Report shows 75% of Canadians are fans of women's sport – but finding games a challenge

A new report commissioned by Canadian Women and Sport says that supply is not meeting demand for women's sports in Canada. The study released on Tuesday found that 75 per cent of Canadians now call themselves fans of women's sport, up from 67 per cent two years ago.

Canadian Women and Sport study shows number of fans is up from 2 years ago

John Chidley-Hill · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Oct 28, 2026 7:33 AM EDT | Last Updated: 16 minutes ago

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Hockey Night In Canada enters its PWHL era

October 3|

Duration

2:13

CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada announced it will air eight prime time PWHL games on Saturday nights.

When Zoe Boyd was a little girl growing up in Caledon, Ont., Hockey Night in Canada was appointment viewing for her family every Saturday night.

This season, the star of the new Professional Women's Hockey League team in Hamilton will be regularly featured on the CBC showcase.

"I couldn't ever have dreamt it. It just wasn't a possibility in our minds," Boyd said. "But I grew up watching Hockey Night in Canada, Coach's Corner. That was my parents' favourite part of the games, watching Coach's Corner on Hockey Night in Canada.

"It really feels full circle and I'm super excited to see what that looks like and that we get that opportunity."

Boyd's comments come after a new report commissioned by Canadian Women and Sport says that supply is not meeting demand for women's sports in Canada.

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The study released on Tuesday found that 75 per cent of Canadians now call themselves fans of women's sport, up from 67 per cent two years ago.

Despite that growth in interest, 62 per cent of fans surveyed say they don't know where to find the games of professional women's leagues or the content they're looking for online.

Boyd said that, anecdotally, she's seen the growing popularity of the PWHL. She started her career with the Ottawa Charge before signing a one-year contract with the Boston Fleet in June 2025. Boston left her unprotected, allowing PWHL Hamilton to select her in the league's 2026 expansion draft.

"It's been pretty spectacular to see how far we've come here in just the fourth season," said Boyd. "Already having six additional expansion teams, I think that proof is in the pudding, right there. This is something the world wants.

"Playing in different markets and getting recognized by fans and in coffee shops and on the streets and all of those things, it's been pretty spectacular."

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Canadian Women and Sport conducted the study with global research agency IMI International in August 2026. It is based on a representative sample of over 2,000 Canadians aged 13 to 65 with no industry affiliations.

The report also found that there is a perception gap on coverage.

Respondents estimated that women's sport gets 30 per cent of media coverage, but the study said it actually represents between nine and 21 per cent on traditional channels.

Allison Sandmeyer-Graves, the chief executive officer of Canadian Women and Sport, said that there is progress in media coverage but that there are significant headwinds for women's sports to be featured on television, in newspapers, or on prominent sports websites.

"This is unfolding in a very fragmented media landscape, which means where to find it is still such a challenge for fans," said Sandmeyer-Graves. "Then being able to access it on top of that is a further challenge.

"It is effectively limiting how fans go from 'I'm interested,' 'I'm aware that this is happening' to full-on fans buying merch, attending games, watching regularly, all of those sorts of things."