific inquiry and more as a project shaped by Smith’s personal convictions. [Literary Review of Canada+2Batadora]reviewcanada.caLiterary Review of CanadaEyes Like SaucersBy virtue of its sponsors, Project Magnet was Canada's first official investigation of the UFO…
At the same time, agencies responsible for defence and scientific assessment were reaching a different judgement. By the mid-1950s, officials involved in Second Storey and related reviews increasingly concluded that reported sightings did not demonstrate a security threat and were often explainable through conventional causes, observational errors or natural phenomena. [Literary Review of Canada+2The Walrus]reviewcanada.caLiterary Review of CanadaEyes Like SaucersBy virtue of its sponsors, Project Magnet was Canada's first official investigation of the UFO…
This shift helps explain why Project Magnet ended as a government-funded effort in 1954. Ottawa did not abandon UFO reporting altogether, but it moved away from Smith’s experimental search for physical proof and toward a more cautious system focused on collecting reports and evaluating them case by case. Later responsibility for handling public UFO reports eventually passed through other federal bodies, including the National Research Council. [Literary Review of Canada]reviewcanada.caLiterary Review of CanadaEyes Like SaucersBy virtue of its sponsors, Project Magnet was Canada's first official investigation of the UFO…
What the Two Projects Reveal About Canada’s Early UFO Policy
Viewed together, Project Magnet and Project Second Storey illustrate a tension that ran through Canada’s early UFO bureaucracy.
Project Magnet represented the possibility that UFO reports pointed to an undiscovered physical reality worthy of direct measurement. Project Second Storey represented the government’s need to assess claims, manage information and determine whether any genuine security issue existed. One programme was exploratory and engineering-oriented; the other was evaluative and administrative. [UTIAS+2Wikipedia]utias.utoronto.caUniversity of Toronto Institute for Aerospace StudiesCanada's official entry into the investigation of this UFO phenomenon started with M…
For Ontario’s UFO history, the significance lies less in any specific sighting than in how Ottawa responded. The federal government briefly pursued both paths at once: searching for evidence while simultaneously building a framework to judge the reports already arriving on officials’ desks. In the end, the reporting-and-assessment model outlasted the experimental one. That outcome shaped Canada’s official handling of UFO reports for decades after Project Magnet and Project Second Storey themselves had disappeared. [Science.gc.ca+2Batadora]science.gc.caManagement of Public Reporting of Unidentified AerialProject Magnet, as well as taking over the management of previous UFO reports. According to the NRC, until 1995, they were officially tas…
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UFOs and Government
Examines official UFO investigations, policy responses, and Cold War-era programs comparable to Magnet and Second Storey.
The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects
Explains how governments organized and evaluated UFO investigations during the early Cold War era.
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The UFO Encyclopedia
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Endnotes
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Source: utias.utoronto.ca
Link: https://www.utias.utoronto.ca/our-story/history/Source snippet
University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace StudiesCanada's official entry into the investigation of this UFO phenomenon started with M...
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Source: Wikipedia
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Second_StoreySource snippet
Project Second StoreyProject Second Storey was an interdepartmental committee set up by the Government of Canada on April 22, 1952 to est...
Published: April 22, 1952
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Source: science.gc.ca
Title: Management of Public Reporting of Unidentified Aerial
Link: https://science.gc.ca/site/science/en/office-chief-science-advisor/sky-canada-project/management-public-reporting-unidentified-aerial-phenomena-canadaSource snippet
Project Magnet, as well as taking over the management of previous UFO reports. According to the NRC, until 1995, they were officially tas...
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Source: declassified.ca
Title: Project Magnet
Link: https://declassified.ca/project-magnet/Source snippet
Project Magnet - DECLASSIFIEDFinally, he built a UFO observatory at Shirley's Bay, a restricted military site west of Ottawa...
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Source: Wikipedia
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Magnet_%28Canada%29Source snippet
Project Magnet (Canada)Project Magnet was an unidentified flying object (UFO) study programme established by Transport Canada in Decem...
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Source: canada.ca
Link: https://www.canada.ca/en/library-[archivesSource snippet
Canada's UFOs: The search for the unknown2 Mar 2026 — These documents were accumulated between 1947 and the early 1980s and represent all...
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Source: batadora.trentu.ca
Title: etd 776
Link: https://batadora.trentu.ca/objects/etd-776Source snippet
From 1950-1995, the Canadian government investigated the phenomenon of unidentified flying objects (UFOs)...Read more...
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Source: arcs-atom.uottawa.ca
Title: Arcs Atom Project Second Story/Storey
Link: https://arcs-atom.uottawa.ca/index.php/project-second-storySource snippet
Second Story/Storey - University of OttawaProject Second Storey was a committee within the Canadian government,… Read more and establishe...
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Source: thewalrus.ca
Title: what ufo fears tell us about government trust
Link: https://thewalrus.ca/what-ufo-fears-tell-us-about-government-trust/Source snippet
The WalrusWhat UFO Fears Tell Us about Trust in Government17 Feb 2023 — For scientists like Peter Millman, the NRC astronomer who chaired...
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Source: digitalcollections.trentu.ca
Title: A History of Canada s UFO Investigation 1950 1995
Link: https://digitalcollections.trentu.ca/_flysystem/fedora/2022-04/A_History_of_Canada_s_UFO_Investigation_1950_1995.pdfSource snippet
Introduction. Canada's UFO investigation began in 1950 with the work of Wilbert Smith...Read more...
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Source: reviewcanada.ca
Link: https://reviewcanada.ca/magazine/2022/07/eyes-like-saucers/Source snippet
Literary Review of CanadaEyes Like SaucersBy virtue of its sponsors, Project Magnet was Canada's first official investigation of the UFO...
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Source: reddit.com
Title: project magnet
Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/UFOs/comments/1ft1s2g/project_magnet/Source snippet
r/UFOsIn 1952, Wilbert B. Smith, the head of the Canadian government's secret UFO study, concluded they “are probably extra-terrestrial...
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Source: arcs-atom.uottawa.ca
Title: ca Project Magnet: Supplemental Documents
Link: https://arcs-atom.uottawa.ca/index.php/project-magnet-supplemental-documentsSource snippet
· [Series] S2 - General Research and Writings on UFOs · [Series] S3 - Correspondence and UFO Research: Committees...Read more...
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Source: canadaufohistory.com
Title: Project Magnet
Link: https://www.canadaufohistory.com/1947-1954/project-magnetSource snippet
Library and Archives Canada. December 14, 1954.; Hayes, Matthew. Search for the Unknown: Canada's UFO Files and the...Read more...
Published: December 14, 1954
Additional References
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Source: radiocom.ca
Link: https://radiocom.ca/z_a_ufo_observatory.htmSource snippet
Radio EngineerThe Web site presidentialufo.com calls him "Canada's UFO pioneer." Smith's old laboratory still stands at Shirley's Bay, on...
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Source: sacred-texts.com
Link: https://sacred-texts.com/ufo/canada.htmSource snippet
UFOlogy in Canada... UFO reports, less classified than Project Magnet, but still confidential.... The articles were published in Canadia...
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Source: facebook.com
Title: did you know for 45 years the canadian government investigated unidentified flyi
Link: https://www.facebook.com/Historica.Canada/posts/did-you-know-for-45-years-the-canadian-government-investigated-unidentified-flyi/10160278298195238/Source snippet
Historica Canada's postHere in 1959 from Wilbert Smith who ran the official Canadian government investigation into flying saucers as they...
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Source: drdavidclarke.co.uk
Title: canadas ufo files book review
Link: https://drdavidclarke.co.uk/2022/08/04/canadas-ufo-files-book-review/Source snippet
Canada's UFO Files: book review |4 Aug 2022 — During the early part of the Cold War, Canada launched two overlapping UFO investigations...
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Source: lobster-magazine.co.uk
Link: https://www.lobster-magazine.co.uk/article/issue/34/the-ufo-files-the-canadian-connection-exposed/Source snippet
The UFO Files: The Canadian Connection Exposed - LobsterThe result was 'Project Second Storey', the Canadian equivalent of 'Project Blue...
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Source: activehistory.ca
Title: Canada, UFOs, and Wishful Thinking
Link: https://activehistory.ca/blog/2017/02/10/canada-ufos-and-wishful-thinking-2/Source snippet
Novelty UFO in [Moonbeam]({{ 'moonbeam/' | relative_url }}), Ontario. Wikimedia Commons. If you've ever done even a cursory search on UFOs, chances are you've...
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Source: youtube.com
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJInZy0daskSource snippet
One of Canada's Strangest Sightings (S5) | The Proof Is Out There...
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Source: youtube.com
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eG7Z5de1D0Source snippet
The Pentagon Just Released 162 UFO Files. A Canadian Forces Insider Read Every One...
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Source: youtube.com
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A79-_OFjbJMSource snippet
The Summer of UFOs: Canada's 1975 Wave (with Chris Rutkowski)...
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Source: dokumen.pub
Link: https://dokumen.pub/search-for-the-unknown-canadas-ufo-files-and-the-rise-of-conspiracy-theory-9780228012290.htmlSource snippet
citizens and the state. Beginning in thRead more...
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