Object over Yukon ordered shot down because of threat posed to aircraft: Trudeau

OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he ordered an unidentified cylindrical object shot down over central Yukon Saturday because it posed a threat to civilian planes and potentially to Canadians.

Trudeau says Canada and the United States are taking the situation "extremely seriously."

Saturday's incident marks the third time this month the U.S. military shot down an object, but the first time one was destroyed over Canadian territory.

A suspected Chinese spy balloon was shot down off the coast of North Carolina on Feb. 5, and on Friday the U.S. military shot down an object described as being the size of a small car over Alaska.

Trudeau says after the North American Aerospace Defence Command identified a third object flying over northern Canada Saturday afternoon, he made the order to have it shot down as well.

Trudeau is leaving for Whitehorse this morning on a trip planned before the object was destroyed, but his meetings will now include discussions with leaders there about the incident.

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