Matthew Hayes - Search for the Unknown: Canadas UFO Files and the Rise of Conspiracy

Canadas UFO Files and the Rise of Conspiracy Theory

MATTHEW HAYES

McGill-Queens University Press
Montreal & Kingston London Chicago

McGill-Queens University Press 2022

ISBN 978-0-2280-1074-6 (cloth)

ISBN 978-0-2280-1229-0 (ePDF)

ISBN 978-0-2280-1230-6 (ePUB)

Legal deposit second quarter 2022

Bibliothque nationale du Qubec

Printed in Canada on acid-free paper that is 100% ancient forest free (100% post-consumer recycled), processed chlorine free

This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, through the Awards to Scholarly Publications Program, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts. Nous remercions le Conseil des arts du Canada de son soutien.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Title: Search for the unknown : Canadas UFO files and the rise of conspiracy theory / Matthew Hayes.

Names: Hayes, Matthew (Historian), author.

Description: Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: Canadiana (print) 2021036355X | Canadiana (ebook) 20210363649 | ISBN 9780228010746 (cloth) | ISBN 9780228012290 (ePDF) | ISBN 9780228012306 (ePUB)

Subjects: LCSH: Unidentified flying objectsSightings and encountersCanadaHistory20th century. | LCSH: Unidentified flying objectsGovernment policyCanadaHistory20th century. | LCSH: Government informationCanadaHistory20th century. | LCSH: Conspiracy theoriesCanadaHistory20th century.

Classification: LCC TL789.6.c3 H39 2022 | DDC 001.9420971dc23

This book was typeset in 10.5/13 Sabon.

This book began its life as a PhD dissertation in the School for the Study of Canada at Trent University. I owe thanks to a number of people there, who provided patient and encouraging guidance, foremost among them: my supervisor Christopher Dummitt, my committee members Peter Hodgins and Edward Jones-Imhotep, and the schools administrators Cathy Schoel and Jeannine Crowe. I benefitted greatly from the chance to speak about my project on the cbc program Ideas, which helped me make sense of what I was trying to say. Thank you to Nicola Luksic and Tom Howell for the opportunity. One day, out of the blue, Kyla Madden from McGill-Queens University Press reached out to me to talk about a possible book. I am grateful that she did so. I cannot thank Kyla enough for her patience and expert editorial guidance on turning my dissertation into this book. Thanks also go to a number of other people who have provided invaluable assistance along the way: Christopher Ryan, Leah Weiner, Veronique Paris, Wendy Robicheau, Laura Thursby, and Noah Morritt. Lastly, I want to thank all the civil servants and ufologists who have worked to understand what this whole UFO phenomenon amounts to. They have often disagreed with one another (and probably still do), yet their interactions are the reason I was able to do this project at all. Whatever UFOs turn out to be, I am grateful for their efforts.