READ: New Survey Reveals Nearly Half of Canadians Believe in the Paranormal
New national research has revealed something striking about Canadian attitudes: nearly half of the population believes in at least one form of paranormal activity — ghosts included. The paranormal refers to phenomena that science cannot currently explain and that fall outside mainstream religious doctrine. In Canada, abilities like telekinesis or psychic intuition and creatures like Bigfoot are considered paranormal, while angels and demons fall under religion.
Many non-probability samples of Canadians have been surveyed over the last few years, but unlike ours, those results tell us little because they did not use random sampling to recruit respondents. This graph shows how many Canadians believe, are neutral or don’t believe in the existence of paranormal activity. (Sophia Dimitrakopoulos), CC BY-ND
Despite Canada being one of the most secular countries in the world, interest in the unexplained is thriving. In the summer of 2025, researchers launched a confidential, nationally representative survey — the first in about 20 years to use randomly selected Canadians rather than convenience samples. The goal was simple: understand what Canadians actually believe when it comes to ghosts, aliens, cryptids, psychic abilities, and other unexplained events.
The results show that 44% of Canadians believe in at least one paranormal phenomenon, while one-quarter say they’ve had a direct encounter with a spirit.
The survey covered hauntings, alien visitations, astrology, psychic abilities, telekinesis, and Canadian cryptids such as the Cadborosaurus and Ogopogo. Canadians were most likely to believe in ghostly hauntings.
Only about 25% rejected all ten surveyed phenomena, a figure similar to the United States and the United Kingdom. Another third did not fully believe in any phenomenon but remained neutral on at least one, for example, skeptical of ghosts but unsure about extraterrestrial life.
Overall, it is now more common for Canadians to believe in at least one paranormal claim than to reject them all. Belief varied across demographic groups:
Women were more likely than men to believe in ghosts and psychics.
University-educated Canadians were less likely to believe in most paranormal categories.
Young adults (19–29) were less likely to believe than those aged 30–44 or 45–64, suggesting that many younger Canadians are stepping away from both religious and supernatural belief systems.
Francophones were less likely than anglophones to believe in Sasquatch.
Differences among racial or ethnic groups were minimal.
Respondents answered the authors’ survey on a granular lever, revealing whether they neither disagree nor agree, somewhat agree or strongly agree with whether each type of 10 paranormal phenomenon exists or not. (Sophia Dimitrakopoulos), CC BY-ND
Roughly one-quarter of Canadians report hearing, seeing, or feeling a ghost or spirit at least once. Many of these encounters were tied to grief or emotional moments, such as sensing a deceased family member. One respondent described an experience shortly after their mother passed away:
“Soon after my mother’s death, I woke up suddenly and she was standing beside my bed. She smiled at me and faded away. I was comforted.”
Others described traditional hauntings tied to specific locations:
“I was managing a motel and saw a ghostly man walking along the upper balcony. I asked the locals, and they said that on the property where the motel sits, a house once burned down — and he lived in the house.”
Cryptid encounters were far less common but still present. One agricultural worker recalled a moment that defied explanation:
“I was operating a high-clearance sprayer in a 1,300-acre field. I came around a bluff and saw a blurry, bipedal creature. It was furry, had a long snout and long arms, and in an instant it turned into a moose. I have no idea to this day what that was.”
These experiences, whether spiritual, unsettling, or deeply meaningful, reveal how Canadians interpret events that challenge ordinary explanations. The purpose of the research was not to confirm or debunk the paranormal, but to understand its role within Canadian society. The data suggests that while Canadians may explore paranormal ideas, most still place high trust in science. For many, belief in the paranormal simply reflects the idea that some things remain unexplained…at least for now.
Whether intriguing, eerie, or comforting, the paranormal isn't just a Halloween curiosity. For nearly half of Canadians, it’s part of their everyday worldview.
Original source from The Conversation.
Also check out what Americans believe about aliens in new survey from YouGov.com — READ: Half of Americans Believe Aliens Have Visited Earth, New Poll Shows.
