Popular Sports Teams Canada: Top 5 Most Loved

Back in 2022, Bodog took on one of the most important tasks in our company’s long history: Identifying the five most popular sports teams in Canada. The avalanche of emails we received in response to our Top Five was unlike anything we’ve ever experienced, thanks to all of those ardent fans of the teams who failed to make our list.

Things are about to get even more heated. We’ve revisited our Top Five here at Bodog, taking into account more recent trends in Canadian sports. We’ve also opened the field to include national teams as well as those from “domestic” leagues like the NHL. And after crunching the numbers, we can tell you: Fans in Winnipeg and Montreal are going to be very disappointed.

Introduction to Canadian Sports

Sports in Canada are more than just games; they’re a defining part of the country’s culture and identity. From coast to coast, fans rally behind their teams, whether it’s the seven NHL clubs that fill arenas each winter or the Toronto Blue Jays, still the only Canadian team in Major League Baseball. Hockey remains central, with storied franchises like the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs, even as NHL viewership dipped during the 2024–25 season.

The landscape, though, is shifting. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers remain a CFL powerhouse and attendance leader, but three straight Grey Cup losses have cooled some momentum. In the NHL, Winnipeg’s fanbase has been reenergized since the Jets’ return from Atlanta in 2011, while debates continue over which teams truly rank among Canada’s most beloved.

Beyond hockey and football, soccer, basketball, and other leagues continue to grow, reflecting changing fan habits and rising participation. From packed stadiums to evolving loyalties, sports remain a powerful force that brings Canadians together.

5. Edmonton Oilers

They don’t have the same long and storied history as the Canadiens, but none of the 18,347 screaming fans in attendance was thinking about that when they packed Rogers Place to watch the Oilers take on the Florida Panthers in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final and again in 2025. All they wanted was their first Cup since Mark Messier led them to glory in 1990.

They’ll have to keep waiting for at least one more year. But those deep playoff runs have made Edmonton very fashionable indeed; some 4.39 million viewers tuned into Sportsnet and TVA to watch the 2025 Final. With more than a million fans following them on Instagram, you get the most popular Oilers team this side of Wayne Gretzky.

4. Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays may have slipped from No. 2 on our list, but the fundamentals are still there: Canada’s only Major League Baseball team since the Montreal Expos skipped town 20 years ago is pulling in roughly 25,000 fans per game to Rogers Centre during the regular season, and easily outstrips American teams like the New York Yankees when it comes to the TV numbers up North.

Do the Blue Jays compete with Edmonton’s Stanley Cup run? Maybe not on a per-game basis, although 1.26 million viewers a pop on Sportsnet for their recent series with the Chicago Cubs is nothing to sneeze at. Neither are those roughly two million Instagram followers. Let’s see if Toronto can take those numbers to the moon by winning their first World Series since 1993.

3. Toronto Raptors

Okay, we may have been a bit quick to anoint the Raptors as our country’s most popular team last time, but that’s partly because the NBA point spread naturally lends itself to sports betting compared to the NHL puck line. It’s also because basketball is a sport on the rise, both nationally and globally. Toronto’s 4.1 million Instagram followers are living proof that the future is bright for Canadian hoops. Basketball participation among children aged 5 to 17 is 17%, making it one of the highest youth team sport rates in Canada.

Like the Blue Jays, the Raptors have a stranglehold on the Canadian NBA market. Even during this recent rebuild following the break-up of their 2019 championship squad, Toronto regularly brings 18,000+ fans to Scotiabank Arena, and if they can get back on track, they’ll almost certainly top the average audience of 7.7 million who watched Kawhi Leonard and the Raptors beat the Golden State Warriors for the title. Canada produces more NBA players than any country outside the United States, further highlighting the sport's growth in the nation.

The Raptors are unique in that they are the only team representing all of Canada in the NBA, creating a sense of unity and national pride as fans across the country rally behind them.

2. Men’s National Hockey Team

Team Canada doesn’t play as often as the other clubs on our list, but when they do, it’s must-see TV. The 4 Nations Face-Off final between Canada and the United States drew some 10.7 million Canadian viewers, driven in part by the changing political winds south of the border. That international tournament (Sweden and Finland were also involved) may have single-handedly saved the NHL’s All-Star Game by completely replacing it, and showcased Canada’s ability to compete at the highest level against any other country.

If there’s any controversy over Team Canada’s inclusion on our list, it’s because we can’t quite pin down this team’s reach on social media. We tend to lump in the men’s and women’s clubs as part of the larger national program, and let’s not forget the juniors who compete every year at the IIHF World Championship. But the men’s senior national team will be front and centre next February at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, a highlight of the winter games. Team Canada has a storied history of winning gold medals at both the Summer and Winter Olympics, underscoring their legacy of excellence on the world stage.

1. Toronto Maple Leafs

Okay, Maple Leafs fans, we heard you loud and clear. No matter how much this team has suffered since their last Cup win in 1967, the Leafs have always played to a full crowd, which is around 18,800 for Scotiabank Arena. And while their TV ratings have topped at around 2.9 million for the Stanley Cup playoffs, that’s pretty impressive given Toronto’s failure to make it beyond the second round. So we’ve moved the Leafs up from No. 3 to their rightful place at the centre of Canada’s sports universe. We also can’t ignore the fact that the Maple Leafs have about twice as many Instagram followers as Edmonton. That’s demographics for you; aside from Team Canada, it’s pretty much a given this country’s most popular teams will come from Canada’s largest city. Will this finally be the year they end our long national nightmare and bring home the Cup?

Football in Canada

Canadian football stands out as one of the country’s most beloved and uniquely Canadian sports. The Canadian Football League (CFL) is the premier professional league, tracing its roots back to the 19th century and the founding of the Canadian Rugby Football Union in 1884. Iconic CFL teams like the Toronto Argonauts and Hamilton Tiger-Cats have become household names, with rivalries that capture the imagination of fans from Toronto to the Prairies.

The highlight of the Canadian football season is the Grey Cup, a championship game that has grown into Canada’s largest annual sporting event. Each year, nearly one-third of Canadian TV households tune in to watch the Grey Cup, making it a true national celebration. The CFL’s unique rules and fast-paced play set it apart from American football, and its teams are deeply woven into the fabric of Canadian communities. Whether you’re a die-hard fan of the Argonauts or just enjoy the excitement of the league, Canadian football continues to be a popular sport that brings fans together from across the country.

International Competitions

Canada’s international reputation in sports is built on a legacy of hosting and excelling in major global competitions. The country has welcomed the world to its cities for landmark events such as the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, and the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. More recently, Canada played host to the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, the Pan American Games, and the Parapan American Games, showcasing its ability to stage world-class sporting events.

Canadian teams have made their mark on the international stage, from the Olympic Games to the FIFA World Cup. The Toronto Raptors’ historic NBA Championship win in 2019 brought the country its first NBA title, uniting basketball fans from coast to coast and elevating Canada’s profile in the world of professional sports. With the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup set to be co-hosted by Canada, the United States, and Mexico, Canadian sports fans can look forward to even more opportunities to cheer on their teams in global competition. Whether it’s hockey, soccer, basketball, or other professional sports, Canada’s athletes and teams continue to inspire pride and excitement on the world stage.