what sports do canadians like?
Canada women's national volleyball team
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 The roots of organized sports in Canada date back to the 1770s . Canada 's official national sports are ice hockey and lacrosse . Seven of Canada 's eight largest metropolitan areas – Toronto , Montreal , Vancouver , Ottawa , Calgary , Edmonton and Winnipeg – have franchises in the National Hockey League ( NHL ) while Quebec City had the Quebec Nordiques until they relocated to Colorado in 1995 . Canada does have one Major League Baseball team , the Toronto Blue Jays , one professional basketball team , the Toronto Raptors , three Major League Soccer teams and four National Lacrosse League teams . Canada has participated in almost every Olympic Games since its Olympic debut in 1900 , and has hosted several high @-@ profile international sporting events , including the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal , the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary , the 1994 Basketball World Championship , the 2007 FIFA U @-@ 20 World Cup , the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler , British Columbia and the 2015 FIFA Women 's World Cup . Other popular spectator sports in Canada include curling and Canadian football ; the latter is played professionally in the Canadian Football League ( CFL ) . Golf , tennis , baseball , skiing , cricket , volleyball , rugby union , Australian Rules Football , soccer and basketball are widely played at youth and amateur levels , but professional leagues and franchises are not widespread . 

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 The most popular sport is ice hockey . The professional hockey team , the Montreal Canadiens , is one of the Original Six teams of the National Hockey League ( NHL ) , and has won an NHL @-@ record 24 Stanley Cup championships . The Canadiens ' most recent Stanley Cup victory came in 1993 . They have major rivalries with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins both of which are also Original Six hockey teams . The Canadiens have played at the Bell Centre since 1996 . Prior to that they played at the Montreal Forum . 

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 The Canadian Football League ( CFL ) , the sole major professional sports league in the United States and Canada to feature only teams from Canada , has made efforts to gain further audience in the United States , most directly through expansion into the country from 1993 to 1995 . The CFL plays Canadian football , which is somewhat different from the American football usual in the United States . 

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 Professional sports teams in the area include the Vancouver Canucks ( National Hockey League ) , BC Lions ( Canadian Football League ) , Vancouver Whitecaps FC ( Major League Soccer ) , and the Vancouver Canadians ( Northwest League baseball ) . The 2010 Winter Olympics were also staged in the Metro Vancouver and Whistler areas . 

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 Internationally , Canada had long been protesting the Soviet Union 's use of " professional amateurs " at the World Championships and the Olympic Games , which were amateur events . Canada withdrew from international competition in 1969 and boycotted the 1972 Olympic hockey tournament . As an alternative , NHL Players ' Association executive director Alan Eagleson negotiated a deal with Soviet authorities to hold an eight @-@ game series between the Soviet national team and Canada 's top professionals . 
