Written By Jeffrey Reed
Here in Middlesex County, we are blessed to have a thriving community of athletics for females of all ages. From Bluewater Hawks girls hockey to Strathroy-Caradoc’s Active Days 55+ program, there’s a plethora of possibilities for women and girls seeking competitive and recreational sports.
Yet it goes without saying, there has always been an uneven playing field when it comes to women’s professional sports. Attendance figures, televised and streamed games, sponsorship and salaries all pale in comparison to men’s sports. Many point to supply and demand when explaining the enormous gap in salaries and sponsorship dollars. Others will say male athletes deserve the lion’s share of attention.
And while most will argue that those two aforementioned points ring true, still, there is no excuse for the lack of respect for professional female athletes.
Canadian Tire Corporation recently announced it has achieved its commitment to direct a minimum of 50% of its sports sponsorship investment to women’s professional sport. In the grand scheme of things, it’s a drop in the bucket, yet it’s also a huge step in the right direction, and it fulfills a commitment first announced through Canadian Tire’s 2023-launched Women’s Sport Initiative.
Now, Canadian Tire is focused on tackling another challenge facing women’s sport in Canada: visibility. Through its marketing platforms, sports and media partnerships, as well as national reach, Canadian Tire promises to help more Canadians discover the athletes, teams and leagues shaping the future of sport.
In mid-October, Canadian Tire launched a new ad campaign featuring exceptional female athletes–the first step in a national effort which includes a rallying cry called, We’ll Make a Fan Out of You.
According to the report, Canadian Women & Sport: It’s Time: From Milestone Moments to Market Permanence, 2026, despite “rapid growth” of women’s professional sport in Canada, building broader exposure and sustained reach remains a “significant challenge.” It says 75% of Canadians say they are fans of women’s sport, yet 62% of fans say they do not know where to find the sport they want to watch.
According to Eva Salem, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Canadian Tire Corporation, “The opportunity now is to help more people discover the incredible athletes, rivalries, competition, and moments that make sport meaningful. When visibility grows, fandom grows, creating stronger leagues and a clearer pathway for girls and women in Canada. Ultimately, the entire women’s sport ecosystem will be stronger.”
Salem is right: with an increase in visibility, there will be a myriad of spinoffs which will help women’s professional sports grow exponentially. Her citing of athletes, rivalries, competition and moments points to one thing in particular which will boost women’s sports like no other element: making more readily available the history of professional women’s sports–not only in Canada, but around the globe.
Through history, we learn how we’ve arrived where we are, and how to prepare for the future. And the future of women’s professional sports looks bright.
Award-winning writer Jeffrey Reed has covered Middlesex County sports since 1980.
He is publisher and editor of LondonOntarioSports.com. Reach him at
jeff@londonontariosports.com.
