Future Canadian Sporting Events You Don’t Want To Miss
By: Vincent Tran
Published on: November 28th, 2024
Major sports events are great sources of entertainment. One thing they do is bring people together. Whenever these events are on, it seems like a major part of the world is locked into their action.
Now is as good a time as ever to be a sports fan in Canada because, in the next few years, our nation will be hosting major sports events that you can attend in-person or watch at home with family and friends.
2026 FIFA World Cup
One of the biggest sports events to look forward to in the next couple of years is the 2026 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup.
This World Cup will be hosted by Canada, the United States, and Mexico and for the first time in the history of the competition, will feature 48 teams from around the world who will each compete for the World Cup trophy.
Canada has two host cities: Vancouver and Toronto. A total of 13 games will be played at the B.C. Place in Vancouver, British Columbia. and BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario.
The Canadian men’s national team will make their third appearance at a FIFA World Cup tournament. It will also be the first time they play in consecutive men’s World Cups.
Fans in Toronto can witness Canada’s opening group stage game at BMO Field on June 12, 2026, while the B.C. Place in Vancouver will host the remaining two group stage matches for the national team.
NHL 4 Nations Face-Off
The NHL 4 Nations Face-Off is an international ice hockey event that will take place from Feb. 12, 2025, to Feb. 20, 2025.
The event will feature National Hockey League (NHL) players from Canada, the United States, Finland, and Sweden. It will replace the annual NHL All-Star Game in 2025 and serve as a tune-up event ahead of the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics, where NHL players will return for the first time since the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
The Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec. and TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts are the host cities for this tournament. Four games will be held in Montreal and three games in Boston.
Six Canadian players have already been selected for the Canadian team: Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, Brad Marchand, Cale Makar, and Brayden Point.
Canadians will finally be able to see most of their top hockey stars represent the country on an international level for the first time in over a decade when the competition begins on Feb. 12, 2025 at Bell Centre in Montreal. Canada will be facing Sweden in the opening game of the tournament.
Toronto WNBA team
In 2026, the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) will finally make its long awaited expansion into Canada with the opening of a new franchise in Toronto, Ontario.
The still-to-be-named Toronto franchise is set to become the WNBA’s 14th franchise, after the San Francisco-based Golden State Valkyries begin their inaugural season in May 2025.
The Toronto WNBA franchise will start playing in May 2026 at the Coca-Cola Coliseum in Toronto, which can hold over 7,000 fans.
Details about the Toronto WNBA team are unavailable at the moment. Stay tuned to this monumental event in Canadian women’s sports history as the franchise tips off their inaugural season in May 2026.
Annual events
Canada has many regular annual major sports events across its cities. These events involve a wide range of sports.
The National Bank Open is a WTA and ATP Masters 1000 tennis event held in Toronto and Montreal every year. The event is one of the biggest tennis events on the tennis calendar, with only the WTA and ATP Finals and Grand Slam tournaments worth more ranking points. It involves both men’s and women’s professional players on the ATP and WTA tours, respectively.
Every year, the tournament alternates between Toronto and Montreal, hosting the men and women at their venues. This year, the WTA (women) will play in Toronto and the ATP (men) will play in Montreal. They will switch next year in 2025.
If you’re a fan of motorsports and racing, there are two marquee motorsports events in Canada every year: the Canadian Grand Prix and the Honda Indy Toronto.
The Canadian Grand Prix is a Formula One race event at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal. Every year, 20 Formula One racers from 10 different teams race for 70 laps on the 4.361 kilometre long race course.
The Honda Indy Toronto is an annual Indycar race event in Toronto, and typically occurs every July. The drivers race for 85 laps along a 2.874 kilometre track around Exhibition Place and down Lakeshore Boulevard. The Grey Cup is Canada’s equivalent to the NFL’s Super Bowl. It regularly draws in millions of Canadians every year. If you’re ever interested in the Canadian Football League (CFL), you should definitely check out some games during the regular season and tune in for the playoffs and Grey Cup final.