Top 10 Most Popular Sports of Canada in the year 2023-24

Ice Hockey is an all-year-round sport in Canada at all levels.

There are several things that make Canada unique and interesting. The country’s great climate, strong economy, low crime rate, and its proximity to the US make it one of the best places to visit or live in.

Canadians value several sporting contests not just for fun but also as a means of fostering the country’s unity. The wide variety of sporting activities offers perfect opportunities for Canadians to display their talents and to effectively compete with the rest of the world at the international level.

Article Highlights:

• Ice Hockey
• Lacrosse
• Soccer
• Baseball
• Cricket
• Tennis
• Rugby
• Basketball
• Curling
• Golf

Thus Canada has become a country of variety of games and sports. The country has also shown their dominance in world sports as well as in the Olympic games. It is already known that winter sports in Canada are very much popular all over the world.

Today, Our team have taken an initiative to enlist the top 10 most popular sports in Canada. So, let’s find out, what is the most popular sport in Canada?

10) Golf:

Golf was first played in Scotland in the last half of the 15^th century. When the native Scots emigrated to Canada, they took the game of tennis with them, which was better known as “Royal and Ancient Game”. The first Canadian golf club was founded in November 1873 and was named as “Montreal Golf Club”.

The club was established by the young Scotsman Alexander Dennistoun, who was the first president and the captain of the golf club. Since then, golf began to flourish in Canada and they are now one of the best golf playing nations in the world. Golf has taken the No. 10 place in our list of top 10 most popular sports in Canada.

9) Curling:

Curling is a popular sport in Canada, especially in the Prairie Provinces with several popular teams in the country based in Alberta and Manitoba. Curling in Canada has always been associated with the military and was brought into the country from Scotland.

The men’s curling national championship is known as Tim Hortons Brier while the women’s championship is called Scotties Tournament of Hearts. The women also participate in this game and the game is one of the most televised women’s sport in Canada. The world curling championship has been sponsored by Ford Canada since 1995 and it was known as the Ford World Curling Championship.

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8) Basketball:

The root of basketball is firmly embedded in Canada. The modern basketball game was founded by a Canadian, James Naismith, in 1891 while working as a physical education instructor in the US. Several players who took part in the first game came from Canada.

The game is particularly popular in high schools and colleges in Nova Scotia. Professional basketball in the country began in 1946 but gained popularity in 1994 when NBA awarded franchises to Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies. Currently, 30 teams participate in the basketball national championship in Canada. Basketball is at No. 8 in our list of top 10 most popular sports in Canada.

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7) Rugby:

Rugby was probably introduced in Canada by the Royal Navy in 1823 that also fostered its development in different parts of the country. Although the game disappeared completely from the country, it was re-introduced by the formation of the national team and an armature domestic competition.

The Canadian rugby league hosts several domestic and professional competitions. The rugby union features four regional teams in the championship. The rugby union has attracted over 13,000 senior players and several junior players across the country, especially in British Columbia.

6) Tennis:

Tennis is another popular sport played in Canada. The governing body of Canadian tennis is known as “Tennis Canada”. The organization maintains its commitment to developing tennis in Canada by stimulating participation in this game at local, national and international level.

It is interesting to state that, the number of Canadians who play tennis more than four times a year increased from more than 1.2 million in 1998 to nearly 1.7 million in 2001. Among them, 50% are under the age of 25. As a well-known popular sport, tennis ranks at No. 6 in our list of top 10 most popular sports in Canada.

5) Cricket:

Although Canada is not sanctioned to participate in test matches, the national team is allowed to participate in One Day International Matches. The country has had a very competitive women’s cricket team and the U-19 that has taken part in three U-19 World Cup events.

Cricket in Canada is governed by Cricket Canada, founded in 1892. The body organizes domestic inter-provincial games and has also introduced the Scotia Shield U-19 and the National T20 Championship domestic competitions.

4) Baseball:

Baseball has been played in Canada since the beginning and is one of the most popular sports in the country. The oldest baseball park in the world is still in operation in Labatt Park in Ontario. The country has only one Major League, the Toronto Blue Jays.

Several independent league teams also exist in the country and take part in the Can-Am League and the American Association. Baseball in Canada is governed by Baseball Canada based in Ottawa.

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3) Soccer:

Soccer has gained popularity in Canada over many years. Although soccer in Canada was played under a variety of rules, the main concept of soccer was there. The first soccer game had taken place in Toronto in October 1876 between two local clubs. The Canadian Women’s soccer team has succeeded numerous times at an international level. The team qualified for the 2012 London summer Olympics and performed remarkably well throughout the tournament.

They met the favorite United States in the Semi-final and lost the game by 4-3 in overtime. But, the American win came through some controversial decisions against Canada. However, Canada secured third place with a Bronze medal, defeating France by 1-0. Canada had already organized the 2015 FIFA Women’s World cup which lasted for about a month. Soccer ranks 3^rd in the list of top 10 most popular sports in Canada.

2) Lacrosse:

Lacrosse was declared a national game of Canada in 1859 and a summer sport in 1994. It is played by thousands of people across Canada. Lacrosse is governed by the Canadian Lacrosse Association formed in 1925.

There are two professional lacrosse leagues in the country, the National Lacrosse League for the box lacrosse league and the Major League Lacrosse for the field lacrosse league. Canada beat the US 15-10 in the finals of the 2006 World Lacrosse Championship breaking a 28-year US winning streak.

1) Ice Hockey:

Ice hockey is considered to be the most popular sport in Canada, as the sport has been named the official national sport in Canada. The Canadian Ice hockey league, “National Hockey League (NHL)” is established both in Canada and the United States. Canada has 7 teams currently playing in NHL, namely Calgary, Edmonton, Calgary, Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, and Winnipeg.

Canada also arranges some strong semi-professional and amateur ice hockey leagues. Ice hockey is governed by the” Hockey Canada”. Ice hockey is number one in the list of the top 10 most popular sports in Canada.

Other Sports:

You can find facilities for a lot of sports including shooting and archery, rock climbing, powerboat racing, boxing, and Polo.

So this was the list of the top 10 most popular sports in Canada. Feel free to share your opinion in the comments down below and tell us what sport do you like.