Canada's game? Survey says yes, NHL outpaces all other pro leagues

More than three-quarters of Canadians consider themselves sports fans, and the NHL remains the most popular pro sports league.

The Strategic Counsel commissioned the survey based on detailed interviews with 3,240 Canadians in all regions in both official languages.

Seventy-seven per cent of respondents said that they are sports fans, with 29 per cent describing themselves as "big fans."

Forty-eight per cent are either casual followers of multiple leagues, or big fans of just one. Twenty-three per cent were non-fans, and they did not follow any of the leagues, not even occasionally.

The NHL was the most popular league across Canada, with 58 per cent of respondents saying they follow the men's professional hockey league.

The NFL came in next at 37 per cent, followed by MLB (34 per cent), CFL (32 per cent) and NBA (29 per cent), rounding out the top five nationally.

Formula One auto racing was sixth overall (24 per cent), followed by professional tennis (20 per cent). The PGA Tour and Major League Soccer were tied for eighth, with the Professional Women's Hockey League and Ultimate Fighting Championship rounding out the top 10.

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Notably, if major junior hockey was considered, it would crack the top 10 in two regions.

The Western Hockey League would rank sixth in Western Canada, and the Ontario Hockey League would also rank sixth in Ontario in terms of size of its fan base if they are considered in the equation, along with professional leagues.

Half of Canadian women surveyed follow the NHL (50 per cent), making NHL the most popular league among women.

Rounding out the top five for women are the NFL (26 per cent), MLB (23 per cent), and both the CFL and NBA at 22 per cent each. One-in-six Canadian women (15 per cent) are fans of the PWHL, ranking it as the seventh most-followed league among women, ahead of several long-standing organizations like MLS or the PGA Tour, despite the PWHL being less than two years old.

The WNBA is currently followed by 11 per cent of women, but next year's launch of the Toronto Tempo could boost that interest substantially, as 27 per cent of Canadian women say they are interested in following the Tempo.

Similarly, the Northern Super League, a professional women's soccer league that held its first match in April, is also showing strong potential as 28 per cent of women nationally are interested in following it.

Survey respondents said that Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid was their favourite athlete, followed closely by Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, with soccer players Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi third and fourth, respectively. Toronto Maple Leafs centre Auston Matthews rounded out the top five.

McDavid and Crosby ranked at or near the top in every region, while local favourites also featured prominently.

In Quebec, Montreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield led the list, with tennis player Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal and Marie-Philip Poulin of the Montreal Victoire also in the top ten.

Crosby, the pride of Cole Harbour, N.S., was the favourite athlete in the Atlantic provinces by a large margin, while St. John's curler Brad Gushue and Florida Panthers forward Brad Marchand, of Halifax, also cracked the top 10, reflecting regional pride.

The survey was conducted between March 15 and 22. Online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population.