History of Canadian sports
In many modern nations including Canada, sports have faced a number of challenges in recent decades such as violence, racism, illegal drug therapies, ridicule of women, the disproportionally high salaries of professional athletes, and the exorbitant costs of newly built stadiums.
Such problems stand in contrast to the fundamental values of sports including personal health, teamwork, striving for responsibility, loyalty, equality, winning, pleasure, and freedom.
[8][9] The different tribes played (and wagered bets on) toboggan, snowshoe, and canoe races as well as archery, wrestling, spear throwing and running events.
[10][11] The roots of organized sports in Canada date back to the 1770s, often originating in horse racing at British military garrisons, curling in Scottish settlements, and lacrosse among the Indians.
[15] In Anglophone Canada a strong influence came from the ideals of English author and reformer Thomas Hughes, especially as exemplified in Tom Brown's Schooldays (1857).
Hughes's notions that sportsmanship exemplified moral education and provided training for citizenship, have had a powerful influence on the Canadian sport community.
Despite commercialism and the celebration of high-performance athletes, the Hughesian principles of Christian socialism continues to influence sports programs for youth.
Outside of sports the social and moral agendas behind muscular Christianity influenced numerous reform movements, thus linking it to the political left in Canada, contrary to its right-wing reputation in other parts of the world.
[16] Canadians in the 19th century came to believe themselves possessed of a unique "northern character," due to the long, harsh winters that only those of hardy body and mind could survive.
[18] The advantage of the larger cities was the potential availability of a large paying crowd; the problem was providing cheap transportation for people not living close by.
[19][20] Baseball emerged in the 1870s, as a nonviolent, rules-oriented game that appealed to middle-class reformers seeking antidotes to crime, rowdiness and social disorder.
However, when professional baseball emerged in the 1880s, unruly behavior by players and fans contradicted the reformers ideal of a gentleman's game played before a well-behaved audience.
Advancing technology of the telegraph, the radio, and television allowed real time reporting of major games, often to public gatherings or restaurants or bars.
The intense interest shown by the fan base in their community's teams encourages the political leadership to invest heavily in public subsidies for new arenas.
[23] As the popular daily press emerged in all Canadian cities in the late 19th century, they broadened their audience appeal by detailed coverage of local provincial and national sporting events.
All the governing bodies saw sport as a suitable training ground or productive citizenship, allegiance to the social order, and English Canadian nationalism.
The alliances made with the minor leagues and the CAHA, in particular, gave the NHL's market control over players such as the waivers, reserve clause, draft, and territorial right much broader impact.
The original six era cemented the NHL as the biggest draw in Canada, fuelled partly by the rivalry of the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
[31] After World War II, the amateur system declined in the face of competition from professional ice hockey, both in the growth of minor leagues, and the introduction of televised matches by the NHL.
Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau and his Soviet counterpart, Alexei Kosygin in 1971 proposed increasing the hockey competitions between the two northern nations.
The media portrayed a global contests pitting East against West - communism against capitalism - and many of the players were swept away with the sense of history in the making.
In 1936, fearful of the drift towards Americanization, the Canadian Rugby Union placed a limit on the number of foreigners; import quotas remain in effect in the 21st century.
After surviving the closing of the Ottawa Rough Riders in 1996 and bankruptcies by the Toronto and Hamilton teams in 2003, football has recovered and is in fair health in the 21st century.
Escalating violence led to the collapse of the professional leagues in 1914, and the game's base of support shrank to Montreal, Victoria, Vancouver, New Westminster, and small-towns in Ontario.
Professional boxing was illegal in Canada during the London Prize Ring era but fights still took place outside major towns in barns and farmers' fields.
[citation needed] Another initial impediment to female athletic participation included its dismissal by staunch feminists who deemed the subject as unworthy of their support.
The event brought together coaches, academic administrators, and athletes to talk over the issues raised by the Royal Commission, and to chart a way forward.
[citation needed] The WAAF forged an alliance with the Amateur Athletic Union of Canada and its vice-president J. Howard Crocker, which then allowed Canadian women to compete in the Olympics and the British Empire Games.
New problems emerged for sportswomen trying to achieve equal status with sportsmen: raising money, attracting popular audiences, and winning sponsors.
Halifax, Nova Scotia had been nominated to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games before it withdrew its bid due to unacceptably high cost projections.
