Sports in Canada
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Sports in Canada consist of a wide variety of games. The
Canada shares several major professional sports leagues with the United States.[7] Canadian teams in these leagues include seven franchises in the National Hockey League, as well as three Major League Soccer teams and one team in each of Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association. Other popular professional sports in Canada include Canadian football, which is played in the Canadian Football League, National Lacrosse League lacrosse, and curling.[8]
Canada has enjoyed greater success
History
The history of Canadian sports falls into five stages of development: early recreational activities before 1840; the start of organized competition, 1840–1880; the emergence of national organizations, 1882–1914; the rapid growth of both amateur and professional sports, 1914 to 1960; and developments of the last century [19] Some sports, especially ice hockey, ringette, lacrosse, and curling, enjoy an international reputation as particularly Canadian.[20]
Governance
University and collegiate sport
U Sports is the national governing body for university sports, while the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association governs college sports. A factor which affects athletic participation levels in U Sports member institutions is the U Sports restriction that scholarships cover tuition only, drawing many of Canada's best student athletes to the United States where organizations such as the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) allow "full ride" scholarships which include tuition, books, housing, and travel. Another is the popular Canadian Hockey League (for male hockey players aged 15 to 20), which effectively serves as the primary development league for the professional National Hockey League, although CHL teams offer financial support for players who choose to play U Sports hockey after leaving the CHL.
National sports
Canada has two de jure national sports: ice hockey and lacrosse.
In May 1964, former
Canadian Lacrosse Association members responded to the motion by calling it insulting and "out of line", and vowed to fight it.[26] On June 11, 1965, Bob Prittie replied by introducing a separate bill to have lacrosse declared as Canada's national game and stated that, "I think it is fitting at this time when we are considering national flags, national anthems and other national symbols, that this particular matter should be settled now".[24] The choice of Canada's national game was debated in 1965, but neither bill was passed when parliament was dissolved.[27] In 1967, Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson proposed to name national summer and winter games, but nothing was resolved.[24]
In 1994, First Nations groups objected to a government bill that proposed establishing ice hockey as Canada's national sport, arguing that it neglected recognition of the game of lacrosse, a uniquely Indigenous contribution. In response, the House of Commons amended a bill "to recognize hockey as Canada's Winter Sport and lacrosse as Canada's Summer Sport". On May 12, 1994, the National Sports of Canada Act came into force with these designations.[28]
Although the legislation included seasonal designations, both sports can be played in different seasons. Lacrosse can be played all year, in all seasons, indoor and outdoors. During colder seasons ice hockey may be played indoor and outdoors, although in warmer seasons, its play requires the use of
Ice hockey
The modern form of ice hockey began in Canada in the late 19th century, and is widely considered Canada's
The
Lacrosse
The First Nations began playing the sport more than 500 years ago. Today lacrosse not only remains an integral part of Indigenous culture, but is played by tens of thousands of people across Canada and the north eastern United States. From its origin as 'The Creator's Game' to the healthy popularity of the modern game, lacrosse has survived the test of time after treading down a long, controversial path that led it to become recognized as Canada's official national summer sport.
The
Team sports
Baseball
The world's first documented baseball game took place in
Presently, the Toronto Blue Jays are Canada's only Major League Baseball team, founded in 1977. The Montreal Expos (the first MLB team in Canada) played in Montreal from 1969 until 2004 when they moved to Washington, D.C., and became the Washington Nationals. The Blue Jays were the first non-American team to host a World Series Game (in 1992) and the only non-American team to win the World Series (back to back in 1992 and 1993). The Blue Jays had the highest attendance in Major League Baseball during the late 1980s and early 1990s.[29] Professional baseball has a long history in Canada, beginning with teams such as the London Tecumsehs, Montreal Royals, and Toronto Maple Leafs in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. All three were included on the National Baseball Association's top 100 minor league teams.
A number of
The Canada national baseball team has participated in all editions of the World Baseball Classic. In the 2006 World Baseball Classic, the team upset Team USA in first-round play,[30] which some people in Canada call the "Miracle on Dirt" (a play on the phrase "Miracle on Ice" for the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey team). However, the team has yet to progress past the first round.
The only Canadian team in MLB-affiliated minor leagues is the Vancouver Canadians of the Northwest League (High-A). There are a number of independent minor league teams, as well as semi-professional and collegiate baseball teams in Canada (see List of baseball teams in Canada). Great achievements in Canadian baseball are recognized by the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.
Basketball
Basketball has very strong roots in Canada. The inventor, James Naismith, was Canadian; born in Almonte, Ontario, he was working as a physical education instructor in Massachusetts when he created the game in 1891. As many as 10 of the players in that first game were Canadian students from Quebec.[citation needed] Basketball is a popular sport in parts of Canada, especially in Nova Scotia, Southern Alberta, and more recently Southern Ontario.
The popularity of basketball in Nova Scotia is at the high school and college level. Nova Scotia is home to three perennially strong college basketball programs.
Four Canadian-born individuals and one naturalized Canadian have been
The National Basketball Association (NBA) recognizes its first ever game as being a contest between the New York Knickerbockers and Toronto Huskies at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens on November 1, 1946.[31] The NBA expanded into Canada in 1995 with the addition of the Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies. The Grizzlies moved to Memphis, Tennessee in 2001, but the Raptors continue to draw healthy crowds at Scotiabank Arena. The Raptors won their first NBA title in 2019.
A record 16 Canadian players—14 born in the country and two naturalized—were on NBA rosters at the start of the 2019–20 season. This was also a record for the number of players from any single non-U.S. country at the start of any NBA season.[32]
Canadian football
In Canada, the term "football" is used to refer to Canadian football, a gridiron-based game closely related to but distinct from American football as played in the United States. Canadian football has its origins in Rugby football beginning in the early 1860s,[33] but, over time, a unique code known as Canadian football developed. The first documented football match was a game played at University College, University of Toronto on November 9, 1861. One of the participants in the game involving University of Toronto students was (Sir) William Mulock, later Chancellor of the school. A football club was formed at the university soon afterward, although its rules of play at this stage are unclear. In 1864, at Trinity College, Toronto, F. Barlow Cumberland and Frederick A. Bethune devised rules based on rugby football.
However, modern Canadian football is widely regarded as having originated with a game of rugby played in Montreal, in 1865, when British Army officers played local civilians. The game gradually gained a following, and the Montreal Football Club was formed in 1868, the first recorded non-university football club in Canada. This "rugby-football" soon became popular at Montreal's McGill University. McGill challenged Harvard University to a game, in 1874. The game grew separately in parallel from this point onward in the U.S. and Canada.
Both the Canadian Football League (CFL), the sport's only professional league in Canada, and Football Canada, the governing body for amateur play, trace their roots to 1884 and the founding of the Canadian Rugby Football Union. Currently active teams such as the Toronto Argonauts and Hamilton Tiger-Cats have similar longevity. The CFL's championship game, the Grey Cup, is the country's single largest sporting event and is watched by nearly one third of Canadian television households.[34] The nine CFL teams are the BC Lions, Calgary Stampeders, Edmonton Elks, Saskatchewan Roughriders, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Toronto Argonauts, Ottawa Redblacks, and Montreal Alouettes. A tenth team, the Halifax-based Atlantic Schooners, is currently in the planning stages.
Canadian football is also played at the high school, junior, collegiate, semi-professional, and amateur levels. The Canadian Junior Football League and Quebec Junior Football League are for players aged 18–22. Post-secondary institutions in U Sports compete for the Vanier Cup. Canada also has three women's leagues: the Maritime Women's Football League, the Central Canadian Women's Football League, and the Western Women's Canadian Football League. The WWCFL is the biggest women's league, featuring seven teams in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Senior leagues such as the Alberta Football League have also grown in popularity in recent years. Great achievements in Canadian football are recognized by the Canadian Football Hall of Fame; located at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton, Ontario.
Cricket
The earliest reports of cricket in Canada date from 1785 where games seem to have taken place in Montreal. The first reference to cricket being played on an organized basis is in 1834 when a club was founded in Toronto and there are reports of matches being played in Hamilton and Guelph. Along with the United States, Canada was one of the two participants in the first international cricket match, which took place in September 1884. In 1867, Canadian prime minister John A. MacDonald and his cabinet declared cricket to be Canada's first official sport.[35][36]
Curling
Curling competitions in Canada include the
Disc sports
In Canada, organized
In 2013, as a founding partner, the Toronto Ultimate Club presented Canada's first semi-professional
In 2015, the
Ringette
Ringette first appeared in Canada in 1963 after it was first conceptualized by Sam Jacks, a former Toronto YMCA director who served as a Canadian soldier during World War II. Created specifically for girls[48] by Sam Jacks while he was living in North Bay, Ontario, the sport is now most popularly played by girls and women of all ages and has experienced its greatest success in Canada and Finland. Unlike most organized sports, all of ringette's top athletes are female, one of the sport's most distinctive features.
By the 1980s, ringette surpassed female ice hockey in national registrations.[49] While the sport lost potential talent once women's ice hockey became an Olympic sport, the 21st century has seen the sport regain popularity.[50][51]
Canada's semi-professional ringette league, the National Ringette League (NRL) formed in 2004, becoming the first winter team sports league in North America to feature elite female athletes rather than male. The NRL acts as a showcase league for the sport.
Rugby league
Rugby league first appeared in Canada in the 20th century, although by the end of the 1980s, the sport had disappeared entirely from the nation. However, the 21st century has seen the game gain popularity in Canada. Internationally, Canada is represented by the Canadian Wolverines. Domestically, the Canada Rugby League (CRL) runs several amateur and semi-professional club competitions.
Rugby union
Canada has around 13,000 seniors and twice as many junior players spread across the country. Many of these come from Canada's rugby stronghold of
The sport's domestic governing body, Rugby Canada, scrapped its previous national competition, the Rugby Canada Super League, in favour of a new national under-20 league, the Rugby Canada National Junior Championship.
The
Highlights include famous victories over Scotland and Wales, and until recently frequent wins over their North American neighbours, the United States. However, since 2013, the U.S. has dominated the rivalry, with 11 wins and one draw from the teams' last 12 matches. Known for their trademark "hard nosed" style of play, many Canadian players play their trade professionally in English and French leagues.
The Toronto Arrows professional rugby union club debuted September 2017, and started play in Major League Rugby as of 2019.[54] The Arrows team, an independent off-shoot of the Ontario Blues Rugby Football Club, features mostly Canadian players and staff. The team's home field is York Lions Stadium on the Keele Campus of York University.
Soccer
Soccer has been played in Canada since 1876. The Dominion of Canada Football Association was inaugurated on May 24, 1912, and initially became a member of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association on December 31, 1912. Today, Canada's governing body for soccer (both professional and amateur) is known as the Canadian Soccer Association.
Soccer is the highest participation sport in Canada, with 847,616 registered players (according to the Canada Soccer 2012 Yearbook). Male/female participation is split roughly 59/41 percent. There are 1,456 clubs in 139 districts across 12 regions (provincial and territory member associations).
Canada's annual amateur competition is known as the National Championships. Senior men's teams play for
At the St. Louis 1904 Olympics, Canada won the gold medal in soccer. The Canadian team was represented by Galt FC of Ontario. From 1967 to 1988, Canada's best men's amateur soccer players also participated in Olympic Qualifying tournaments (although in the 1980s a number of those players were indeed professional). Canada qualified as host of the Montréal 1976 Olympics and then again for the Los Angeles 1984 Olympics (where it finished fifth overall). Since the early 1990s, the Men's olympic qualifying tournaments have featured U-23 players (with a mix of professional and amateur/university players).
Professional soccer
Canada's annual professional competition is the
A minority of the teams in the Canadian Championship play in U.S.-based leagues. Toronto FC, Vancouver Whitecaps FC and CF Montréal play in Major League Soccer. FC Edmonton played in the second-level North American Soccer League until going dormant in late 2017, and Ottawa Fury FC voluntarily dropped from the NASL to the third-level United Soccer League, now known as the USL Championship (USLC), after the 2016 season. FC Edmonton ultimately resumed professional operations in 2019 as inaugural Canadian Premier League members,[57] while Fury FC continued in the USLC until folding after the 2019 season.
Two other Canadian professional sides play in U.S.-based leagues. Toronto FC's reserve side, Toronto FC II, which is ineligible for the Canadian Championship due to its relation to the MLS side, started play in the league now known as the USLC in 2014, and remained at that level through the 2018 season. In 2019, TFC II moved to the new third-level USL League One, continuing to play in that league through the 2021 season before moving to the newly established MLS Next Pro, a different third-level league made up almost entirely of MLS reserve sides, in 2022. Whitecaps FC revived its former reserve side of Whitecaps FC 2 in 2022 after a five-year hiatus, with Whitecaps 2 also playing in Next Pro. Whitecaps 2, also ineligible for the Canadian Championship due to its relationship with the MLS side, will adopt a new name after the 2023 season.
The Canadian Premier League (CPL) is a professional soccer league that began play in spring 2019, consisting of an initial seven teams; one is based in the outer suburbs of Toronto, with all others in Canadian markets not served by Major League Soccer. An eighth team, Atlético Ottawa, began CPL play in 2020, while Vancouver FC debuted in 2023 as the league's ninth team. Two more teams have been announced for Saskatoon and Windsor, but no entry dates have been announced. The league has a minimum requirement of Canadian players on each roster and an annual draft of U Sports players, to develop Canadian talent. The eventual goal of the league is to have multiple divisions with promotion and relegation. Effective with the 2023 season, the team that tops the CPL regular-season table and the winner of the postseason playoffs qualify for the following year's CONCACAF Champions Cup.
Canada's best soccer players—male and female—play in professional leagues around the world. Players are called into the national program at different times of the year, primarily in conjunction with the FIFA International Calendar (when professional clubs are required to release players for national duty).
Canada's national teams compete in CONCACAF, the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football. Canada's national "A" team has won two CONCACAF championships: in 1985 to qualify for the 1986 FIFA World Cup and in 2000 to qualify for the FIFA Confederations Cup. In 2022, the men's side finished first in the final CONCACAF qualifying group for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. They have also qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup as hosts.
Canada's women's "A" team has also won two CONCACAF championships: in 1998 and 2010. The Canadian women have participated in six FIFA Women's World Cups (Sweden 1995, United States 1999, United States 2003, China 2007, Germany 2011 and as hosts in 2015) and four Women's Olympic Football Tournaments (Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016, and Tokyo 2020/21), winning bronze medals in both London and Rio and gold in Tokyo. Canada also hosted the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2015. The country has also hosted four age-grade World Cups—the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 1987 (when the age limit was 16 instead of the current 17), the inaugural FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in 2002 (when the age limit was 19 instead of 20), the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2007, and the U-20 Women's World Cup for a second time in 2014. Canada will host the 2026 FIFA World Cup jointly with Mexico and the United States.[58]
Other team sports
Canada featured a men's national team in beach volleyball that competed at the 2018–2020 NORCECA Beach Volleyball Continental Cup.[63]
Individual sports
Bowling
The sport of bowling takes several forms in Canada, including ten-pin and lawn bowling, but most notably Canada has its own version: Five-pin bowling, which was invented circa 1909 by Thomas F. Ryan in Toronto, Ontario, at his Toronto Bowling Club, in response to customers who complained that the ten-pin game was too strenuous. He cut five tenpins down to about 75% of their size, and used hand-sized hard rubber balls, thus inventing the original version of five-pin bowling.[64] Five-pin is played in all parts of Canada, but not played in any other country. Candlepin bowling, regulated by the International Candlepin Bowling Association in both Canada and the United States, is played at several centres in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
In Quebec, a variation of duckpin bowling is played using pins with rubber bands around their widest section, known in French as petites quilles.[65]
Combat sports
Boxing
Canada has produced several boxing world champions, including heavyweights Tommy Burns and Lennox Lewis. Boxing is generally learned in independent gyms, located in most large Canadian cities. Canadian boxers compete in the Olympic Games and often then turn professional.
Judo
The Japanese martial art Judo has been practised in Canada for nearly a century. The first Judo dojo in Canada, Tai Iku Dojo, was established in Vancouver in 1924 by Shigetaka "Steve" Sasaki.[66] Today, an estimated 30,000 Canadians participate in Judo programs in approximately 400 clubs across Canada.[67]
Canadians have won five Olympic medals in Judo since it was added to the Summer games in 1964. Doug Rogers won silver in the +80 kg category in 1964, Mark Berger won bronze in the +95 kg category in 1984, Nicolas Gill won bronze in the 86 kg category in 1992 and silver in the 100 kg category in 2000, and Antoine Valois-Fortier won bronze in the −81 kg category in 2012. The Canadian Judo team trains at the National Training Centre in Montreal under Gill's direction.[68]
Mixed martial arts
Canada has produced several notable MMA fighters, appearing in the UFC and other promotions. Canada is the home of former UFC Welterweight and Middleweight Champion Georges St-Pierre, former Bellator MMA Welterweight Champion Rory McDonald, as well as PFL 2022 Lightweight Tournament and 2023 Lightweight Tournament Champion Olivier Aubin-Mercier.
Wrestling
Cycling
. With the sport increasing bikes have also increased in quality and durability.Golf
Golf is a widely enjoyed recreational sport in Canada, and the country boasts several highly rated courses.
Twenty-seven Canadians have won a total of 80 events on the PGA and LPGA tours, combined. Ontario's
Tennis
While tennis is not a huge sport in Canada, there have been several Canadian players who have had success in the last decade.
Canada has also had success in tennis during the late 2010s and into the 2020s with talents such as Denis Shapovalov and Félix Auger-Aliassime. On October 20, 2019, Shapovalov beat Filip Krajinović in the Stockholm Open, winning his first ATP title. Later, during the final event of the year, the Paris Rolex Masters, Shapovalov secured a top 20-year end finish after reaching the semi-finals. He reached the final as well, but lost to Novak Djokovic 6–3 6–4. He finished the season at a career high ranking of number 15. Auger-Aliassime reached a career high ATP singles ranking of No. 6 on November 7, 2022. Auger-Aliassime and Shapovalov were centrepieces of Canada's first Davis Cup-winning team in 2022.
Another notable men's player is
In recent women's tennis,
The largest tennis tournament held in Canada is the
Motorsport
The Canadian Grand Prix Formula One auto race had been conducted every year since 1967, and since 1978 had been held at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, apart from 1987 when a dispute arose between brewers Labatts and Molson over sponsorship, again in 2009 when the race was not on the FIA calendar for one year,[73] and most recently in 2020[74] and 2021[75] due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The track was named for Canada's first Grand Prix driver, the late Gilles Villeneuve, whose son, Jacques, won the Formula One World championship in 1997.
Several Canadians have starred in
Canadians have combined to win 53 races in American Championship Car Racing (Including 1 Indianapolis 500), 17 races in Formula 1 and 7 races in NASCAR's top 3 divisions (1 in the Cup Series).
Rodeo
The Canadian Professional Rodeo Association is the governing body that sanctions professional rodeo events in Canada. The most well-known event is at the Calgary Stampede, normally held annually in July, and the Canadian Finals Rodeo, the national championship rodeo, is held in November each year.
Shooting sports
Shooting sports are a part of Canada's cultural heritage. Many Canadians enjoy participating in the various disciplines that make up this broad sport. In the past decade shooting sports in Canada have seen a major surge of popularity as more and more Canadians are applying for firearms licences.[77]
At the recreational level individuals and families can be found across the nation improving their marksmanship skills at various private and public shooting ranges. Hunting is also a popular activity due to Canada's vast wilderness and pioneer past.[78]
At the competitive level, many Canadians train in Olympic events. There are also a variety of other competitive shooting sports that operate provincially, nationally and internationally through their respective organizations.
Multi-sport events
Major
Canada Games
The Canada Games is a high-level
Commonwealth Games
Canada is one of only six nations to have attended every Commonwealth Games, and hosted the
Olympic Games
Canada has competed at every Olympic Games, except for the first games in 1896 and the boycotted games in 1980. Canada has previously hosted the games three times, at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, and the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
At the
At the
Because Canada failed to win any gold medals at the 1976 Summer and 1988 Winter games, soon after Vancouver-Whistler was awarded the 2010 Winter Olympics several organizations including Sport Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee began collaborations to launch "Own the Podium – 2010", a development program to help Canada earn the most medals at the 2010 Games. Canada did not win the most total medals at the Vancouver Olympics (they finished third, behind the United States, whose 37 total medals was the most of any country at a single Winter Olympics, and Germany, with 26), but did win the most gold medals, with 14, the most of any country at a single Winter Olympics.
The National Sport School in Calgary, founded 1994, is the first Canadian high school designed exclusively for Olympic-calibre athletes.
Pan American Games
Canada has participated in each of the Pan American Games since the second edition of the games, held in Mexico City in 1955. The fifth games took place in Winnipeg in 1967, Canada's Centennial year. Winnipeg hosted again in 1999. Toronto was selected as the host city for the 2015 games, which was held in July 2015 in venues located in Toronto and several surrounding municipalities.[79]
Amateur sports
Canadian athletes are world-ranked in many amateur sports. These include the 'winter' sports of alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, figure skating, freestyle skiing, snowboarding, speed skating, ringette, biathlon, and curling. In ice hockey, Canada supports national teams for both men and women in the under-20 and under-18 categories. In 'summer' sports, Canadians participate in rugby, soccer, disc ultimate, track and field among most sports presented in the Summer Olympics. There are sports federations for most sports in Canada. Funding for amateur athletics is provided by governments, private companies and individual citizens through donation. Organisations like the FANS Foundation additionally provide a pathway for under-18 newcomers for more amateur sports in Canada.
Media
Major television broadcasters of sports in Canada include
Sports rankings
Sport | Men's | Women's |
---|---|---|
Baseball (WBSC World Rankings) | 12[80] | 3[80] |
Basketball ( FIBA World Rankings ) |
6[81] | 4[82] |
ICC T20I ) |
20[83] | 38[84] |
WCF World Rankings ) |
1[85] | 2[85] |
Lacrosse ([1]) | 2[86] | 2[86] |
Soccer ( FIFA Women's World Rankings ) |
38[87] | 6[88] |
Ice hockey (IIHF World Ranking) | 1[89] | 2[90] |
RLIF World Rankings ) |
17[91] | – |
Rugby union (World Rugby Rankings) | 22[92] | 4[93] |
Tennis (ITF rankings) | 15 | 14 |
Ultimate (WFDF World Rankings) | 2 | 3 |
Volleyball ( FIVB World Rankings ) |
10[94] | 18[95] |
(Rankings current as of February 10, 2022)
Footnotes
- ^ Freeman was born and raised in California, but both of his parents were born in Canada, giving him dual Canada–U.S. citizenship from birth.
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Further reading
- Beers, William George (1869). "Lacrosse: the national game of Canada". Dawson Brothers.
Lacrosse.
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: Cite journal requires|journal=
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