Chinese spy balloon flight path over Canada: Defence officials reveal route

Canadian military officials are sharing new information about how the Chinese spy balloon came into Canadian airspace late last month.

A Chinese spy balloon that was shot down by American forces earlier this month flew over a Canadian territory and province before re-entering U.S. airspace, defence officials say.

The surveillance balloon unlawfully entered Canadian airspace between Jan. 30 and 31 – just a few days after its discovery was announced by the Pentagon on Feb. 2 while it hovered over the U.S. Midwest, eventually resulting in its takedown off the coast of the Carolinas on Feb. 4.

NORAD – the continental air defence network – began tracking the balloon as it approached U.S. airspace in late January, the Pentagon said earlier this month. It passed north of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands on Jan. 28 and moved largely over land across Alaska and then into Canadian airspace before crossing back into the U.S. over northern Idaho on Jan. 31.

For the first time since its discovery, Canadian defence officials have now revealed its flight path.

“It came down pretty much from Alaska down into Yukon and into central B.C., so pretty much between the border of Alberta and the coast,” Maj. Gen. Paul Prévost, director of staff with Strategic Joint Staff, told MPs sitting on the House of Commons National Defence committee on Friday.

Canadian Armed Forces infrastructure is in the area, but there was no “infrastructure of significance” along the balloon’s flight path, Prévost added.

The U.S. navy and coast guard have been working to recover pieces of the balloon, which was shot down off the coast of South Carolina after flying across the U.S., for analysis. They’re working to determine if it collected any intelligence from either country.

The public announcement of the balloon’s discovery earlier this month sparked outrage in both countries and prompted U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel a trip to China.