STM Blog
Canadian Gaming Landscape Shatters Stereotypes: Women Lead the Charge in Nation’s Favorite Pastime
If you still picture video gamers as teenage boys hunched over consoles in darkened basements, it’s time for a serious reality check. A groundbreaking new report from the Entertainment Software Association of Canada reveals that the face of Canadian gaming looks nothing like the outdated stereotypes—and the findings might surprise you.
Women Now Majority of Canadian Gamers
The “Power of Play” report, released October 8th, delivers a stunning statistic that flips conventional wisdom on its head: 51% of Canadian video game players are women, slightly outnumbering their male counterparts at 49%. In Quebec, that number climbs even higher to 53%.
This isn’t a minor shift—it’s a complete transformation of the gaming landscape that challenges decades of marketing, media representation, and cultural assumptions about who plays video games and why.
Your Grandmother Might Be a Gamer (And She’s Not Alone)
Age is another area where reality diverges sharply from stereotype. The report surveyed 1,521 Canadian gamers and found that enjoyment of video games is remarkably consistent across generations:
- 37% of players are aged 35-54
- 35% are aged 55 and older
- 27% are aged 16-34
That’s right—older adults represent the largest demographic of Canadian gamers, with players over 55 outnumbering the youngest adult category. The days of gaming being a “young person’s hobby” are definitively over.
Mobile Gaming Takes the Crown
How Canadians play has evolved as dramatically as who’s playing. Mobile devices are now the platform of choice for 52% of players, decisively outpacing traditional gaming consoles and VR systems (25%) and computers or laptops (22%).
This mobile-first approach explains much of the demographic shift. Gaming is no longer confined to dedicated gaming setups—it happens on transit, during lunch breaks, while waiting for appointments, and anywhere else Canadians have a few minutes and a smartphone.
Puzzles Dominate Canadian Preferences
When it comes to what Canadians play, puzzle games reign supreme. A remarkable 59% of Canadian players prefer puzzle games—significantly higher than the global average of 50%. Action games come in second at 39%.
Quebec follows a similar pattern, with 46% preferring puzzles and 40% enjoying action games, though the gap between genres is narrower than the national average.
“This report highlights the broad popularity of video games across Canada. It also shows that while Canadians play video games to have fun, they are also a vital tool for mental wellness and a source of meaningful human connection.”
— Paul Fogolin, President & CEO, Entertainment Software Association of Canada
Gaming as Mental Health Tool
Beyond entertainment, the report reveals that Canadians recognize significant wellness benefits from gaming:
- 80% play for stress relief and relaxation
- 70% say gaming makes them feel happier
- 68% view games as a healthy outlet from everyday challenges
- 57% credit video games with helping them through difficult life periods
These aren’t trivial numbers. In an era of increasing mental health awareness, video games have emerged as an accessible, affordable tool that millions of Canadians use to manage stress and improve their emotional well-being.
Building Bridges Across Divides
Perhaps most striking are the findings about gaming’s social impact. In a time of increasing polarization and social fragmentation, video games are creating unexpected connections:
- 74% of players believe games unite people from different backgrounds, including various cultures, races, ages, and political affiliations
- 62% feel a strong sense of community through gaming
- 43% have met a good friend, spouse, or significant other through video games
- 51% use games to stay in touch with friends and family
These statistics paint a picture of gaming as social infrastructure—a digital commons where Canadians from coast to coast connect across the divides that often separate us in physical spaces.
Universal Appeal
The report’s most optimistic finding might be this: 76% of Canadians agree “there is a video game for everyone.”
That near-consensus reflects both the incredible diversity of available games and the growing recognition that gaming isn’t a niche hobby—it’s a mainstream form of entertainment and connection that transcends age, gender, and background.
What This Means for Canada
The implications of this data extend beyond the gaming industry. As video games become more universal, they’re shaping how Canadians relax, socialize, and cope with life’s challenges. They’re creating communities that cross traditional boundaries and providing mental health benefits to millions.
For businesses, marketers, and community organizations, these findings suggest it’s time to retire outdated assumptions about gamers. The Canadian gaming community looks like Canada itself—diverse in age, gender, and background, united by the simple desire to play.
The “Power of Play” report surveyed 24,216 active players across 12 countries who play video games for at least one hour per week. The full report is available at theesa.ca/powerofplay.
Canadian Gaming
As gaming continues to evolve and expand its reach, one thing is clear: the power of play is universal, and Canadians are embracing it in record numbers.
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unknown
Did Jackie Gleason See Aliens? Inside the Strange Nixon–UFO Legend
Jackie Gleason reportedly told his wife that President Richard Nixon arranged for him to view preserved extraterrestrial bodies at a Florida Air Force base. Here is what we know—and why the remarkable story remains unverified.
The beloved comedian reportedly told his wife that President Richard Nixon arranged for him to view preserved extraterrestrial bodies at a Florida Air Force base. Decades later, the extraordinary story remains fascinating—but unverified.
Jackie Gleason is remembered as “The Great One,” the larger-than-life entertainer who turned bus driver Ralph Kramden into one of television’s most enduring characters on The Honeymooners. Away from the cameras, however, Gleason had another consuming interest: UFOs, psychic phenomena and the possibility of extraterrestrial life.
That interest eventually became the foundation of one of the strangest stories ever associated with an American president and a Hollywood celebrity. According to Gleason’s second wife, Beverly McKittrick, her husband came home late one night in 1973 and claimed that President Richard Nixon had helped him see the preserved bodies of extraterrestrial beings at Homestead Air Force Base in Florida.
Did Jackie Gleason really see aliens?
The honest answer is that we do not know. The allegation is remarkable, but the available evidence never rises above an uncorroborated story attributed to Gleason years after the supposed event.
Gleason’s fascination with UFOs was real
There is little question that Gleason took the UFO subject seriously. He reportedly assembled a substantial personal library devoted to UFOs, the paranormal and related mysteries. His unusual circular home in New York—often nicknamed “The Mothership”—only strengthened his public association with flying saucers, although its distinctive architecture is not evidence of an extraterrestrial encounter.
Gleason also had a genuine social connection with Nixon. The two men shared an interest in golf and spent time together in Florida. That documented friendship is the factual starting point from which the more sensational story grew.
The alleged trip to Homestead Air Force Base
McKittrick said that Gleason returned to their Florida home at about 11:30 one evening looking disturbed. According to her account, he told her that Nixon had arrived without the usual presidential entourage and taken him to Homestead Air Force Base, south of Miami.
Once there, Gleason allegedly entered a secured building where he saw small humanoid bodies preserved inside glass-topped containers. Published versions differ over the number of bodies and some physical details, but they generally describe child-sized beings with oversized heads.
Importantly, McKittrick did not claim to have accompanied the men or witnessed anything at the base. Her account was based entirely on what she said Gleason told her after returning home.
The story became public in 1983, years after the alleged visit and after the couple had divorced. It circulated widely through tabloid reporting, UFO publications and later books, gradually becoming part of UFO folklore.
Why the story remains unverified
No authenticated photograph, visitor record, military document or firsthand statement from Nixon has emerged to confirm the alleged trip. Gleason also never provided investigators with a signed affidavit describing the experience.
UFO researcher Larry Bryant reportedly sought records from Homestead and tried to obtain a statement from Gleason, but those efforts produced no confirming documentation. Gleason’s refusal to address the account publicly has sometimes been portrayed as suspicious, but silence is not proof that an event occurred.
There is another important complication: McKittrick later expressed uncertainty about her former husband’s story.
During telephone interviews conducted by researcher Kenny Young in 2003, she stood by her recollection that Gleason told her he had seen “dead aliens.” She also acknowledged that, as the years passed, she wondered whether he might have invented the explanation because he had been out late. She declined to appear on camera and said the story should be authenticated first.
Her later comments do not establish that the account was false, but they considerably weaken any attempt to treat it as verified history.
Could a president have slipped away unnoticed?
Some versions of the legend emphasize that Nixon supposedly drove to Gleason’s house alone and then entered a military installation without his Secret Service detail. Presidents have occasionally sought privacy or slipped away from tightly managed schedules, but a secret nighttime excursion of this nature would have involved serious security and logistical obstacles.
The claim becomes even more difficult to accept when we consider what Nixon allegedly revealed. If the United States possessed extraterrestrial bodies, granting a comedian personal access to them would have represented an extraordinary breach of national security—with no apparent official purpose and no surviving documentation.
None of that makes the episode logically impossible. It does, however, mean that the story requires exceptionally strong evidence. That evidence has never appeared.
A compelling legend, not a confirmed encounter
The Jackie Gleason story endures because it combines three irresistible ingredients: a famous comedian fascinated by UFOs, a secretive American president and a nighttime visit to a military base containing an alleged government secret.
What can be established is that Gleason was deeply interested in UFOs, knew Nixon and was said by his former wife to have made an extraordinary claim. What cannot be established is that Nixon took him to Homestead Air Force Base or that preserved extraterrestrial bodies were ever stored there.
So, did Jackie Gleason see aliens?
Perhaps he believed that he did—or perhaps he simply told an unforgettable story. Until corroborating evidence emerges, the alleged encounter belongs in the intriguing borderland between celebrity history and American UFO mythology.
Sources and further reading
- The Black Vault: Jackie Gleason and the Pickled Alien
- University of Miami Libraries: The Jackie Gleason Collection
- U.S. Department of Defense: All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office
Step into The Unknown, where STM Daily News explores the strange phenomena, unexplained encounters and enduring mysteries that continue to challenge what we think we know. From UFO sightings and paranormal events to historical mysteries and unusual scientific discoveries, we examine the stories, evidence and competing explanations—without losing our sense of wonder. https://stmdailynews.com/science/unknown/
Community
PenFed Foundation Raises Over $1.2M for Veterans and Military Families at 23rd Annual Military Heroes Golf Classic
The PenFed Foundation says it raised over $1.2 million for veterans and military families at its 23rd annual Military Heroes Golf Classic.
The PenFed Foundation for Military Heroes said it raised more than $1.2 million to support veterans and military families during its 23rd annual Military Heroes Golf Classic, held Monday, Aug. 31, according to a PRNewswire release. The nonprofit, based in the Washington, D.C. region, focuses on helping veterans transition “from service to success” through programs and grants aimed at military-connected communities.
“We are deeply grateful to our partners and supporters whose generosity and dedication make this event—and the Foundation’s work—possible,” said retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Bradford J. “B.J.” Shwedo, president of the PenFed Foundation, in a statement announcing the fundraising total.
At a dinner held the night before the Golf Classic, PenFed Credit Union President/CEO and PenFed Foundation CEO James Schenck recognized Ed Cody for 25 years of service on the foundation’s board of directors. Cody also serves as chairman of the PenFed Credit Union board and was credited with helping guide initiatives including Defender’s Lodge, the Afghan Rescue and Resettlement Program, the Veteran Entrepreneur Program, and grants supporting wounded, ill, and injured service members.
The foundation said it has provided more than $55 million in financial support to veterans, active-duty service members, and military families since it was founded in 2001. It also noted that PenFed Credit Union covers salaries and administrative costs, allowing more donations to go directly to programs.
What to watch for: How the foundation allocates the new $1.2M across its veteran transition and emergency support programs—and whether it announces new grant rounds tied to entrepreneurship and resettlement work.
SOURCE PenFed Foundation
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Entertainment
Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny Wins 7 Emmys, Sets New Record
Executive produced by Roc Nation and JAY-Z, the show becomes the most-awarded halftime production in Emmy history.
The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show starring Bad Bunny took home seven Emmy Awards at the 78th Emmy Awards, making it the most-awarded Super Bowl halftime show in Emmy history, according to Roc Nation. The live spectacle—executive produced by Roc Nation and JAY-Z—won across major production categories, underscoring how the halftime stage has evolved into a full-scale, awards-caliber live television event.
The record-setting wins included Outstanding Variety Special (Live), Outstanding Music Direction, Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special, Outstanding Choreography for Variety or Reality Programming, Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety Series or Special, Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Special, and Outstanding Technical Direction and Camerawork for a Special. Roc Nation also noted the show set a global viewership record, pulling 4.157 billion views in 24 hours across global broadcast, YouTube, and social platforms.
Beyond the trophies and viewership numbers, the halftime show leaned into big-name star power with special guest performers Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin, plus additional appearances from Karol G, Cardi B, Jessica Alba, Pedro Pascal, Young Miko, and others. The sweep signals not just a win for the artists on stage, but for the behind-the-scenes creative teams turning the halftime show into one of the most technically ambitious live productions on television.
What to watch for: With Emmy recognition now firmly in the conversation, expect future halftime shows to push even harder on cinematic staging, choreography, and broadcast innovation—because the bar (and the awards) just got higher.
Source: Roc Nation (PRNewswire), Sept. 6, 2026
Link to original press release: https://prnmedia.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-apple-music-super-bowl-lx-halftime-starring-bad-bunny–executive-produced-by-roc-nation–jay-z-wins-seven-emmys-302870842.html
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