The birth of the Toronto Tempo shows the steady growth of women's sports in Canada

When Canada’s national anthem was played at the Coca-Cola Coliseum during the Toronto Tempo’s first pre-season game on April 29th, there was joy reverberating throughout the arena. It gave the country a glimpse of what is to come. 

The lights focused on the flag drawing cheers . The camera panned to Kia Nurse, the first Canadian on the team. (Yvonne Ejim, a 24-year-old from Calgary, was signed to a training-camp contract on Tuesday.) Nurse, who was in the starting lineup, was singing loudly as her signature smile radiated. I couldn't help but feel a lump in my throat as I stood in the home of Canada’s newest professional women’s team. 

This moment was real and it was here. I was planted in the press box but took a moment to dash over to a friend undergoing cancer treatment who made it out to the game. A longtime women’s basketball fan, she said it was a dream come true for her. That interaction made the reality of more opportunity for women’s basketball in Canada more profound. 

The game was sold out and the 8,210 fans chanted and roared the entire night. When Nurse sank the first bucket (a 3-pointer) for the Tempo, the noise was raucous. It wasn’t only a welcome home moment for Nurse, but for the entire largely international squad. 

In a post-game interview, Tempo forward and Lithuanian international Laura Juškaitė said that the game itself was not “beautiful,” but the moment was something.

“I will not remember this game because of basketball,” she said. “I will remember because of the crowd and how they loved us tonight.”

Two years ago, I broke the story at CBC Sports about the WNBA coming to Canada. I knew it would be massively impactful but until I stood at the realization of that story, surrounded by people in