Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says out-of-control immigration levels are overwhelming the province’s core social services and has announced a referendum will take place nine months from now, asking residents to weigh in on nine questions addressing both that and possible changes to Canada’s Constitution.

(Scroll down to see the questions)

In a televised speech Thursday night, Smith said the Oct. 19, provincial referendum will be primarily focused on finding out how Albertans want the government to “deal with the issue of immigration, as well as steps we can take as a province to strengthen our constitutional and fiscal position within a united Canada.”

Smith said the changes her UCP government has determined the province needs to make to immigration are a significant departure from the status quo.

“These were far and away the issues most strongly identified by Albertans during last year’s Alberta Next panel town halls and online submissions, and in my view, it is time to act on them,” Smith said in a 13-minute televised speech that the government paid to air during the 6 p.m. primetime news hour.

“The fact is, Alberta taxpayers can no longer be asked to continue to subsidize the entire country through equalization and federal transfers, permit the federal government to flood our borders with new arrivals, and then give free access to our most-generous-in-the-country social programs to anyone who moves here,” Smith said.

The premier noted the province will be unveiling a large deficit in next week’s budget and lower oil prices have contributed to less revenue.

According to the Alberta government, each $1 drop in the price of oil means roughly $750 million fewer royalties for the province.

However, Smith said social services costs going to more new residents is making Alberta’s budget woes even worse.

“This is not only grossly unfair to Alberta taxpayers, but also financially crippling and undercuts the quality of our health care, education and other social services.”

Mount Royal political scientist Lori Williams challenges that assertion.

“To suggest that this budget deficit is primarily caused by immigration — that non-citizens who come to Alberta are filling emergency rooms and classrooms and that’s where problems coming from — it creates, I think, a distorted picture of what’s actually going on,” Williams said after Smith’s speech aired.

Danielle Smith has been Alberta premier since 2022 and Williams believes Thursday’s speech aimed to redirect public attention away from the province.

“People are concerned very much about affordability, they’re concerned about health care, and they are concerned about education. And the government has invested in some areas, has been addressing some of the problems that have been raised — but they persist.”

“People, when a government has been in power for years, start to notice if promises aren’t fulfilled. They start ask questions and they start make more demands of a government.”

Bradley Lafortune, executive director of Public Interest Alberta, said a bad news budget is not unheard of in a province that gleans so much of its income from oil and gas royalties.

“That’s nothing new in Alberta. But what is new, I think — at least with this degree of focus and tone — is the shift in blame towards immigration and newcomers,” he said after listening to the speech.

“Fundamentally, this is a Trump-style, MAGA government that is doing their best to imitate the current Republicans in the United States,” Lafortune said.

“And what that means is blaming newcomers, cutting services, reducing taxes, and then telling everyone that we need to do more with less, at the same time as friends and insiders are receiving massive amounts of grift on the public dollar.”

Lafortune thinks Albertans should prepare for a “very bad budget” next Thursday that he predicts will contain more cuts to frontline services and the administration of them.

“What I mean by bad is it’s going to be bad for Albertans, working middle-class Albertans. I think its gonna be very bad.”

Smith said in the short-term, the government will not be implementing drastic cuts in the 2026 budget but will instead be cutting unnecessary bureaucracy, improving efficiencies in program delivery (such as more income testing for social programs) and prioritizing needs before wants as much as possible.

“The approved wage increases for our doctors, nurses, and teachers will remain in place so we can continue to attract the skilled professionals needed to catch up with our growth,” Smith said.

According to Statistics Canada, Alberta’s population surged by 202,324 residents in 2023. That’s the largest annual increase in the province’s history, the equivalent of 550 people moving to Alberta every day.

While the bulk of the growth came from international migration, Alberta also shattered a national record for interprovincial migration, most of whom came from Ontario and B.C.

The province’s population growth peaked in the third quarter of 2023, with it dropping off significantly in 2024 and 2025, according to the most recent Statistics Canada data.

“I think the federal government started realizing that they’ve been pushing too strongly on the population growth through different types of migration, international migration,” Carleton University economics professor Christopher Worswick said of the decline that began in 2024.

“So we saw caps on the number of international students coming in. I think that needed to be done because the program was growing just way too fast.”

Premier Smith blames the former Justin Trudeau Liberal government for Alberta’s population woes, saying over five years almost 600,000 people moved to Alberta, pushing the population over five million people.

“Ottawa throttled our most important job creating industries and prioritized immigration away from economic migrants and instead focused on international students, temporary workers and asylum seekers,” Smith said.

In 2022-23, the province ran a $4.95 million “Alberta is Calling” campaign aimed at attracting skilled workers to the province from other parts of the country.

“Although sustainable immigration has always been an important part of our provincial growth model, throwing the doors wide open to anyone and everyone across the globe has flooded our classrooms, emergency rooms and social support systems with far too many people, far too quickly,” Smith said.

Overcrowded classrooms and a strained health-care system has been a documented issue in Alberta for well over a decade and Williams said blaming it on newer residents is a deflexion of responsibility.

“There’s no question that we have seen very large numbers of newcomers to Alberta. Part of that is because the Alberta government has invited people, citizens of Canada to come here and to work in Alberta.

“To somehow suggest that the problem has been created by immigration — as if these problems didn’t exist before those immigration numbers ticked up — I think is inaccurate.”

She fears it will create strife and inflame racial tensions.

“I think that impression is potentially quite problematic, particularly for those who are already struggling with people’s hostility toward them.”

The October referendum, a year before the province’s scheduled general election, could be even longer.

Last year, Smith promised a referendum on separation in 2026 if citizens gathered the required number of signatures on a petition.

One citizen-led petition to be put to lawmakers this spring could lead to a referendum vote on making it a provincial policy that Alberta stay in Canada.

Another petition effort, with a deadline for signatures in early May, seeks a referendum question about pulling the province out of Confederation.

Smith said Thursday that strengthening Alberta’s “constitutional and fiscal position within a united Canada” and immigration were the biggest issues her Alberta Next panel heard as it toured the province last year.

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One of the issues tabled for debate was whether Alberta should withhold social services from some immigrants. The panel was propped up by calls from in-person attendees who at times called for mass deportations.

In January, Smith’s United Conservative Party government walked back what it called a “premature” decision to cut off temporary foreign workers from provincial health-care coverage, including those who had already obtained work permits.

The ministry in charge said, at the time, the move was on pause pending review.

On Wednesday, Smith’s chief of staff, Rob Anderson, reposted a social media infographic about immigration numbers and invited readers to watch the premier’s televised address.

“This absolute insanity needs to stop. It will,” he wrote.

The executive director of the premier’s office, Bruce McAllister, also pointed to the same social media post to sound off on population growth.

“Does their contempt for Canada’s core values and traditions drive them to flood our borders with millions from societies not built on the same foundations that have made us thrive?” McAllister said on X.

“Why import from nations with failed systems when our Judeo-Christian heritage and principles have worked so well here? It almost feels like these elites are ashamed of what built this great country.”

Smith was asked Wednesday if her government shared McAllister’s values. She didn’t directly answer but said western society is based on “the Socratic Judeo-Christian tradition.”

“However, Alberta was also created since 1905 based on the immense diaspora communities that come here,” she said.

She said the federal government has made changes to refocus on economic migrants and that the previous system “broke.”

“It was the No. 1 issue that we heard,” she said, referring to the Alberta Next panel.

As it stands right now, the referendum in October will ask Albertans nine questions concerning immigration and the Constitution:

Immigration

1. Do you support the Government of Alberta taking increased control over immigration for the purposes of decreasing immigration to more sustainable levels, prioritizing economic migration and giving Albertans first priority on new employment opportunities?

2. Do you support the Government of Alberta introducing a law mandating that only Canadian citizens, permanent residents and individuals with an Alberta-approved immigration status will be eligible for provincially-funded programs, such as health care, education and other social services?

3. Assuming that all Canadian citizens and permanent residents continue to qualify for social support programs as they do now, do you support the Government of Alberta introducing a law requiring all individuals with a non-permanent legal immigration status to reside in Alberta for at least 12 months before qualifying for any provincially-funded social support programs?

4. Assuming that all Canadian citizens and permanent residents continue to qualify for public health care and education as they do now, do you support the Government of Alberta charging a reasonable fee or premium to individuals with a non-permanent immigration status living in Alberta for their and their family’s use of the healthcare and education systems?

5. Do you support the Government of Alberta introducing a law requiring individuals to provide proof of citizenship, such as a passport, birth certificate, or citizenship card, to vote in an Alberta provincial election?

Constitution

6. Do you support the Government of Alberta working with the governments of other willing provinces to amend the Canadian Constitution to have provincial governments, and not the federal government, select the justices appointed to provincial King’s Bench and Appeal courts?

7. Do you support the Government of Alberta working with the governments of other willing provinces to amend the Canadian Constitution to abolish the unelected federal Senate?

8. Do you support the Government of Alberta working with the governments of other willing provinces to amend the Canadian Constitution to allow provinces to opt out of federal programs that intrude on provincial jurisdiction such as health care, education, and social services, without a province losing any of the associated federal funding for use in its social programs?

9. Do you support the Government of Alberta working with the governments of other willing provinces to amend the Canadian Constitution to better protect provincial rights from federal interference by giving a province’s laws dealing with provincial or shared areas of constitutional jurisdiction priority over federal laws when the province’s laws and federal laws conflict?

With files from Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press

Angelina Stamper listens to the voicemail her son left her almost every day.

“Hey Mom, happy birthday, just calling again. Give me a call back.”

The message was recorded on Oct. 17, 2024. Six weeks later, her 28-year-old son, Sheldon Stamper, took his own life.

Now, more than a year after his death, the Osoyoos, B.C., mother says she is still searching for answers about what happened during his time in psychiatric care, and why she cannot access his medical records.

“I just want to know what happened, I just want to know why it happened,” said Stamper.

Stamper says her son had been struggling with his mental health and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. In September 2024, after what she describes as his third suicide attempt that year, Sheldon was admitted under involuntary care to the psychiatric ward at Chilliwack General Hospital.

Despite his history and diagnosis, Angelina believes the care he received was inadequate.

“Days and days without someone coming in,” she said. “He would ask the doctors to change his prescriptions, ask to just talk to someone, they would not come to see him for days.”

Stamper says she was told by hospital staff that her son was last seen in his bed at 8 a.m. on Nov. 29, 2024. At approximately 9:15 a.m., he was found dead in a bathroom. During that time, she says, he was unaccounted for.

“They went to find him for his medication and couldn’t find him. He wasn’t in his bed anymore. They knocked on the bathroom door. Nobody answered,” she said.

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In the months following his death, Stamper says she has repeatedly asked for access to her son’s medical records in an effort to understand what led up to that morning. She says Fraser Health denied her request, stating that access was being refused because it was for her own personal reasons ‘rather than acting on behalf of the deceased.’

“What are they hiding? Why can’t I see what my son was on, what medications, what was following up to his death? I can’t see any of that. They won’t give me any information on that,” she said.

In a statement, Fraser Health told Global News it has been in ongoing communication with the family, as well as with the staff and medical teams involved in Sheldon’s care. But Stamper disputes that characterization, saying the health authority only responded to her again last week.

Stamper says she remains determined to find out more about what happened in the final hours of his life.

 

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

A Quebec costume designer is stepping into the global spotlight at the 2026 Winter Olympics, dressing some of the world’s top figure skaters as they compete on the sport’s biggest stage.

Mathieu Caron, a former ballroom dancer from Quebec, has been creating elaborate costumes for more than a decade. He says his fascination with glittering fabrics and dramatic designs began early.

“I was very fascinated by the costumes, all the bling-bling and the fabrics. So I decided to go to fashion school,” Caron told Global News.

After studying fashion at LaSalle College in Montreal, Caron launched his company designing clothing for ballroom dancers. His work soon expanded into the figure skating and ice dancing world.

By 2018, his creations had reached the Olympic podium. Caron designed the costumes worn by Canadian ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir during their gold medal-winning performance set to Moulin Rouge.

Now in Milan for the 2026 Winter Games, Caron says 28 athletes from 10 countries are wearing his designs. Among them are American ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates, as well as Japanese skater Ami Nakai.

Caron says each costume can take up to 150 hours to complete, from the first sketch to the final rhinestone. Caron says the process involves close collaboration with athletes, coaches and choreographers to ensure the design complements the music and enhances movement on the ice.

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“We have meetings with athletes, but also with the coaches, choreographers. We talk about the music and the vision of the program,” he said.

His studio team includes other designers, cutters, seamstresses, pattern makers, and painters — all working to bring the garments to life.

The price reflects the labour involved. Caron says costumes typically range from $3,500 to $8,000, depending on the hours required and the complexity of the design.

While figure skating remains a central focus, the designer said he hopes to expand into other creative fields, including Broadway musicals and designing full looks for touring artists.

For now, Caron says he feels fortunate to see his creations glide across Olympic ice, and in some cases, onto the podium.

For the full story, watch the video above.

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

A man has died after being caught in an avalanche near Fernie, B.C.

Elk Valley RCMP confirmed in a release that on Feb. 17, there was an emergency device activation in a remote location in the Morrissey area.

Police said that the initial information suggested that a man who had been snowmobiling in the area had been caught in an avalanche.

RCMP officers and members of the Fernie Search and Rescue team responded to the call, but due to the time of day and the fact that the area was identified as a high-hazard avalanche area, they could not find the man.

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Members of Fernie Search and Rescue were able to recover the man’s body on Feb. 18 and it was confirmed that he died due to the avalanche, police said.

The man was wearing weather and activity-appropriate gear along with avalanche safety equipment, police confirmed.

The man’s identity has not been released.

The number of people and businesses receiving threats in Peel Region has been growing, but police hope help is finally on the way.

Last year alone, there were 476 reported cases — of which 190 targeted businesses — and that only reflects incidents where the victims have come forward.

“There are people that aren’t coming forward and are paying. There are people that aren’t able to pay and are still facing those threats, but still don’t come forward,” Peel Police Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich told Global News.

“There are people that do come forward and they don’t come forward until days after they receive the threat and experience the violence.”

On Thursday, the federal government said it was taking a major step toward tackling the situation by embedding financial crime experts within the Peel Regional Police.

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced a suite of new initiatives he said will make it easier for police to “follow the money” and disrupt criminal networks.

The government says Canada’s financial intelligence agency Fintrac will put new resources behind tackling extortion. As part of that effort, Fintrac agents will also join with local law enforcement on the ground to help quickly trace reports of extortion.

Fintrac will also share data with financial institutions to help them flag suspicious transactions.

Across the region, police have been dealing with an increasing number of extortion and brazen cases.

The allegations investigators are presented with generally begin with a WhatsApp message sent to a business, Milinovich said.

“In Ontario, you have extortions that are the result of two types of violence: you have extortions that are occurring because the people have been involved in some kind of criminal activity, and then in between you have extortions that are associated to families and business owners,” he explained.

In early January, for example, a shooting was reported at a business located in Caledon’s Perdue Court around 2:30 a.m. OPP said no injuries were reported, noting it was the same location as a similar shooting the month before.

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“The OPP urges community members to remain vigilant and promptly report suspicious activity to police,” police said at the time.

Local police hope the introduction of financial experts into their operations will make it easier to trace extortion and harder to get away with.

“The reality is this type of crime is motivated by money,” Milinovich said. “Fintrac are the experts in the area of money. Currently, as it sits right now, it’s high-reward, low-risk. That needs to change. We need to reduce the reward that people gain from being involved in extortion. It’s a big deal for us.”

Champagne was asked in Mississauga whether any new money was being committed in Thursday’s announcement.

He didn’t answer directly and said he couldn’t share operational details without the risk of tipping law enforcement’s hand. But he didn’t rule out additional spending.

“My message to Fintrac is, if any additional resources are needed, we’ll be there,” Champagne said.

The aim for police in Peel Region now is to lean on their federal resources to try to make extortion less financially appealing.

“It’s the fear business,” Milinovich concluded.

— With files from The Canadian Press

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Toronto police are renewing warnings about dangerous ice conditions along the city’s waterfront after a man fell into the icy waters of Lake Ontario.

A video circulating on social media shows the individual walking on harbour ice before suddenly breaking through and falling into the freezing water, struggling to get out.

The individual finally self-rescued. Police confirm he was not injured and was “very lucky.”

However, police say this is just one of many “dangerous incidents” that have occurred in recent weeks.

Authorities say the video is part of a growing number of calls involving people venturing onto unstable ice despite repeated public safety warnings.

“No ice is safe ice,” the Toronto Police Service Marine Unit cautioned in a statement.

Despite the pleas, many people have continued to tread on thin ice.

Another image shared by TPS showed a child unsupervised walking toward the edge of ice, next to an open body of water, while they took photos several feet away.

Police say officers have been responding regularly to incidents involving individuals, families and large groups walking on Toronto Harbour ice, often untrained, without safety equipment or lifejackets.

TPS shared the video along with other images this week to underscore the risks posed by unpredictable winter conditions.

The Marine Unit of Toronto also stressed that ice inside Toronto Harbour is especially hazardous due to constant marine traffic and active ice-breaking operations.

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The service noted that ferry routes to and from the Toronto Islands operate year-round, requiring ice to be regularly broken, while police and partner agencies also conduct training exercises that intentionally disrupt ice surfaces.

Recent fluctuating temperatures below and above freezing have also made ice thickness and conditions unpredictable.

Officials warn that what appears frozen from shore may conceal thin ice or open water nearby.

Toronto police say Marine Unit patrols and public education have also ramped up their supervision near bodies of water, to ensure the public remains safe and warn people of the dangers of stepping on ice.

Police also reminded residents that Lake Ontario and Toronto Harbour are part of a federal port where specific regulations apply, including restrictions on swimming outside designated areas.

If someone falls through the ice, the Marine Unit advises bystanders to avoid stepping onto the ice and instead attempt to assist from shore, using nearby objects such as branches, ring buoys or rescue equipment.

Residents are urged to keep a safe distance from the water’s edge and remain mindful of rapidly changing winter conditions.

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest is the last straw for one Ontario mayor who is now seeking a street renaming in his municipality.

St. Catharines Mayor Mat Siscoe told Global News Thursday that he will ask council on Monday to consider renaming Prince Andrew Court, a residential street near Prince Charles Court and Lake Street.

“St. Catharines councillors and I have been having discussions for some time about whether the court should be renamed,” Siscoe said in a statement.

“Given today’s news of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest, I would say there is no reason to continue discussing.”

Mountbatten-Windsor, the former prince who was stripped of his royal titles because of his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

While Mountbatten-Windsor has consistently denied any wrongdoing in connection with his friendship with Epstein, concerns about his links to the late financier have dogged the Royal Family for more than a decade.

Siscoe said St. Catharines council has a responsibility to ensure that municipal place names reflect community values and maintain public confidence in civic institutions.

He’s asking for the process to review and consider renaming the court to include public consultation with affected residents and stakeholders, and have staff report back with recommendations, including options for alternative names and associated financial and administrative implications.

Several Canadian municipalities have landmarks that are named after Andrew, and St. Catharines is just the latest to seek a renaming.

In August 2022, Prince Andrew High School in Dartmouth, N.S., was renamed Woodlawn High School.

Mississauga, Ont., council passed a motion in November 2025 to disassociate the name Duke of York Boulevard from the former prince. The motion included removing all plaques, honours and non-critical signage tied to the former royal on city property.

Township of Selwyn Mayor Sherry Senis told Global News Thursday that the township approved a motion in November to study the renaming of Prince Andrew Island and Gordonstoun Island.

“This review will include following the required provincial process through the Province of Ontario Geographic Names Board (a process that can take up to 12 months to complete once an application is submitted). This work will be carried out transparently and in partnership with community members, including local First Nations,” Senis said, adding that she expects to hear from the local First Nation next week.

Kevin Murdoch, mayor of Oak Bay, B.C., said the district has had some interest from residents over the years in wanting Prince Andrew Place – a small residential cul-de-sac – renamed.

However, no formal request or direction to initiate a name change had been made.

“The recent removal of the title ‘Prince Andrew’ from Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, and the arrest of Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor may change the discussion or timeline, but I have nothing new to add,” Murdoch told Global News in an email.

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“Council has not had an opportunity to raise the issue since the arrest announcement in particular.”

Toronto and Caledon, Ont., also have streets named after the former prince. A Town of Caledon official told Global News in an email any reconsideration of a municipal street name would require a formal review process and public feedback.

The office of Toronto mayor Olivia Chow did not return comment request by publication.

The late Queen Elizabeth II forced her second son to give up royal duties and end his charitable work in 2019 after he tried to explain away his ties to Epstein during a catastrophic interview with the BBC.

But more details about the relationship emerged in a book published last year, and Charles stripped him of the right to be called a prince and ordered him to move.

Then came the unprecedented announcement last week that Buckingham Palace was ready to co-operate in the event of a police inquiry into Mountbatten-Windsor’s links to Epstein.

Charles was forced to act after the U.S. Justice Department released millions of pages of Epstein documents that revealed the extent of his relationship with Mountbatten-Windsor and showed that their correspondence continued long after Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting a minor for prostitution.

Epstein was arrested on sex trafficking charges brought by federal prosecutors in New York in 2019. He took his own life in jail while awaiting trial.

— with files from The Associated Press

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

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Pressure is mounting on Quebec’s justice minister to abandon plans to enshrine abortion rights in the province’s proposed constitution.

Consultations on the constitution bill ended this week, with opposition parties noting that the section on abortion was roundly criticized.

Legal experts and women’s rights groups have warned the government against legislating on abortion, saying doing so could potentially open the door to legal challenges from anti-abortion groups.

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They contend that abortion is already decriminalized in Canada and adequately protected by the Charter and case law, and argue the government should instead focus on improving abortion access.

The Coalition Avenir Québec has introduced a bill that would create a Quebec constitution, designed to enshrine what the government considers common values such as secularism and equality between men and women.

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Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette said during question period today he has heard the concerns about the section on abortion, but he did not indicate whether he would remove the article.

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Several CAQ members suggested today that an announcement would be coming soon from Jolin-Barrette on the issue.

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For Canadians, watching a hockey showdown against the U.S. can feel like a tale as old as time.

Preparing to turn off the work laptops — or at least, turning on another screen, too. Or maybe watching the game in another time zone means staying up late and knowing you’ll pay for it at work the next day.

Cuing up the gold medal hockey matchup between Canada and the U.S.

Pretending to … cough … work.

Canada and the U.S. are the only countries to win Olympic gold medals since women’s hockey was first introduced in the Olympics in 1998. The men’s tournament is still being written, as Canada looks to take on Finland on Friday in hopes of making it to the gold medal game on Sunday, potentially meeting the U.S. there.

But historically, the margin of defeat among both countries has been small, and the games are virtually guaranteed to be nail-biters as bigger geopolitical tensions sharpen the already intense rivalries between Team Canada and Team USA.

Here is a look back at some of the biggest milestone moments in past hockey showdowns between the two nations.

While not an Olympic tournament, the 4 Nations Face-Off in 2025 provided National Hockey League (NHL) players the opportunity to play in an international tournament, since there was a 12-year gap in NHL players attending the Olympics.

It was clear that the desire to watch international hockey was high for NHL fans, as the final game between Canada and the U.S. was watched by 16.1 million viewers in North America, with 9.3 million viewers in the United States and 6.3 million in Canada.

This made the game the second-most-watched hockey game in the past decade.

The game itself also did not disappoint, with three fights breaking out within the first nine seconds of the first period, setting the stage for both an exciting game and a historic matchup between the rivals.

Canada took home the win thanks to an overtime goal by Connor McDavid, officially starting the countdown for the 2026 Olympic Games.

The 4 Nations Face-Off came at a time of rising political tensions between Canada and the U.S., with U.S. President Donald Trump threatening to annex Canada.

“What I’d like to see — Canada become our 51st state,” Trump said on Feb. 3, 2025.

“Some people say that would be a long shot. If people wanted to play the game right, it would be 100 per cent certain that they’d become a state.”

Ahead of the Canada/U.S. matchup, Trump posted on Truth Social that he would be “calling our GREAT American Hockey Team this morning to spur them on towards victory tonight against Canada, which with FAR LOWER TAXES AND MUCH STRONGER SECURITY, will someday, maybe soon, become our cherished, and very important, Fifty First State.”

Canadian fans booed The Star-Spangled Banner when it played before the opening faceoff, and the three fights came not long after.

Once Canada secured the win, former prime minister Justin Trudeau posted on X, “You can’t take our country — and you can’t take our game.”

Team Canada snagged the gold medal with a 3-2 win against the U.S. at Wukesong Sports Centre on Feb. 17, 2022. It was the fifth time Canada took home gold in women’s hockey at an Olympic Games.

Captain Marie-Philip Poulin scored twice to lead Canada, with Sarah Nurse adding a goal and an assist while Ann-Renée Desbiens, stopping 38 of 40 shots, earned the win in net.

Poulin also became the first player to score in four Olympic finals, according to Hockey Canada.

Canada also recorded a new single-tournament record of 57 goals, continuing to flex its talent across the roster.

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) reported that this game was watched by 2.7 million Canadians and 3.54 million Americans, making it the most-watched Olympic event that year.

Despite the millions of viewers, only 834 spectators were able to attend the game, since it was the first Olympics following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The spotlight from the game helped mark a new era of women’s hockey. The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) was founded in August 2023, just 18 months after the gold medal game.

Thursday’s gold medal game will be the first Olympics finals with the PWHL in action, not only providing players with teams to play on but also somewhere for fans to continue to consistently watch women’s hockey.

The U.S. women’s team snagged a victory against the Canadians with a 3-2 win, ending a streak of four straight Canadian gold medals in past games.

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The championship was decided in a shootout for the first time in Olympic history.

Despite Canada owning a 2-1 lead heading into the third period, American forward Monique Lamoureux-Morando scored at the 13:39 minute mark of the third period to equalize the score.

American forward Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson eventually scored the game-winning goal against Canadian goalie Shannon Szabados.

Despite the 11 p.m. eastern start time, the game garnered 2.9 million viewers, which demonstrated the rise in viewership of women’s hockey from PyeongChang 2018 to Milan-Cortina 2026.

Once again, the Canadian women’s team came out victorious against the U.S. with another 3-2 win in overtime to take home the Olympic gold medal.

Marie-Philip Poulin and Brianne Jenner scored for the Canadians while Meghan Dunn and Alex Carpenter scored for the Americans.

Poulin netted the eventual game-winning goal at the 8:10 minute mark of the game.

This game earned Poulin the nickname ‘Captain Clutch’ for her reliable play that brought her team over the top.

In what serves as one of the greatest Canadian sporting moments, thanks to the ‘Golden Goal,’ the Canadian men’s team beat the U.S. on home ice in a 3-2 Olympic overtime win.

Despite a 2-0 Canada lead halfway through the second period, the U.S. tied the game thanks to goals from Ryan Kesler and Zach Parise.

It was then-22-year-old Sidney Crosby who scored in overtime at the 7:40 minute mark to bring the home crowd to its feet.

The game itself is the most-watched televised event in Canadian history, with 26.5 million people in Canada tuning in at some point and marking a victorious end to the 17-day tournament.

Three days before that gold medal win by the Canadian men’s team, the Canadian women’s team had already beaten the Americans in their Olympic final game to claim the gold medal by a 2-0 score.

Poulin scored the game’s only goals while Canadian Szabados posted a 29-save shutout.