Apparently, 2002 was a banner year. From The Globe and Mail:

“In 2002 we had the largest number of separate events for a single year in the history of collecting UFO data for Canada,” Chris Rutkowski of Ufology Research of Manitoba said Wednesday.

There were 483 UFO sightings reported in 2002 — almost 30 per cent more than in 2001 and a 250 per cent increase since 1998.

There is no easy explanation for the increase, he added.