Because of their proximity and similar sporting cultures,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

are frequent rivals in a wide variety of international sports.

Overall rivalry and the Olympic Games

For both countries, the Soviet Union was often the common rival in most international competitions before 1991. However, since the fall of the Soviet Union, the two neighbouring countries have been more heated rivals, especially in winter sports where the talent pools of the two countries are more evenly matched. Although the United States has more medals than Canada in gold, silver, bronze, and total medals won throughout the history of the Winter Games, the gap has narrowed considerably over time. The rivalry is much more keenly felt by, and is often a source of angst for, Canadians, as a result of Canadian national teams being frequently humiliated by their American counterparts in most sports. In summer sports, the Canada–United States rivalry is more muted as the United States dominates. The United States' closest rival at the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

is now China. All time, the United States is the number one ranked country in gold, silver, bronze, and total medals won. In the run-up to the

1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Nagano, Nagano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, with some events ...

, ''Los Angeles Times'' columnist Mike Penner named Canada the United States' most important rival, especially in hockey. and ''USA Today'' ran the headline "Cold War now means Canada", with Canadian columnist Terry Jones reporting that the Canadian Olympic team approved of the comments and shared the news clippings around the athlete's village in Nagano. In the Winter Olympics, both the United States and Canada have won the medal table once, while the United States is ranked second in the all time Winter Olympic table, with Canada ranked fifth. In the Summer Olympics, the United States has won the medal count 19 times, compared to zero for Canada. The United States is ranked number 1 in the all time Summer Olympic medal table, while Canada is ranked number 20. Based on results in Olympics, World Championships, and other major competitions for respective sports, the United States is more successful than Canada in American football, baseball, basketball, soccer, tennis, golf, swimming, athletics, boxing, lacrosse, shooting, diving, wrestling, rowing, gymnastics, sailing, cycling, weightlifting, water polo, archery, equestrian, volleyball, beach volleyball, fencing, triathlon, judo, taekwondo, figure skating, snowboarding, speed skating, alpine skiing, and bobsleigh among others, while Canada is better all time in ice hockey, curling and rugby. The United States is the most successful nation in the world in sports.

Baseball

It was considered a major upset when Canada defeated the United States in the 2006 World Baseball Classic, which some commentators called a "Miracle on Dirt", reference to the Miracle on Ice when the United States national hockey team beat the Soviet Union in 1980. The United States beat Canada in the

2009 World Baseball Classic The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an International Baseball Federation, international baseball competition. It began on March 5 and finished March 23. Unlike in 2006 World Baseball Classic, 2006, when the Round-robin tournament, round- ...

in Toronto. The United States also beat Canada in the 2013 World Baseball Classic. The United States beat Canada again in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, by a score of 8–0. The United States once again beat Canada in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, this time by a score of 12–1, in a game that was ended after 7 innings due to the 10 run mercy rule. Although there are only two Canadians in the United States Hall of Fame ( Ferguson Jenkins and

Larry Walker Larry Kenneth Robert Walker (born December 1, 1966) is a Canadian former professional baseball right fielder. During his 17-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he played with the Montreal Expos, Colorado Rockies, and St. Louis Cardinals. I ...

), three different Canadian players have been named

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

of either the National or

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

since 1997 (

, NL, 1997; Justin Morneau, AL, 2006; Joey Votto, NL, 2010). The United States is ranked third in the WBSC World Rankings while Canada placed 16th.

Cricket

While cricket is not among the most popular sports in either country, they have the distinction of having played against each other in the first international cricket match in 1844.

Ice hockey

For both genders and at all ages groups, Canada–United States games are among the most important in international hockey. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, this rivalry has certainly been one of the most passionate of all.

Men's

Ice hockey is by far the most competitive sport between the two countries. The two teams have been close rivals since the early days of international hockey, facing each other for the gold medal at the first Olympic hockey tournament in 1920. The United States was not able to defeat Canada until the

1960 Winter Olympics The 1960 Winter Olympics (officially the VIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Squaw Valley 1960) were a winter multi-sport event held from February 18 to 28, 1960, at the Squaw Valley Resort (now known as Palisades Tahoe) in Squaw Valley ...

, and achieved their most recent victory at the 1980 Olympics. However, during the 1991 Canada Cup, American defense man Gary Suter cross-checked and injured Canadian superstar

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

, creating a feeling of animosity among Canadian fans. In 1996, the United States won a victory during a best-on-best men's tournament by defeating Canada at the 1996 World Cup of Hockey on Canadian soil in Montreal. Canada took revenge by beating the United States for the Gold again at the 2002 Olympics on American soil in Salt Lake City. During their next Olympic match, Canada defeated the United States in a gold medal game at the 2010 Olympics on Canadian soil in Vancouver, after the United States shocked Canada in the group stage of the tournament. The two teams faced off against each other in the 2014 Olympics in Sochi's semi-final for the right to go to the gold medal game, which Canada once again won. Most recently, the United States and Canada faced off against each other in the 2022 Olympics in the group stage, which the United States won 4–2. Neither the United States nor Canada used NHL players in the 2022 tournament, so the result did not have the same importance as the 2010 and 2014 matches between the two nations did. The United States beat Canada in their next best on best competition, with the United States beating Canada 3–1 in Montreal in the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off. During the same tournament, Canadian fans booed "

The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written by American lawyer Francis Scott Key on September 14, 1814, after he witnessed the bombardment of Fort ...

" in response to the 2025 United States trade war with Canada and Mexico as well as President Trump's pro-American annexation rhetoric. Canada and the United States faced each other again in the final round of the same 4 Nations Face-Off tournament on February 20, 2025 with Canada defeating the United States 3–2 in overtime.

Junior

The two countries are perennial rivals at the World Junior Championships for players under 20 years of age. Overall,

holds a total of 20 gold medals, while the

holds seven gold medals. Since 2010, the United States has won 6 gold medals, while Canada has won 5 gold medals, although American interest in the teenager-only tournament is minimal and is rarely covered by the American mainstream media, while it is extensively covered by the Canadian mainstream media.

Women's

Canada and the United States have faced each other in the championship game of nearly every Olympics and World Championships since the beginning of international play. Few of Canada's and the United States's losses have been to teams outside their rivalry. After an American victory during the 1998 Nagano Olympics, the Canadian Olympic team won the next four gold medals; the United States won the most recent gold medal after a penalty shootout in the 2018 final. United States has won 4 championships in a row. The United States lost to team Canada 2–1 while outshooting the Canadians 45–23 in a group stage matchup in the 2018 Olympic games. During the 2002 United States vs. Canada ice hockey match for women's gold, Canada won. However, at the World Championships, the rivalry has recently been dominated by the United States who have won 7 of the last 9 World Championships.

Lacrosse

Field

Men's

No team other than Canada or the United States has ever won the World Lacrosse Championship. The United States has eleven championships, and Canada has three.

Rugby Union

Men's

Both countries are middle-of-pack internationally in rugby union, and therefore closely matched. Canada's first win in an international "test match" was against the United States in 1977. The teams formerly faced each other in the regional PARA Pan American Championship and

Churchill Cup The Churchill Cup was an annual rugby union tournament, held in June, contested by representative men's (and formerly women's) teams from Canada national rugby union team, Canada, England Saxons, England, the United States national rugby union te ...

, and still do in the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

and

Americas Rugby Championship The Americas Rugby Championship, often informally called the Americas' Six Nations, was an annual international rugby tournament between six North and South American nations: Argentina national rugby union team, Argentina, Brazil national rugby u ...

Wheelchair

Men's

The rivalry between the two teams was the subject of an Oscar-nominated 2005 documentary film '' Murderball''.

Soccer

Men's

A Canadian club, Galt F.C., beat an American club, Christian Brothers College, for the gold at the

1904 Summer Olympics The 1904 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the III Olympiad and also known as St. Louis 1904) were an international multi-sport event held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from 1 July to 23 November 1904. Many events were conducted ...

in St. Louis. The United States under-23 team defeated Canada to take the bronze medal at the 1999 Pan-Am Games on Canadian soil in Winnipeg. On the other hand, Canada's under-20 team defeated the United States to win their group of the 2003 CONCACAF U-20 Tournament in Charleston, South Carolina. The two nations frequently face each other in regional competition in the

CONCACAF The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typeset for branding purposes since 2018 as Concacaf), is one of FIFA's six continental governing bodies for association football. Its 4 ...

Nations League and Gold Cup, however the United States has historically been the stronger side. The overall record as of March 23, 2025, is 18 wins for the United States, 12 wins for Canada, and 12 draws in favor of the United States, and American soccer fans generally look to Mexico as the main rival, while Canada is a secondary rival.
The United States has qualified for 11 World Cups and has made it to the semifinals in 1930 FIFA World Cup, 1930, the quarterfinals in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, and has made it to the round of 16 in

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

and

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, while on the only two occasions that Canada qualified for the World Cup, in 1986 and

, they have never won or drawn a group stage match. Canada's lone FIFA World Cup goal was scored on November 27, 2022, via a header from Bayern Munich's Alphonso Davies, This lack of historical success has led to the Canada-United States rivalry frequently being overshadowed by the much more competitive United States-Mexico rivalry. Canada had not beaten the United States since a friendly in 1985 until October 15, 2019, when Canada defeated the United States 2-0 at

BMO Field BMO Field is an outdoor stadium located at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Constructed on the former Exhibition Stadium site and first opened in 2007, it is the home field of Toronto FC of Major League Soccer (MLS) and Toronto Ar ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. The following month, on November 15, the United States beat Canada 4–1 in Orlando. Since then, matches between the two have been very competitive. The United States defeated Canada 1–0 in a 2021 Gold Cup matchup in Kansas City. In 2022 World Cup qualifying, Canada earned a 1–1 draw in

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

and defeated the United States 2–0 in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

, eventually finishing ahead of all other Concacaf nations. On June 18, 2023, Canada and the United States met in the 2023 CONCACAF Nations League final at Allegiant Stadium in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, Nevada. This match was the final game of Canadian captain Atiba Hutchinson's career, as he retired immediately following the tournament. The United States won the game, 2–0. To date, only two players have played for both

and

national football teams; the first being Gordon Burness who earned one cap for Canada in 1925 and later earning one cap for the United States in 1926. The second being Ayo Akinola who played in all youth levels – including one senior cap for the United States in late 2020 before switching allegiance to Canada in 2021. On Mar 23, 2025, the two teams met in the 3rd place match for the Concacaf Nations Cup Finals tournament. Canada emerged victorious, 2-1, with tensions especially visible at the end of the match, reflecting the same political overtones as described in the Ice Hockey section, above.

Women's

The two teams are more closely matched than in the men's game, providing for more close finishes. Notably the two nations faced each other in the final of the 2002 FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship on Canadian soil in Edmonton, with the United States winning. The two nations' senior sides met in the third place match of the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup on American soil in Carson, California. Also, Canada's senior team beat the United States under-20 team in the final of the 2008 Cyprus Cup. At the 2012 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Vancouver, the United States defeated Canada 4-0 in the final. By 2012, the United States won every match since 2001, 26 in a row. There was a memorable match between the two teams during 2012 London Olympics semi-finals, which a concacaf.com columnist had described as the most important of their 26-year-long rivalry on the international scene. The Canadians led the match at three different points, but were ultimately defeated in overtime, allowing the Americans to advance to the Gold Medal Match. The United States most recently won the Women's World Cup on Canadian soil and then again in 2019 in France, which increased their record to four World Cup wins and four Olympic gold medals. Canada won the Olympic Gold Medal at the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

defeating the United States 1-0 in the semifinal match. The United States leads the overall series with 53 wins for the United States, four wins for Canada, and seven draws. The United States has won the

FIFA Women's World Cup The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior list of women's national association football teams, women's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Footb ...

four times, has made the final five times, and made the semifinal eight times. Canada has never won the

, nor made a final, and has only made one semifinal. The United States also has five Olympic Gold Medals to Canada's one.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Canada-United States sports rivalries * Regional rivalries Sports rivalries in Canada Sports rivalries in the United States International sports rivalries United States at the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup Canada at the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup