The Current - Is hockey still Canada's game?

Episode Date: September 18, 2026

With the NHL back in action, what does the hockey season mean to Canadians if it's not easy to watch? As Hockey Night in Canada moves off CBC onto Sportsnet and Amazon, who will be tuning in — and what does that mean for Canada’s game?

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Hello, I'm Matt Galloway, and this is the current podcast. For decades, Canadians have tuned in to hockey night in Canada Saturday nights on the CBC. It all began in 1952, the first hockey game ever televised in this country. This weekend, the NHL preseason gets undefiased. But as many Canadians prepare to tuck into their ritual winter viewing, the program is going to look different. After 75 seasons on air, Hockey Night in Canada here on CBC is done, replaced by Saturday Night Hockey, broadcasting on Sportsnet. And if you happen to tune in midweek, it may even be on Amazon Prime. But for a show that helped define the sport for Canadians, what do these changes mean for our relationship to hockey?

Sarah Barnes is the curator of sport and leisure at the Kinez. Canadian Museum of History and joins us now in studio. Hello. Hi, thanks for having me. So take us back to a hockey night in Canada when it first started as a radio broadcast. That's how it all began, right? It did begin there. It's sort of an incredible thing. And if we can go back, it sort of began with the start of sort of a sports culture that's going to be reported in newspapers. And then when radio gets on, it's really the first national broadcast that goes everywhere in the country. And for a long time, it was the broadcast that was sort of reaching the most Canadians.

And as it sort of grew, the culture of sport grew and the whole culture of the infrastructure of the country actually was growing with railroads, department stores. As Canadian culture arose and sort of spread, hockey was a big part of it. And then Hockey Night in Canada's first television broadcast was in 1952. And so over the past 75 years, how would you describe what that night has meant? Yeah, I think a lot of sort of public conversations have shown that it really meant a lot to families, communities. It brought people together. Many people have like fond memories of gathering around and watching.

Even a casual fan of hockey sort of has some sort of connection sometimes to seeing hockey night in Canada. You know, it's not lost on me that we're speaking wistfully about a program on CBC. from CBC. So is it really, I mean, does it still, do you believe, held that relevance even today in the wake of, you know, all the streaming services and there, you know, Canadians have been paying to watch hockey on networks now for a while, despite this still being in existence. So does it still, do you think it still had that relevance? Yeah, it's a great question. And the entire time that this program was on the air, what we know is that it actually only gave a slice of hockey culture. It really did just follow and sort of present stories. about men's professional hockey culture. So it never really encampured the fullness of hockey culture that existed. Community hockey, semi-professional women's hockey. There are so many stories in Canadian's hockey history.

And this told stories of a particular kind, but that perhaps is not as in, like hockey culture really exceeds what this program could do. We certainly see that program try to get out into community and sort of suggest that, you know, there are ways that we can see the community grow through hockey and went into different parts of the country. So I think there was some of that. But now that we have, you know, this sport being broadcast on all kinds of different platforms, there's SportsNet, SportsNet Plus, Amazon Prime, those are expensive to get, to get, and if you need multiple subscriptions to follow your one team, that can be costly. So how, what does that mean for the

accessibility of hockey? I think that's generally a big disappointment of this thing. is that it's one more example of sort of the financialization of sport where it becomes increasingly more expensive to be a fan. And so when it's behind a paywall, being a sports fan often means having multiple subscriptions, which is just not as accessible. But I also think we see communities coming together when we think about the NHL playoffs in the past few years.

Like we've seen watch parties and lots of people who aren't in the venue and maybe aren't watching at home, finding ways to gather and find excitement in the game. You know, hockey has long been criticized as a game that has a majority of white players and white audiences, but the Punjabi language broadcast of the game saw huge success and growth in the sport in the South Asian community. Ghanimon runs a hockey program for South Asian families in Winnipeg, and he says that broadcast was the gateway for him and his community to love hockey.

Have a listen to this. Getting a community integrated into a sport that's seen for, into them at one point. And now the community has graduated. It has evolved and it has grown to not only enjoy the sport, but now to also make an impact in the sport itself. How does losing these special language broadcasts threaten diversity of this sport, would you say? Yeah, I think the expansion and finding new ways to present this sport, finding new fans, was such an important and an important way to welcome. new people to this game and really reflect the diversity that exists in Canada.

And so I think it's a real loss to lose the way that the sport expanded. And I think, though, we're in a moment where we'll see what's next. Fans are here, and they're willing to find ways to continue their passion and continue their love of the game. The French broadcast of Hockey Night in Canada actually ended over a decade ago, and you could argue the love of the sport still very much exists. and Montreal Canadiens has not waned the support of that team. So is there an indicator of what we can expect for Anglo-Hockey fans that people aren't giving up

on hockey just because Hockey Night in Canada is not on CBC anymore? Yeah, absolutely. I think what we see is that hockey culture is very resilient. People are passionate. And I think we also see that in the tough conversations that have been happening around hockey over the last few years. Hockey isn't just relegated to the past in Canada. it really is something that struggled over.

People love it, celebrate it. They also challenge it and redefine it. And so that's what I think will continue to happen. And the story is changing as it always does. But I think what we're going to continue to see is people really investing in hockey. Yeah, you mentioned sort of the controversies over the last number of years and our willingness to talk and name things that are happening. How much more do you think we'll see of that? and how does that at all sort of deter people from going to that sport as a national sport, although it's not officially, I suppose?

Yeah, it's a great question. I think there have been so many important conversations led by communities, grassroots, academics. There's sort of people who love the sport who want to see it do better. I think they've asked us to raise our expectations around a national sport. and I think there's great work happening and part of that work to make sure that people feel like they belong, that people can flourish, is about having those hard conversations. And now there's the PWHL, and that certainly is a growing sport,

and we're seeing all kinds of interest, and they have platforms now that they didn't have before these female athletes. And so what does it like to see that flourish in the way it is now? Yeah, it's very exciting. I think the PWHL is inviting new fans. People who may not have seen themselves as hockey fans before are into it. They're following stats. They're on playoff runs.

And so I think it sort of shows that like hockey is not just one thing and it never has been. It's really expansive. And so that is going to happen and sort of flourish and continue regardless of sort of what is happening at these very high levels of media where it's big business and the stakes are really high. You know, when hockey net in Canada first began, it was a much different time. We have a much different cultural landscape in Canada now. And so is it fair to say that hockey is Canada's game? When there are so many other things going on right now and so many varying interests across cultures and communities. The way I think about this is that I don't think it's a zero-sum game.

And so I really think that having a great diverse sport culture where people can find the sports they love, the physical activities they love. and find community and connection, that can exist in many different places. And I don't think that threatens Canada's love of the game as well. So I think these things can be, these things exist. And Canada's sport culture has never just been about hockey. We have a great collection at the museum that really shows the diversity of sport interests that have existed in Canada. And so it's part of our job to help tell that story.

You're here in Ottawa. Are you a sense fan? Yes. And a charge fan. And a charge fan, the Ottawa charge, go charge, indeed. Okay, well, thank you very much for dropping by. I appreciate it. Thank you.

Sarah Barnes is the curator of sport and leisure at the Canadian Museum of Hockey. And what did Hockey Night in Canada mean to you? And will you still watch hockey this season, or will you be lining up for a different sport? You can email us, the current at cbc.ca. You've been listening to the current podcast. My name is Matt Galloway. Thanks for listening.

I'll talk to you soon. For more CBC podcasts, go to cBC.ca slash podcasts.