Browse "Sports & Recreation"

Christie Blatchford, journalist, newspaper columnist, writer, broadcaster (born 20 May 1951 in Rouyn-Noranda, QC; died 12 February 2020 in Toronto, ON). Christie Blatchford was one of Canada’s best-known journalists. In a career spanning five decades, she wrote for all of Canada’s national daily newspapers — the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star and the National Post — as well as the Toronto Sun. She also published several books, including Fifteen Days: Stories of Bravery, Friendship, Life and Death from Inside the New Canadian Army (2008), which won the Governor General’s Literary Award for Non-Fiction. Blatchford won a National Newspaper Award for her columns in 1999 and was inducted into the Canadian News Hall of Fame in November 2019. She was a conservative writer who focused mainly on crime, human suffering and criminal justice. Her often controversial views prompted strong reactions and media responses.

Christine Girard, weightlifter (born 3 January 1985 in Elliot Lake, ON). Christine Girard is one of Canada’s top athletes and among the world’s best female weightlifters. She was North America’s top female weightlifter in the 63 kg class and holds two Canadian weightlifting records and one Pan American Games weightlifting record. Girard won bronze at the 2008 Olympic Summer Games in Beijing and gold at the 2012 Olympic Summer Games in London. She is the first Canadian woman to win an Olympic medal in weightlifting and the only Canadian to win two medals in the sport.

Christine Nesbitt, speed skater (b at Melbourne, Australia, 17 May 1985). Christine Nesbitt is an internationally renowned athlete in SPEED SKATING. Nesbitt moved to London, Ont with her family at a young age and soon became involved in a variety of winter sports, including hockey.

Christine Sinclair, OC, soccer player (born 12 June 1983 in Burnaby, BC). Soccer player Christine Sinclair has been named Canadian Player of the Year 14 times. She has scored more international goals (187) and more Olympic goals (12) than any other player in the world. After twice being named the top women’s college soccer player in the United Sates and winning two NCAA championships, Sinclair led the Canadian women’s team to three World Cups (2011, 2015, 2019) and four Olympic Summer Games (Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020). The team won back-to-back Olympic bronze medals in 2012 and 2016 before winning gold in Tokyo. Sinclair received the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as Canada’s female athlete of the year in 2012 and 2020 and was named Canada Soccer Player of the Decade in 2019. The first soccer player to win the Lou Marsh Trophy (now the Northern Star Award) as Canada’s athlete of the year, she has been inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame and is an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Cindy Klassen, OM, speed skater, hockey player (born 12 August 1979 in Winnipeg, MB). Cindy Klassen is the first Canadian to win five medals in one Olympic Games (Torino 2006). With a total of six Olympic medals, she is tied with fellow speed skater and cyclist Clara Hughes as the most decorated Canadian Olympians. Klassen was also overall world champion in speed skating in 2003 and 2006. In her career, she set six world records and won 115 international medals (46 gold, 41 silver and 28 bronze). She was awarded the Lou Marsh Trophy (now the Northern Star Award) as Canada’s athlete of the year in 2006 and received the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as Canada's female athlete of the year in 2005 and 2006. She has been inducted into the Order of Manitoba, the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame, Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame, the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and Canada’s Walk of Fame.

They're heavy, they'd all say, after their deeds are done, and the ribbon is reverently placed around their necks and they've earned the right to feel the heft of it.This article was originally published in Maclean's Magazine on March 6, 2006

Clara Hughes, OC, cyclist, speed skater, humanitarian (born 27 September 1972 in Winnipeg, MB). Clara Hughes is the only Canadian athlete to have won medals at both the Olympic Summer and Olympic Winter Games, winning two medals in cycling and four medals in speed skating.

The obsession began 22 years ago. A eureka moment in the living room of her mother's Winnipeg home, watching the great Gaétan BOUCHER try to turn back time and win his fifth Olympic SPEED SKATING medal for Canada, at the ripe old age of 29.This article was originally published in Maclean's Magazine on August 6, 2012

Clarence Sutherland Campbell, MBE, sport administrator, lawyer, Second World War veteran (born 7 September 1905 in Fleming, SK; died 23 June 1984 in Montréal, QC). As president of the National Hockey League from 1946 to 1977, Campbell's tenure was longer than any executive in any other sport.

Clark Gillies, hockey player (b at Moose Jaw, Sask 7 Apr 1954).

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir rose above politics and scandal to show what it means to be Olympic greatsThis article was originally published in Maclean's Magazine on March 3, 2014

​Claude Ferragne (born 14 October 1952 in Montréal, Québec) is an athlete who competed in the high jump at the track and field events of the Olympic Summer Games.

Claude Raymond, baseball player (b at Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Qué 7 May 1937). He played 17 seasons of professional baseball, 12 of them in the majors. "Frenchy," as his teammates called him, went to the MONTREAL EXPOS on 19 Aug 1969 when they bought his contract from the Atlanta Braves.

Clifford Charles Devlin Thorburn, snooker player (b at Victoria 16 Jan 1948). Since leaving school after grade 10, Cliff Thorburn has played snooker and pool virtually full-time. In 1971 he won the North American Snooker championship and since then has played in 33 different countries.

The Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes (CHL) was an all-Black men’s hockey league. It was organized by Black Baptists and Black intellectuals and was founded in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1895. It was defunct during and after the First World War, reformed in 1921 and then fell apart during the Depression in the 1930s. Play was known to be fast, physical and innovative. The league was designed to attract young Black men to Sunday worship with the promise of a hockey game between rival churches after the services. Later, with the influence of the Black Nationalism Movement — and with rising interest in the sport of hockey — the league came to be seen as a potential driving force for the equality of Black Canadians. Canada Post issued a commemorative stamp in honour of the league in January 2020.