Canadian athletes you should know about
By: Vincent Tran
Published on: March 15th, 2024
When thinking of some of the best athletes in the world, you might overlook Canadians. Or you may think we only specialise in winter sports. However, Canada has many talented female and male athletes in a wide range of sports.
Presently, Canadians have a large presence in global sports and play their trade all across the world. Despite being overlooked, Canadian sports teams have proved themselves in many international tournaments, such as the Olympics.
Many Canadian athletes are among the best in the world. Here are some Canadian athletes that you should know more about, as they are, or will be, prominently featured in Canadian sports.
Christine Sinclair
Widely regarded as the greatest Canadian female soccer player, or even greatest Canadian soccer player in general, Christine Sinclair has been the face of Canadian soccer for the past 23 years.
She has played an integral role in the success of the Canadian women’s national team and has revolutionised the sport in this country.
Sinclair, 40, is still going strong and currently holds the national team record for most appearances (323) and goals (190).
Jordyn Huitema
Seen as the successor to Christine Sinclair, Jordyn Huitema has all the skills and potential to be Canada’s leading female soccer player for years to come.
At 22-years-old, Huitema already has 64 caps (appearances) for the Canadian national team along with 16 goals for the senior side. She has also already won an Olympic gold medal with Canada during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She is an integral part of a new generation of Canadian women’s soccer players who will likely be stars in the near future.
The fact that Huitema has Christine Sinclair to learn from only bodes well for her future, as she will likely carry the torch that Sinclair lit and become the face of Canadian soccer.
Jonathan David
Currently 23-years-old, Jonathan David is a main feature of the Canadian men’s national soccer team and their plans for the foreseeable future.
Jonathan David was born in New York City and moved to Haiti as a three-month-old, before settling in Ottawa, Ontario at the age of six. His soccer roots come from Ottawa and he credits his high school, École secondaire publique Louis-Riel, for helping him greatly in his progression as a soccer player.
This past season was Jonathan David’s career best scoring, as he finished as the third top scorer in Ligue 1, with 24 goals for Lille OSC. David can potentially move to a bigger club in the near future, where his development will further improve.
Tajon Buchanan
Buchanan is a quick and pacy winger who plays with a lot of heart and fire. He embodies what Canadian soccer is all about. There is no doubt Buchanan will be a big part of the future of Canadian men’s soccer, alongside Alphonso Davies and Jonathan David.
Buchanan’s elite speed is what separates him from other players and provides another dimension to the Canadian national team. Along with Davies, he’s able to track back and cover when on defence and then spring forward quickly in attack to support the forwards or score a goal himself.
At 24 years of age, Buchanan will likely feature prominently for the Canadian men’s national team for the next few years; and could play a major role in Canada’s potential successes.
Denis Shapovalov
Born in Israel to Russian parents, Denis Shapovalov grew up in Vaughan, Ontario before becoming a tennis pro in 2017.
The turning points in his career came when he reached a career-high world ranking of #10 in 2020; and had his best finish at a Grand Slam when he reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 2021.
Since then, Shapovalov has dealt with injuries and inconsistency, but at 24-years-old, he remains one of the most electrifying tennis players. It wouldn’t be a shock to see Shapovalov collect some ATP titles or even make a push for a Grand Slam.
Félix Auger-Aliassime
Félix Auger-Aliassime remains one of Canada’s best active tennis players. He’s currently ranked #12 in the world and reached a career high ranking of #6 in November 2022.
When healthy and in good form, it’s clear that Auger-Aliassime has all the talent and ability to beat the best tennis players in the world. He possesses a strong serve, has a great all-round game and plays with high intensity. He embodies all the makings of a player who can be one of the greatest in the sport.
Similar to Denis Shapovalov, Félix Auger-Aliassime burst onto the scene as a young player and is without a doubt one of Canada’s biggest hopes to win a Grand Slam title.
Connor McDavid
Arguably the best currently active men’s hockey player, Connor McDavid is truly a once-in-a-lifetime type of player.
Since entering the NHL in 2015, McDavid (26) has won many individual honours, including five Art Ross trophies, awarded to the player who finishes with the most points (goals and assists) during the season, and two Hart trophies, the NHL’s MVP award. He looks likely to win his third Hart trophy following the 2022-23 season in which he finished with 153 points.
However, given all his individual brilliance and the accolades along with it, McDavid has yet to win the Stanley Cup or even play in the Stanley Cup Finals. The closest he came to the finals was in the 2021-22 NHL season, when the Edmonton Oilers lost to the eventual champions, Colorado Avalanche, in four games in the Western Conference Finals.
If McDavid continues at the same pace, it might not be long before he lifts the coveted Stanley Cup and stamps his mark in hockey history as one of the greatest players to ever grace the ice.
Marie-Philip Poulin
Marie-Philip Poulin is one of the best women’s hockey players at the moment and will go down in history as one of the best Canadians to ever play the sport.
Poulin has collected many medals and honours throughout her illustrious career, including three Olympic gold medals (2010, 2014, 2022), one Olympic silver medal (2018), and three World Championship gold medals (2012, 2021, 2022).
Marie-Philip Poulin is famously known as “Captain Clutch” for her ability to succeed in important and high stress games. In four Olympic gold medal games, Poulin has scored seven goals, three being game-winners.
Bennedict Mathurin
Bennedict Mathurin hails from Montréal, Quebec and his successes mean much more given the struggles and difficulties he dealt with in his upbringing.
Mathurin was raised by his mother Elvie Jeune who worked long hours at a hospital to support her children. When Bennedict was 12, his older brother, Dominique, died at the age of 15 after being struck by a car while riding his bike.
Bennedict Mathurin was selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers. In his rookie season, Mathurin finished fifth in Rookie of the Year voting after averaging 16.7 points per game and emerging as a rising star on a new-look Pacers team.
Jamal Murray
Since being drafted seventh overall in the 2016 NBA draft, Jamal Murray has remained as one of the best Canadians in the NBA.
Murray has a career average of 16.9 points per game, but he has gained a reputation as a playoff performer, where his points average goes up to 25 ppg for his career.
After missing the entire 2021-22 season due to an ACL tear that occurred towards the end of the 2020-21 season, Jamal Murray bounced back. He averaged 20 ppg in the 2022-23 season, enroute to winning the Denver Nuggets’ first ever NBA championship, beating the Miami Heat in five games.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
At 24-years-old, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is already the franchise cornerstone for the Oklahoma City Thunder and looks set to lead the youngest franchise in the NBA for future seasons to come.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a breakout 2022-23 season in which he averaged 31.4 points per game, along with 1.6 steals per game and one block per game. All this culminated in his first All-Star game appearance and an All-NBA First Team selection, while finishing second for the Most Improved Player.
If Shai continues to improve and makes the most of his potential, he could have many more individual accolades come his way, as well as, potentially an NBA championship and success with the Canadian national team.
*all basketball stats from basketball-reference
Summer McIntosh
At the age of 14, Summer McIntosh was part of the Canadian Olympic Swim Team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where she made headlines when she finished fourth in the women’s 400m freestyle. That’s all that really needs to be said about McIntosh as a swimmer, but that’s only the start of her story.
Since making history at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, McIntosh has gone on to win two gold medals at the long course (50-metre pool) World Championships in 200m butterfly and 400m medley. She also won a gold medal at the short course (25-metre pool) World Championships in 4x200m freestyle, and two gold medals at the Commonwealth Games in 200m medley and 400m medley
If Summer McIntosh makes the best of her talents and potential, she could become an athlete who will collect multiple Olympic medals in the future and make history as one of the greatest swimmers of all time.
Penny Oleksiak
Penny Oleksiak burst onto the scene as a 16-year-old in the 2016 Rio Olympics when she shocked the world by winning gold in the women’s 100m freestyle final.
She later went on to win the silver medal in the 100m butterfly final, as well as, two bronze medals in the 4x100m and 4x200m freestyle. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Oleksiak added another silver and two bronze medals to bring her Olympic medal tally to seven, becoming Canada’s most decorated Olympian.
At the next Olympic Games in Paris 2024, Oleksiak will be 24-years-old and will likely be one of the leaders for the Canadian Women’s Swim Team, and could potentially add to her record-setting Olympic medal tally.
Andre De Grasse
Born to Caribbean immigrant parents, Andre De Grasse grew up in Markham, Ontario and later made a name for himself with his speed on the track. For someone who only started competing in track at the age of 17, De Grasse has achieved a lot in his relatively short time in the sport.
At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Andre De Grasse rose to prominence as a then 21-year-old when he won the silver medal in the men’s 200m final, finishing behind none other than Usain Bolt, the fastest man in history. De Grasse also collected two more bronze medals in 2016 in the 100m and 4x100m relay.
Andre De Grasse’s crowning moment came in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics when he won gold in the men’s 200m final, and a silver and bronze medal in the 4x100m relay and 100m final, respectively. De Grasse’s Olympic medal tally of six makes him the joint second most decorated Canadian Olympian.
At the moment De Grasse is Canada’s fastest man. He will be 29-years-old heading into the 2024 Paris Olympic Games and will look to add more medals to his illustrious career.