If one thing can cause many emotions at once, cause grown men to cry and children to get obsessed, it is sports. Do you know what the most popular sport in Canada is?

It’s Ice Hockey. Here, we will provide content about the most popular sport in Canada and a list of other sports from which to choose your favorite.

1. Popularity of Sports

Sports are prevalent all across the globe, but it can be difficult to pinpoint which one amongst hundreds, even thousands of sports, is the most well-liked.

On the other hand, the popularity of sporting events is rising globally. The lifestyles of athletes, sportspersons, and other participants in the most renowned and thriving sports worldwide have been profoundly impacted. Sports have an impact on everyone, even the spectators.

Sports play a significant role in people’s culture and are a terrific way to bring people around, unwind, and admire the raw agility and tactical brilliance of the world’s top players. Kids acquire life skills in the stadium or field.

While it can be challenging to determine specific participation rates for sports in Canada, it is feasible to give a primary indication of a few of the most popular sports using the currently available statistics. At the same time, we accept that the ranking is subject to disagreement.

Sports appeal has been measured using a variety of factors, including TV viewership, attendance, numbers, and money. On the other hand, sports are becoming extremely prevalent across Canada.

The lives of players, sportspeople, and others have significantly transformed due to these most well-known sports in the country.  The famous faces of players continue to astound people and inspire millions worldwide.

Let’s find out about the most popular sport in Canada- Ice Hockey.

2. About Ice Hockey

2.1. Features of Ice Hockey

The team sport of “hockey,” usually referred to as “ice hockey,” is performed on a particular ice rink field. Every team aims to strike by advancing the puck, a rubber disc created through vulcanization, into the other opposing goal.

What do softball, volleyball, and rugby have in common? They are not practiced on a slick ice sheet but on level ground. The players who participate in those activities have shoes, not steel spikes sticking out of their ankles.

2.2. How Ice Hockey Is Played

A game consists of three 20-minute halves. When the game is in motion, the clock begins to tick. In the playoffs only, the players switch sides for the second, third, and first minute of every overtime period; the ends are the same as the odd halves.

In the event of a tie after regular time, the procedures outlined in every championship’s regulations would be followed.

2.3. Ice Hockey Players and Their TeamWork

Hockey players are more skillful than tennis, softball, and soccer players, but no one suggests those athletes aren’t committed. Ice hockey players must combine flexibility and skill while maintaining balance on a big ice sheet. People are at a loss for words if it isn’t skill.

Watching the Canadian teams competing in amateur ice hockey leagues is fascinating. Certain ice hockey players are undoubtedly regarded as “stars,” but most people agree that ice hockey is more of a team effort. Ice hockey players are regarded as being kind and typically avoid legal issues.

These players undoubtedly adore their fans, particularly young players and kids. And does it teach teamwork? A single player rarely helps the team win the match. If they are to succeed, the group must cooperate.

2.4. Customs of Hockey

You must wish to review hockey jargon before a match if you don’t understand what a “bender,” “beauty,” or “duster” are.

Hockey is the only sport with as many customs and traditions as it does. Some of the most frequent include growing handlebar mustaches and consuming the same food before every match.

2.5. Ice Hockey as the Most of the Preferred Sport

The National Hockey League, founded in 1917, is closely followed and loved by Canadians. Most people’s favorite activity is watching a game with the family.

Since many other sports are classified as National summer sports, Ice hockey is preferred more comparatively.

Although if looking for some adrenaline, fighting in ice hockey is notorious, but not as aggressive as football or rugby. No mind how out of hand it becomes, the involved parties almost rarely earn a penalty of up to five minutes.

3. Other Popular Sports in Canada

Ice hockey and curling are two mainstream sports played in Canada. One of the most well-liked games, lacrosse, features Native American origins. Numerous sporting events are valued by Canadians not only for their amusement but also for their ability to promote national cohesion.

Immigrants from all over the world have moved to Canada and have introduced sports and other aspects of their heritage to the locals.

Many of the most well-known games in Canada are contested often and are well-known all around the country. Here is the list of other popular sports in Canada:

3.1. Soccer

Soccer is becoming more popular in this nation. It is important to keep in mind that soccer’s dominance outside of the Great White North is something that is often overlooked.

It is an international sport. Billions of people watch world-famous and renowned leagues like the FIFA World Cup, and fans all across the globe follow the European leagues that are the greatest in the league.

Surprisingly, soccer is the most popular spectator sport in the Great White North and is thought to be the sport that is booming the quickest. There seem to be 1,200 organizations that are active in Thirteen provincial/territorial partner institutions and have almost 1,000,000 enrolled Canada Soccer players.

Over the years, soccer has become extremely popular in Canada. The basic notion of soccer existed in Canada, even though it was contested under many standards.

Many highly enthusiastic individuals follow the Canadian Football League; even though it may not be popular, the professional soccer teams get huge support from fans.

3.2. Tennis

Now, tennis may not be the most popular, but Canadians’ interest in tennis is expanding. In the professional tennis realm, Canada boasts some top coaches and players.

In  Quebec, Canada, the sport is next only to ice hockey based on total popularity and ranks sixth out of fourteen sporting events in terms of popular involvement. Tennis is a racquet sport that can be contested against a single opponent on an individualized level or between 2 teams of 2 players.

Saying that another prominent sport in Canada is tennis is not an underestimation. Tennis Canada is the name of the organization that oversees tennis in Canada.

By encouraging tennis involvement at the regional, nationwide, and international levels, the institution upholds its dedication to growing the sport in Canada. If there is a sport which people like and can be played indoors, the best choice is tennis.

As per national research by Tennis Canada, which indicated that over six million Canadians played this sport at least once in the previous year, people are inclined to pick up their tennis rackets and head over for a quick match more frequently.

However, Canada only has 750 easily accessible enclosed courts.

Canadian Tennis is quite well-liked on the web as well. Most of the time, spectators wager on games in addition to watching live broadcasts. Tennis is a secure sport, and it ranks second as one of the most mainstream sports for fatalities in Canada, behind baseball.

3.3. Cricket

Cricket is a popular sport in every country in the world. Although it is less well-liked globally than in nations like India and England, Canadians’ connection with cricket has occasionally been complicated.

With more than 40,000 cricket players nationwide, cricket is one of Canada’s most flourishing sports. Considering Canada’s climate, most of its most well-known sports are seasonal ones, wintertime more pin-pointedly, with excitement for games like ice skating and ice hockey.

It is not only cricket; Canada does not rank highly internationally in most summer sports. The British brought it to Canada and helped it advance to a greater extent, making it the most well-liked sport there in the 18th century.

In reality, cricket was so well-liked at this time that Canada’s 1st Prime Minister declared it the nation’s national sport. It was not just this degree of acceptance that rendered it astounding at the time.

Other native sports began to take dominance by the early 19th century. As a result, cricket became a lower-class sport in Canada. Several athletes went on to play rugby, hockey, and speed skating.

Due to the climate in Canada rendering ice hockey a much better recreation to perform, the sport has gained a tremendous number of followers.

Since ice hockey is a wintertime sport in Canada, while cricket is typically summer, more athletes have switched to ice hockey over cricket. It is difficult to predict cricket’s potential in Canada. Even though it is expanding quickly, there is a need for widespread support in the nation.

As a result, it is challenging for athletes to compete at the beginning of their development, and there is not nearly enough support available as in other athletics. Relative to cricket, even soccer enjoys a tremendous amount of additional support.

3.4. Rugby

Rugby union, also called rugby, is a group sport involving regular, frequent, and intense contact and was invented in England during the early half of the nineteenth century. Rugby is a violent sport. Thus, catastrophic injuries do happen.

Rugby Union is a game that is only reasonably popular in the Great White North. It has a high participation base, especially in regions like British Columbia, Ontario, and Atlantic Canada, but it has yet to reach the same level of fan engagement. Canada has no full-time pro division because it is a Tier 2 Rugby country.

In the Great White North, rugby union has a long history. The Royal Navy may have brought it to the nation in 1823. Following that, it vanished abruptly until being brought back by the formation of the national squad and the start of the national tournament.

Since 2009, the Canadian Rugby Tournament has become the premier local rugby union matchup. The domestic rugby union squad has defeated elite opponents like Wales and Scotland but still has trouble with the US.

Even though the sport virtually vanished from the country, it was brought back thanks to the establishment of the national squad and a mock domestic league.

Approximately 13,000 quality players and several youth team players have joined the rugby union nationwide, particularly in British Columbia.

3.5. Basketball

Long overshadowed by ice hockey, basketball has recently experienced a surge in popularity. Grateful to the Toronto Raptors, an extension of the National Basketball Association (NBA) affiliate founded in 1995.

Presently, 30 teams compete in Canada’s national basketball competition. Basketball is a year-round sport in Canada played at various levels of the game by both men and women. In Canada, basketball is played by over 354,000 kids between the ages of 3 and 17.

But basketball is also becoming more and more popular amongst grownups.

The NBA, immigrants, and the Millennial generation helped basketball become more prominent in Canada. Millennials are becoming more interested in basketball due to the NBA’s cultural context, which differs from other significant North American sports leagues.

In recent research conducted by the Canada Project, more than 1,500 Canadians were questioned. Only 19 percent said hockey would be the sport where they would desire their kids to excel. The youngsters were seven times more likely than older generations to report watching basketball with their family.

All of this shouldn’t be a surprise since a Canadian came up with the basketball concept. Before establishing basketball in the United States in 1891, James Naismith attended McGill University and coached gym classes.

3.6. Golf

A Canadian golfing adventure is the perfect setting for social networking and meeting new people. Millennials adore taking a photo and posting it on social media, whether for lunch, with friends, or golf accompany it.

There are over 2,500 golf clubs and practice areas in Canada, with around six million players. It is among the most well-liked sports in the nation. Hockey players outnumber golfers in Canada, and the sport’s annual economic contribution is more than $11 billion.

The beginning of April through late October is considered the main golfing period, so Canadians don’t have much time to enjoy the sport. Due to ice and snow, most courses will be shut throughout the winter in the eastern, middle, and more northern regions.

Indeed, you may find golf lovers at the Montreal Golf Club anytime you visit.

Depending on the weather, clubs may remain open further during winter in British Columbia’s relatively tropical areas. A 50 percent increase over typical months, approximately 15,000 Canadians performed well over 100 games of golf in the pandemic year, i.e., 2020, as per the figures from Golf Canada.

3.7. Curling

Among the most mainstream sports in the nation and the most broadcasted sport for women in Canada is curling. Two sides of 4 players each toss shots over an ice sheet into a targeted circle in the game of curling to put them as close to the center as possible.

Since Canada has always had a huge pool of great curlers compete in its national trials, one of the toughest championships in the world, several nations, like Sweden, choose their domestic leagues well in advance of the Olympics and fund them year-round.

The Canadian team is one of the most victorious curling teams in the curling championships. The Canadians have historically seemed to be the strongest country, regardless of whether it is in the male or female competitions, at the great Olympics or Champions League.

Things are very different now since, save from the doubles match they conquered at the 2018 Olympics, they don’t have the title of the world’s number one or the best team.

3.8. Lacrosse

You may be surprised to learn that lacrosse is an ancient sport, even older than hockey. Lacrosse’s roots are thought to have been around 1100 AD, while hockey is thought to have started somewhere in the 18th century.

The gameplay practiced before and the version people play now are very distinct. It was primarily contested in what is now recognized as Stickball, a region of North America. Lacrosse has been played in Canada since the 17th century and was classified as the nation’s sole national game from 1859 until 1994.

It was the most famous sport at the beginning of the twentieth century. Since the middle of the 1800s, contemporary lacrosse has been a well-liked sport in Canada.

Lacrosse was designated as the summer sport and hockey as the niche sport by the 1994 passage of the Canada National Sports Act by the Canadian Parliament.

To support people’s involvement in the game and get affairs in order, the Canadian Lacrosse Association was established the same year Canada became a nation. In 2017, they will both be commemorating their 150th anniversaries.

Final Note

While some people like watching sports for amusement, others are huge fans. In either case, everyone has a hobby; perhaps the most common hobby is sports. As in any other region of the world, sports are an important element of Canadian culture and serve as a unifying and positive force.

The vast array of sporting events provides ideal chances for Canadians to showcase their abilities and successfully compete with the remainder of the globe on the international stages. Lacrosse and Ice hockey are Canada’s two national sports.

Only Canada has two official national games, making it unique and distinctive. Ice hockey is the national winter and official national sport, and lacrosse is its summer sport.

Last Updated on March 3, 2024 by Narayani Bhardwaj