Canada is looking for teams.
Happy 159th Birthday Canada
July 1, 2026
Happy birthday to America’s northern, southern, western and eastern neighbor, Canada. Today is Canada’s 159th birthday and it probably is a good time to take a look at the county and Canadian sports aspirations. At the top of the list probably is to add a National Hockey League team in Québec City and a Major League Baseball team in Montréal. Neither is happening in the short-term but the NHL can tell those in Québec City who are pushing for a franchise a number to buy a team. It’s at least $2 billion US or about $2.8 billion Canadian which may be a very high price tag for small market Québec City. Québec City has a state-of-the-art arena available but Québec City is a government town with limited corporate support. The NHL is not very interested in a market with limited loonies and passed over the market in the league’s last two expansions in favor of Las Vegas and Seattle. Québec City could be passed over again if Atlanta or Houston gets an expansion team in the near future.
It is possible Major League Baseball could expand. Montréal could be in the mix if a new ballpark is built. MLB moved the Montréal franchise to Washington, D. C in 2004 because of a ballpark issue. Montréal has a large market but most of the local corporate money goes to the NHL’s Canadiens then to Major League Soccer’s franchise in town and to the local Canadian Football League franchise. Montréal’s MLS franchise may be looking for a new home. Vancouver politicians want a Major League Baseball expansion franchise. However, Vancouver political and business leaders are trying to keep the Major League Soccer’s Vancouver franchise in town. But with tariffs, a trade war and a 72-cent dollar, Canada won’t be in line for any franchise anytime soon.
Evan Weiner’s books are available at iTunes – https://books.apple.com/us/author/evan-weiner/id595575191
Evan can be reached at evan_weiner@hotmail.com
