NORAD Preparing To Guide Santa Claus

Tara Clow December 23, 2021 12:32 pm Last Updated on February 8, 2026 7:51 am

Ole Saint Nicks’s magical journey around the world is being monitored again this year by members of the Canadian North American Aerospace Defense Region.

NORAD has been tracking Santa Claus on December 24th since 1955.

It all started with misprinted phone number in a newspaper department store advertisement. The phone number connected to the Continental Air Defence Command Operations Centre instead. US Air Force Colonel Harry Shoup answered the call and assured the child he was Santa. He then assigned a duty officer to continue answering calls, and the rest is history.

A team of CF-18 pilots, maintainers and trackers have been chosen and they will monitor and escorting the jolly ole elf and his team of reindeer on December 24th.

Major General Eric Kenny says this is a big responsibility and something they take great pride in.

The NORAD Tracks Santa website www.noradsanta.org offers the public the opportunity to track his journey live as well.

Author

Tara Clow

Tara Clow is a multi-award-winning news anchor and reporter with more than 30 years of experience at radio stations across Canada. She is a graduate of the Radio and TV Arts program at Toronto Metropolitan University and the Humber College radio broadcasting program. She is based in Moncton and covers stories across Canada. Contact Tara at clow.tara@radioabl.ca.