The world will be coming to Canada in a big way starting in 2026.
Hockey Canada and the International Ice Hockey Federation announced Friday that five consecutive women’s championships will be played in Canada between 2026 and 2030, marking the first time in women’s hockey history that a country will host that many championships in as many years.
As a part of the agreement, Canada will host the 2027 and 2030 IIHF Women’s World Championships, as well as the 2026, 2028 and 2030 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championships.
Specific locations within Canada for each tournament have yet to be determined.
“Hosting IIHF championships is a tremendous privilege we do not take for granted, and we are grateful for their support of this landmark agreement,” Katherine Henderson, president and chief executive officer of Hockey Canada, said in a statement released by the organization.
Canada is the defending women’s champion after winning last year in Utica, N.Y. The country last hosted the tournament in 2023 in Brampton, Ont.
Canada last hosted the U18 world championship in 2016 in St. Catharines, Ont. The United States is the defending champion after winning last year in Zug, Switzerland, while Canada came third. This year’s women’s championship is in Ceske Budejovice, Czechia, while the U18 event begins Saturday in Vantaa, Finland.
Canada opens the 2025 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championship against Slovakia at 1:30 p.m. ET / 10:30 a.m. PT on Saturday.
The Canadian national women’s team rounds out the 2024-25 Rivalry Series against the United States with games in February in Halifax and Summerside, P.E.I. The defending world champions travel to Czechia for the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship in April.
— with files from the Canadian Press
