Popular Winter Sports in Canada

Alpine Skiing: Lake Louise FIS Women's Ski World Cup

Canada has a fantastic landscape with numerous beautiful forests, magnificent mountains, and endless stunning lakes. The lands of Canada have one of the coldest winters with extremely low temperatures in the world. With extremely low temperatures, freezing air, and deep snow piles, Canada offers an amazing place for winter sports.

Canadian winter sports include numerous team games and individual sports that are played indoors or outdoors. Canadian winter sports offer not only an outstanding entertainment period but also provide an opportunity for Canadians to show their talent and expertise. We have composed a list of some of the most popular winter sports in Canada for you. Let’s learn about them.

1. Hockey

 Popular Winter Sports in Canada
Jan 18, 2021; Anaheim, California, USA; Minnesota Wild goaltender Cam Talbot (33) defends the goal against the Anaheim Ducks during the second period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Ice hockey is the most popular winter sport in Canada. The modern form of ice hockey was also originated in Canada in the late 19th century. It is also considered a winter national game of Canada as it is played by children, men, and women at various levels. It also makes a great spectator sport with television coverage. 

National Hockey League (NHL) is a professional league that consists of Canadian ice hockey teams and American ice hockey teams. The Calgary Flames, Montreal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers, Ottawa Senators, Winnipeg Jets, Vancouver Canucks, and Toronto Maple Leafs are the seven Canadian ice hockey teams that compete with American ice hockey teams in the National Hockey League.

2. Lacrosse

Lacrosse is Canada’s national sport, and it can be played in winter and in summer. Indigenous people originally played it, but today it is played all across Canada.

The Canadian Lacrosse Association holds various lacrosse competitions in Canada for men and women. Lacrosse is played indoor and outdoor as well. Field Lacrosse is an indoor sport, while box lacrosse is the type of lacrosse that is played indoors. Major Lacrosse League is the professional league for field lacrosse, and National Lacrosse League is the professional league for box lacrosse in Canada. Men’s and women’s lacrosse national teams of Canada are also among the best lacrosse teams in the world.

3. Snowmobiling

Snowmobiling is one of the most exciting outdoor winter sports that you can enjoy with your friends. Canada offers the best snowmobile tour destinations for snowmobile enthusiasts with an arctic climate and charismatic natural beauty. Well-groomed and clear looping trails make your snowmobiling adventures even more exciting. The routes are also well-facilitated, so you don’t have to worry about residence and restaurants on the way.

Ontario is one of the best places for snowmobiling in Canada with outstanding trails. While passing through the trails, you need to take great care of your precious snowmobile. Snowmobile accidents or theft can cause you a significant financial loss that can ruin your tour. So, it’s better to secure your snowmobile with Surex. Surex provides you with the best snowmobile insurance rates in Ontario. You can find budget-friendly insurance policies with Surex, no matter what kind of snowmobile you have.

4. Curling

Curling is an awesome addition to our popular Canadian winter sports list. It is a fun game and is much similar to shuffleboard and bowls. The curling game is played on a long ice sheet. In this game, players slide the rocks toward a circle having concentric rings. The points are scored when the rocks rest near the center of the circle until the competition ends. Each team comprises four players, and each player is given two rocks.

The curling game is also quite popular. Curling Canada organizes various curling championships across the country. The Tim Hortons Brier is the men’s national curling championship and the Scotties Tournaments of Hearts is the women’s national curling championship. Canada’s men and women national curling teams are also among the top curling teams in the world.

5. Skiing

Skiing is one of the best extreme winter sports as you can only enjoy it in extreme winter. With long winters, deep snow, and numerous terrains, Canada offers the best ski resorts in the world. You can found various popular skiing resorts in Alberta, Quebec. Whistler Blackcomb offers the highest slope for skiing in Canada.

Skiing has two types, downhill skiing, and cross country skiing. In downhill skilling, a person has to slide down a hill at a fast pace. It is also called Alpine skiing. In Nordic skiing, the person moves forward at a slow pace. It is much easier than downhill skiing and you can enjoy it, irrespective of your age and experience.

6. Snowboarding

 Popular Winter Sports in Canada
Jan 21, 2020; Lausanne, SWITZERLAND; Evgeniy Genin RUS (green bib), Valerio Jud SUI (red bib), Felix Powondra AUT (blue bib) and Matous Smerak CZE (yellow bib) in action in the semifinal of the Team Ski- Snowboard Cross at Villars Winter Park. The Winter Youth Olympic Games. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queenborough/OIS Handout Photo via USA TODAY Sports

Snowboarding is another winter sport that requires extremely low temperature and deep snow. Snowboarding on a snowy slope can be a thrilling experience. The outstanding ski resorts in Canada provide you amazing opportunity to enjoy snowboarding.

Snowboarding is not too difficult. You just have to learn how to balance yourself, your heels, and your toe while using the edge of your snowboard. Canada has lots of ski resorts that are excellent for snowboarding. Whistler, Big White, Banff, Fernie, and Lake Louise are the top resorts for snowboarding.

7. Ice Fishing

Millions of enchanting lakes with freezing temperatures make Canada one of the best places to experience ice fishing. With the long winter season, ice fishing is one of the most appealing winter sports in Canada. Canada has numerous lakes for ice fishing, but Lake Simcoe, Bay of Quinte, and Lake of the Woods in Ontario, and Tobin Lake in Saskatchewan are the best of all.

Ice fishing is an exciting recreational activity. For ice fishing, find an opening in the lake and drop your fishing line in it. Wait till you catch some fish. Ice fishing is quite easy and can make your day more enjoyable, but you need to be patient for it.

Final Verdict

If you are tired of sitting idle in your house in winter, get out of your blanket and plan to do something exciting. If you are a resident of Canada, you should not miss the opportunity to play the above winter sports. Get your stuff ready and make your time more memorable and enjoyable with the above popular Canadian winter sports.

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