For a brief period after Confederation, cricket was Canada’s national sport. It likely won’t ever regain that status, but it is still on the come-up.
Driving the news: Major League Cricket (MLC) — the U.S. cricket league founded in 2023 — plans to expand from six teams to eight by 2027, and Toronto is on the shortlist for a new franchise. It would be Canada’s first pro team outside of the Global T20 Canada tournament.
- The MLC currently holds one tournament a year, with teams playing T20 cricket, a shortened version of the game that takes a few hours to play instead of several days.
Why it matters: Cricket is one of Canada’s fastest-growing sports, and 2024 was its biggest year yet. For the first time, the men’s national team participated in the prestigious ICC T20 World Cup (and even won a match), with ~75 million viewers watching Canadian matches globally.
Yes, but: Cricket’s popularity has surged in Canada largely thanks to the recent South Asian population boom. With immigration growth set to slow down, cricket’s next task will be making fans out of Canadian sports lovers who are less familiar with the game.—QH