Canada First Became Aware of High-Altitude Balloon in January: Transport Canada

Canada spotted an unidentified high-altitude weather balloon days before the U.S. military shot down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon off the coast of the Carolinas in early February, says Transport Canada.

“On January 31, 2023, Transport Canada was made aware of the possible presence of a High Altitude Balloon over Western Canada,” CTV News spoke to a spokesperson representing the federal department on March 2nd.

When the Chinese surveillance balloon was first seen hovering above Montana, it became an instant sensation. It floated east over Before being destroyed on February 4, the continental U.S. fell into the Atlantic Ocean.

NAV CANADA is a private, non-profit corporation that operates Canada’s civil aviation navigation system. recorded the incident on Transport Canada’s Civil Aviation Daily Occurrence Reporting System (CADORS) on Feb. 9.

NAV CANADA’s report said the incident occurred in British Columbia skies on Jan. 31, when an Air Canada flight from Vancouver to Winnipeg encountered “a large balloon about 4,000 feet above them with something hanging from it.”

The North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) was advised about the incident, the report added.

Transport Canada also said event information listed in CADORS reports contains “preliminary, unconfirmed data which can be subject to change.”

Transport Canada told CTV it directed NAV CANADA to “issue a notice to airmen” This would alert aircraft to the potential danger and identify the balloon in the airspace. “exercise caution.”

Transport Canada was not available for comment by The Epoch Times.

High-Altitude Balloon

The Pentagon said on Feb. 2 it was tracking a Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon that at the time was believed to have floated over the Aleutian islands and Canada before crossing into the airspace of Montana.

Several days later, Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said the Canadian federal government Because there was no high-altitude balloon, the public wasn’t notified sooner. “lives at stake.”

“There are techniques at stake. This is complex stuff,” Mendicino spoke to the Canada-China House of Commons Committee on February 6.

He also said Ottawa needs to be cautious about releasing such information in the interest of protecting national security operations and the individuals involved in them.

“That is a matter of the utmost sensitivity,” He told the committee.

Lt.-Gen. Alain Pelletier, the deputy commander of NORAD, later said the balloon Before landing in the U.S., they flew through gaps on Canada’s radar system.

Both Pelletier and Maj.-Gen. Paul Prevost of the Canadian Armed Forces strategic joint staff also said the balloon flew near several Canadian military bases while travelling through the country on Jan. 30 and Jan. 31, but didn’t pass over anything of particular significance.

Andrew Thornebrooke, Andrew Ghoreishi and The Canadian Press contributed to the report.