What to know
- A new poll finds most Canadians are disappointed with Team Canada’s performance at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina.
- Sixty per cent of respondents say the team performed worse than expected after winning 21 medals, down from 26 in 2022.
- Canadians are divided on hosting a future Olympics, with the largest group only supporting a bid if no new venues are built.
- Despite the results, most Canadians still support increasing federal funding for Olympic athletes.
A new poll suggests most Canadians are disappointed with Team Canada’s performance at the 2026 Winter Olympics, with many saying the team fell short of expectations.
The survey, released by Liaison Strategies on Wednesday, comes after Canada finished the Milano Cortina Games with 21 medals, including five gold, seven silver and nine bronze. That total marks a drop from the 26 medals the team won at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
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The poll found that 60 per cent of respondents believed Team Canada performed worse than expected. Just eight per cent said the team exceeded expectations.
The survey also asked Canadians about the prospect of hosting a future Olympics. Responses were divided: 23 per cent said they would support Canada bidding to host the Games, while the largest group, 43 per cent, said they would only support a bid if no new permanent venues were built.
Meanwhile, 28 per cent said they are entirely opposed to Canada hosting the Olympics due to the high costs associated with the event.
The last time a Canadian city hosted the Olympics was the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, where Canada won 26 medals, including 14 gold, seven silver and five bronze.
Despite the disappointment over the 2026 results, the poll suggests Canadians still strongly support the country’s athletes. Sixty-seven per cent of respondents said they favour increasing federal funding for Olympic competitors.
In 2024, the federal government announced it would invest $35 million over five years in the Athlete Assistance Program (AAP), with an additional $7 million annually thereafter. The program aims to ease the financial burden associated with training and competing internationally, helping high-performance Canadian athletes balance sport with academic or working careers while pursuing elite competition.
However, some athletes say more investment is still needed.
Canadian bobsledder Cynthia Appiah said equipment funding remains a major gap.
“The one blaring difference that Canadians are missing out on is the equipment piece. We haven’t had an investment in our programs in four years, and we haven’t had any investment in our sled technology in six years,” Appiah told reporters after returning from the Games in February. “When you’re comparing that to the Americans or the Germans, who get sleds every two years, it’s very hard to be competitive.”
Liaison Strategies surveyed a random sample of 1,000 Canadians between Feb. 23 and March 7 using interactive voice response (IVR) technology.
