Women's pro sport drives interest for Canadian girls, not necessarily participation, report says

The recent wave of women's professional leagues and teams hitting Canada has piqued girls' interest in sport, but a report says participation gaps remain.

The 2026 Rally Report by Canadian Women and Sport found seven in 10 girls surveyed are fans of pro sports, and one in two say the arrival of the Professional Women's Hockey League, soccer's Northern Super League and the WNBA's Toronto Tempo over the last three years has increased their enthusiasm for playing sport.

Girls' participation in sport held steady since the last Rally Report in 2024, but six in 10 girls playing organized sport weekly remains lower than boys. By their late teens, nearly one in four girls quit organized sport.

"Four years ago, we didn't have professional teams in leagues playing consistently in the Canadian market and now we do. Our thesis was this was going to have an impact on girls," said Canadian Women and Sport chief executive officer Allison Sandmeyer-Graves.

"Girls are fans. Seven in 10 say that they're fans of sports and that is giving them access to role models; it's giving them access to inspiration, to encouragement. Of course, it's good for professional sports as well because they need fans. What I think is even more powerful is that one and two say that having the leagues in Canada is increasing their interest in playing.

"Professional sport is bringing something new and exciting and promising to the girls' sport ecosystem, but we still have to do the work of supporting them to actually translate that into play."

CWS first published the Rally Report in 2016 and has done so biennially since 2020. A survey of 4,500 Canadians aged six or older, including 1,960 girls aged 6 to 18 in 2026, provided data for the 2026 edition.

But