Object destroyed over Yukon a day before PM scheduled to visit Whitehorse

By The Canadian Press on February 12, 2023.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to answer questions about a “cylindrical object” shot down over central Yukon when he visits the territory Sunday for a previously scheduled trip to Whitehorse.

Shortly after North American Aerospace Defence Command publicly revealed the presence of the object over Northern Canada Saturday afternoon, Trudeau tweeted he had ordered it taken down, posting both Canadian and U.S. aircraft were scrambled, and a U.S. F-22 successfully fired at the object.

Trudeau added that he had been in touch with U.S. President Joe Biden, and a summary of the conversation released by the White House said the two leaders authorized the object be shot down at the recommendation of their militaries.

The Canadian Armed Forces is in the process of recovering and analyzing the wreckage.

At a hastily arranged news conference Saturday evening, Defence Minister Anita Anand said it was too early to tell whether the object was from China, although she did say it was “potentially similar” to the Chinese spy balloon destroyed on Feb. 5 off the coast of North Carolina.

Chief of the defence staff Gen. Wayne Eyre referred to the object as a “balloon” during the same news conference.

The object is the third known to have violated North American airspace in the past two weeks, but the first whose presence has been revealed while it was flying over Canada.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 12, 2023.

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