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Sports

The most popular professional sports leagues in Canada

by Matthew Renfrew

#1 is obvious. The rest are not.

A study by the Angus Reid Institute has measured the popularity of the most popular professional sports leagues in Canada.

The study found that, unsurprisingly, the National Hockey League (NHL), which includes seven Canadian teams, is the most popular professional sport in Canada, followed closely or very closely by 36% of Canadians.

The following ranking takes into account the percentage of Canadians who say they follow a given sports league closely (“I watch as many games as I can”) or very closely (“I try to watch my favourites and stay up-to-date”).

Notably, the popularity of a professional sport in Canada does not appear to have a significant relationship with the number of Canadian teams the league in question has. (For the complete table of results, please see the report here.)

These are the most popular professional sports in Canada.

The most popular professional sports leagues in Canada

1. National Hockey League (NHL)

Percentage of Canadians who follow the league closely: 36%

Number of Canadian teams: 7

2. National Football League (NFL)

Percentage of Canadians who follow the league closely: 20%

Number of Canadian teams: 0

3. Major League Baseball (MLB)

Percentage of Canadians who follow the league closely: 19%

Number of Canadian teams: 1

4. Canadian Football League (CFL)

Percentage of Canadians who follow the league closely: 16%

Number of Canadian teams: 9

5. National Basketball Association (NBA)

Percentage of Canadians who follow the league closely: 13%

Number of Canadian teams: 1

6. Major League Soccer (MLS)

Percentage of Canadians who follow the league closely: 9%

Number of Canadian teams: 3

This article was originally published on Feb. 16 and updated on June 11, 2023.

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by Matthew Renfrew

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