Top 10 Most Popular Sports of Canada

Canada has become a country of a variety of games and sports. The country has shown its dominance in world sports and the Olympic Games. Winter sports in Canada are very popular all over the world. Canadians value sports not just for fun but also to promote their togetherness and the country’s unity.

Various sporting competitions in the country provide people with the best opportunities to highlight their skills and make their name in global tournaments. Let us learn more about the sports popular in Canada. Let’s start.

List of Popular Sports In Canada

Ice hockey is the most popular sport in Canada. Apart from that Canada has a diverse sporting culture. Here is a list of the 10 most popular sports in Canada.

Serial no.	Sport Name
1	Ice Hockey
2	Football
3	Basketball
4	Baseball
5	Tennis
6	Golf
7	Cricket
8	Curling
9	Rugby
10	Lacrosse

Ice Hockey

• Official national sport of Canada.
• Played between 2 teams with 23 players in each team.
• Played on an ice rink with skates, sticks, and a rubber disk.
• Canada has 7 teams playing in NHL.

Football

• Canadian Football has the Grey Cup.
• The Grey Cup has been played 108 times since 1909.
• 12 players on each side.
• 2 timeouts and 3 turnovers for each game.
• Canadian Football League has 9 teams.

Basketball

• Started in Canada in 1946.
• National basketball has 30 teams.
• 2nd most popular sport among Canadians.
• Vancouver Grizzlies and Toronto Raptors received NBA franchises in 1994.

Baseball

• Canada has only one major league – the Toronto Blue Jays.
• From 1969 to 2004, the Montreal Expos played home games in Montreal.
• Blue Jays were the only non-American team to win the World Series in 1992.
• They had the most supporters for Major League Baseball (MLB) in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Golf

• Recreational courses have 9 holes.
• Standard golf courses have 18 holes.
• Montreal Golf Club was established in 1873.
• Alexander Dennistoun founded the organization.

Cricket

• A bat and ball team game.
• Has 2 teams with 11 players each.
• More than 2 billion global fans of the sport.
• The Asian population of Canada contributes to the appeal of the sport.

Curling

• Famous in the Prairie Provinces.
• Has been associated with the Armed Forces.
• Players slide stones across the ice to reach a circular target area.
• The Scotties Tournament of Hearts is one of the most televised sports for women in the country with more than 3 million TV viewers.

Rugby

• First introduced in 1823.
• Team sports involving close contact.
• Relies on players running while carrying the ball.

Lacrosse

• 20 players involved with 10 on each side .
• An outdoor sport.
• Each player has a long stick with a basket on the end.
• Canada’s official summer sport.
• Canadian Lacrosse League is one of the biggest lacrosse leagues in the world.

Some Facts about the Sports Played in Canada

Everyone considers Canada to be the home of ice hockey. The sport takes its roots in the country. Besides the ice hockey craze, there are a few sports that are popular in Canada like lacrosse, rugby, tennis, etc. Here are some facts about these sports.

• The National Hockey League, or NHL, is established both in the United States and in Canada. Canada has 7 teams in it and there are about 607,591 licensed players.
• Lacrosse is Canada’s official summer sport. There are 2 professional lacrosse leagues in Canada: the National Lacrosse League and the Major League Lacrosse. There are more than 100,000 licensed lacrosse players in Canada.
• The oldest baseball park in the world is located in Ontario and is still in operation. It is called Labatt Park.
• Canada has its variant of American football and it has its rugby football since the beginning of the 1960s and developed its own identity over time.
• Cricket in Canada is overseen by Cricket Canada, which was founded in 1892.
• The largest Canadian tennis tournament is the Canadian Open or Rogers Cup, and it is the second oldest tournament after Wimbledon.
• The inventor of basketball was a Canadian.
• The first ever NBA game was between the New York Knickerbockers and the Toronto Huskies, in 1946.
• Curling is the tenth most popular sport in Canada.
• Golf was brought to Canada alongside tennis, by Scottish immigrants.
• Boxing was first practiced in 1867, but the bare-knuckle variant was illegal in Canada. The first Canadian boxer to win the world heavyweight title in 1906 was Tommy Burns.
• The national rugby union team is called the Canadian Wolverines, and the national league is the Canada Rugby League.

Canada in Olympics

Canada entered the Olympic Games in 1900. Since then the Canadian athletes have achieved great victories and incredible memories. Let us look into their achievements ever since they started playing the Olympic Games.

Canada’s achievement in the Olympics
Paris, 1900	George Orton won the gold medal in the 2500m steeplechase, ruining Britain’s record. Also won bronze in the 400m hurdles.
St. Louis, 1904	Peter Deer, the first indigenous person to represent Canada internationally
Antwerp, 1928	Ice hockey made its Olympic debut and the Canadian team took the gold medal, by defeating Czechoslovakia in the quarters, the United States in semis, and Sweden in the finals.
Amsterdam, 1928	Canadian women competed for the first time. They won 4 medals (2 were gold).
Rome, 1960	The Summer Olympics were televised for the first time The Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) aired the game for viewers in Canada.
Mexico City, 1968	Canadian athletes proudly marched with their newly adopted red and white maple leaf flag in the 1968 Olympics after it was adopted in 1965.
Montreal, 1976	The only Summer Olympics hosted in Canada. It was the first time a host country did not win a single gold medal.
Los Angeles, 1984	Canada won a total of 44 medals (10 gold, 18 silver, and 16 bronze).
Seoul, 1988	Ben Johnson finished the 100m final with a world record but was later tested positive for steroids. Lawrence Lemieux abandoned the Finn class race to rescue other participants who got shipwrecked. The Olympic Committee awarded him with the Pierre de Coubertin medal to honor his bravery and sacrifice.
Atlanta, 1996	Donovan Bailey ran the 100m in a record-breaking 9.84 seconds. He was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.
Sydney, 2000	Canada’s 15th president, Pierre Elliot Trudeau had died. Hence their flag was lowered to half-mast.
Salt Lake City, 2002	Jamie Salé and David Pelletier won gold medals in the figure skating pairs competition. Catriona Le May Doan came first in the 500m speed skate.
Turin, 2006	Cindy Klassen won 5 Olympic medals. She was even featured on the special edition 25-cent Canadian coin.
Rio, 2016	16-year-old Penny Oleksiak received her 4th medal.
PyeongChang, 2018	Team Canada won 29 medals (11 gold, 8 silver, and 10 bronze). Eric Radford became the first openly gay man to win a gold medal in the team figure skating event. Skating duo Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir won gold medals.

Conclusion on List of Most Popular Sports in Canada

Canada has been quite active in various sports throughout the recent years. The country has displayed its dominance in world sports and the Olympic games. Ice hockey and lacrosse are the most prominent sports in Canada. Canadian athletes have a good amount of achievements at the international level, especially at the Olympics. Athletes like George Orton, Peter Deer, Penny Oleksiak, and many others have made their country proud internationally by winning medals and achieving record-breaking feats from time to time.

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FAQs on List of Most Popular Sports in Canada

Which sport is Canada’s official summer sport?

Lacrosse is Canada’s official summer sport.

Who is the youngest Canadian Olympian to win a medal?

Penny Oleksiak at the age of 16 won her 4th medal in the 2016 games in Rio.

When did women participate in the Olympics for the first time in Canadian history?

Women competed in the Summer Olympics at Amsterdam in 1928 for the first time in Canadian history and won 4 medals.

Who was called “world’s fastest man” in 1996 at the Atlanta Games?

Donovan Bailey achieved a record breaking 9.84 seconds in the 100m in 1996.

Which Olympian was featured on the special edition 25-cent Canadian coin?

Cindy Klassen was featured in the special edition 25 cent Canadian coin for her achievements in speed sketing in the Olympics.