The Canadian government failed to adequately inform the public about the balloon was shot down over central Yukon, according an analysis presented at the inaugural Canadian Institute for Arctic Security conference in Whitehorse.

Nicholas Glesby, a PhD student at Trent University in Peterborough, and a network administrator for the North American and Arctic Defence and Security Network gave the presentation.

He said the balloon shot down between Dawson and Mayo on Feb. 11, 2023 was likely a hobbyist pico balloon launched by the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade. There鈥檚 no evidence the balloon posed any military danger, said Glesby.

However the Canadian Minister of National Defence assessed it posed a reasonable threat to civilian aircraft, as it was flying at 40,000 feet and it was smaller than a Chinese surveillance balloon shot down earlier off the coast of South Carolina on Feb. 4, 2023, said Glesby. These details provided justification for the Department of National Defence (DND) order to shoot down the object, according to Glesby.

A US F-22 raptor downed the object, said Glesby.

However, Glesby said the lack of messaging out of Ottawa created an information vacuum in the aftermath of the shoot-down. The vacuum went on to provide fertile breeding ground for a misinformed public discourse, which unravelled over social media and out of the mouths of pundits, he said.

鈥淓ven as the Minister initially cautioned against speculating what the object in the Yukon was, and reiterated it in her parliamentary testimony on March 3, some commentators immediately tied it to China, contributing to a politically charged social media discourse filled with misinformation over the U.S. violations of Canadian sovereignty,鈥� said Glesby.

Between a speech from then-defence minister Anita Anand, a press release from the Prime Minister鈥檚 Office, and three statements from DND, no information about the balloon was shared that hadn鈥檛 already been provided by the Americans, said Glesby.

NORAD 鈥渨orked exactly as it was designed to鈥� in the collaborative shoot-down of the object, said Glesby. But there was no effort on the behalf of the Canadian government to correct the misinformation claiming that the U.S. violated Canadian sovereign airspace, he said.

Furthermore, during a visit to the territory from Trudeau, the then-prime minister erroneously implied the balloon as potentially having Chinese origins, said Glesby. This information was not corrected by Canadian officials.

There were no statements provided from DND, the Air Force Commander, or the National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister at this point, said Glesby.

On Feb. 14, then-U.S. president Joe Biden and US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby held a press conference. There, they shared findings from U.S. intelligence which suggested that the Yukon balloon 鈥� as well as one shot down over Deadhorse, Alaska, and one over Lake Huron 鈥� were likely tied to research institutes, private companies, or recreation activities.

There was no reiteration of the statement from Canadian officials, said Glesby.

In the Yukon itself, the recovery effort didn鈥檛 take a proactive approach, he said. There were limited communications and proactive information sharing with the Canadian Rangers and local communities.

鈥淭his was a missed opportunity to enable, support and build relationships with indigenous knowledge keepers and local residents who were aware there was an unfolding situation when unfamiliar planes and people began arriving,鈥� said Glesby.

The recovery operation was ultimately called off after six days, said Glesby. Canadian Rangers advised there were significant risks associated with snowmobile travel in the vast area, and RCMP cited weather as a reason to call off the search, as well as the belief the object wasn鈥檛 anything special.

Glesby said there are lessons to learn from the whole affair.

First, National Defence needs communications experts to explain things as they happen in real time: the lack of information around the balloon created a vacuum which was quickly filled by those who weren鈥檛 in the know, said Glesby. Many Canadians still do not know that the objects downed over the Yukon, Alaska and Lake Huron were not part of a Chinese surveillance program.

Partisanship can鈥檛 interfere with allies working together to defeat adversaries in a tense geopolitical situation, said Glesby.

鈥淭his allows our mutual competitors to exploit discord for their strategic intentions, creating distrust in institutional legitimacy amongst domestic audiences,鈥� said Glesby.

He said it鈥檚 crucial for National Defence to build relationships and communicate better and faster with Indigenous communities in the Arctic.

These communities 鈥渉ave lived in the Arctic since time immemorial and have intricate essential knowledge of their environments and communities,鈥� said Glesby.

Glesby said Canada needs to move quickly to stay relevant regarding commitments to modernize NORAD to defend North America. Today鈥檚 geostrategic arena is a place of opportunity for Canada to change current thinking around defence, said Glesby.

It is also of utmost importance that Canada assert its sovereignty in the Arctic and in northern communities, said Glesby.

In the meantime, NORAD has learned from the balloon incidents, and it has changed procedure to scan hobbyist websites to understand the community better, said Glesby. The agency detects dozens of hobbyist and weather balloons every week, he said.

Contact Talar Stockton at talar.stockton@yukon-news.com