Canadian Collapse: Exit of NHL teams brings familiar heartache for fans

Canada’s Stanley Cup drought was extended again this year, and a lot quicker than most hockey fans hoped. With the Calgary Flames, seeded first in the Western Conference, and the Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets both believing they could be playing well into May, parts of this country were buzzing with playoff fever.

But just two weeks into the post-season, all three teams are out, while the streak of futility among this nation’s teams adds another year. No Canadian team has lifted Lord Stanley’s Cup since the Montreal Canadians did so in 1993.

A new study from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds that more than half of Canadians (56 per cent) were tuned in to the first round of the playoffs with three of Canada’s provinces represented.

While many Canadians are likely disappointed with the poor showing by Canada’s teams, executives at Canada’s broadcasters – Sportsnet and CBC – probably woke up Wednesday feeling morose as well. In 2016, when no Canadian teams qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 1970, fewer than half of Canadians (45 per cent) said they would be tuning in.

More Key Findings:

- There’s always next year. Asked which team they believe will be the first to bring the Stanley Cup back to Canada, 31 per cent of Canadian hockey fans choose Toronto, while one-in-five choose Winnipeg (18 per cent). Montreal and Calgary are the two other teams with double digit support on this question, each receiving 10 per cent

- A Stanley Cup would likely mean a lot to Canadians. Among those who follow hockey, 62 per cent say that they are willing to cheer for any Canadian team if their favourite is knocked out.

- Hockey remains the pinnacle of Canadian professional sports. Four-in-10 Canadians (37 per cent) say they follow the NHL, double the number who say this of Major League Baseball (19 per cent), the National Football League (18 per cent) and the Canadian Football League (18 per cent).

The full poll can be viewed at www.angusreid.org/canadian-collapse-nhl-playoffs

Andrew Scheer, Leader of Canada’s Conservatives and the Official Opposition, said Canada’s canola crisis is a consequence of Justin Trudeau’s weak leadership and called on him to take three immediate and concrete steps to restore the canola trade with China.

“Canadians are paying for Justin Trudeau’s weak leadership and poor judgment,” Scheer said. “Canola producers are only the latest victims of these failures. He has allowed China to walk all over him without defending Canada’s security and economic interests. Canadians deserve better.”

Scheer called on Trudeau to immediately do the following:

1. Appoint an ambassador to China. 2. Increase emergency financial aid for producers.

3. Launch formal trade complaint against China.

Scheer also announced as Prime Minister he would pull Canada’s $256-million funding commitment to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

He noted that the investment of Canadian tax dollars to support infrastructure projects in other countries was intended to improve trade relations between Canada and China.

“This is a failed experiment,” Scheer said. “China is clearly using the Infrastructure Bank to expand its influence. As Prime Minister I will not allow Canadian tax dollars to be used for that purpose in a country that is working against us.”

Scheer also highlighted other examples of Canadian producers losing market access in foreign markets because of his failures on the world stage, including restrictions on Canadian durum wheat in Italy, pulses in India, and wheat in Vietnam.

At the House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-food, Canadians heard from an Alberta canola farmer that he could lose up to $150,000 this year if the canola trade with China is not restored.

“His failed relationship with China and his slow response to this crisis are costing Canadian farmers dearly,” Scheer said.