It’s an exciting time for women’s sport in Canada.

Rising professionalization and expanding media visibility is rapidly changing the landscape. The launch, and subsequent expansion, of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (boasting 3 Canadian teams) heralded a pivotal moment.

Soon after, the Northern Super League, Canada’s first professional women’s soccer league, kicked off its inaugural season. And in a few short months, the Toronto Tempo, the first Canadian team in the Women’s National Basketball Association, will play its first game.

History is being made daily. But beyond the headlines, significant challenges remain.

Between 2022 to 2024, the percentage of adolescent girls meeting the physical activity recommendation fell from 21% to 8% (Statistics Canada). And although advances have been made in leadership, women remain underrepresented in coaching and governance in Canada (SIRC).

Research shows that sport is a powerful platform for development for girls and women. Women who play sports are more likely to hold leadership positions: an Ernst & Young study found that 94% of C-suite women in the U.S. were former athletes. Closer to home, another study found that women who played varsity sports in Canada were more likely to pursue graduate-level education and end up in careers with above-average earnings (The Conversation). It’s undeniably clear that participation in sport yields numerous benefits, with 85% of women attributing their career success to the skills they developed by playing sports (Deloitte).

So what needs to happen next to solidify the gains that women’s sport has made and ensure future advancements? 

We’re diving into the issue on March 25, exploring everything from access, funding, and infrastructure, to athlete and coach development pathways, to uncover the opportunities that this moment presents.

Don’t miss this powerhouse panel discussion that brings together leaders across professional sport, research, coaching and athlete advocacy to explore how Canada can move from momentum to sustainable impact in women’s sport.

Featured Speakers

Catherine Sabiston is a professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education at the University of Toronto and the Director of the Mental Health and Physical Activity Research Centre. Catherine holds a Tier I Canada Research Chair in physical activity and psychosocial well-being and has been awarded numerous career distinctions including a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. She has nearly 370 peer-reviewed publications, has delivered over 600 presentations, is co-editor for two prominent textbooks in kinesiology. Catherine has held nearly $33 million dollars in funding for her research broadly focused on psychosocial determinants and outcomes of physical activity.

Teresa Resch is the inaugural President of the Toronto Tempo, the first WNBA franchise outside of USA, which will begin play in the 2026 season. Resch has been a leader in basketball development at the global scale for over 20 years. For 11 seasons she was a senior leader at the Toronto Raptors, bringing basketball to the forefront of Canadian sport. From 2013-2024 she played an instrumental role in numerous projects including the design and construction of Raptor’s OVO Athletic Centre, launching the Raptors 905 - Toronto’s NBA G-League affiliate and transitioning the Raptors to Tampa for 2020-21 season.
Prior to joining the Raptors, Resch served as Ultimate Hoops National Basketball Operations Manager for Life Time Fitness where she was responsible for programming at 104 locations in the US and Canada.

Jayna Hefford has transitioned a Hockey Hall Of Fame playing career into a top leadership role as the Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations at the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL), driven by a passion for the sport and dedication to shaping its future for girls and women worldwide. While honoring hockey’s traditions, Hefford has led with a forward-thinking approach, implementing groundbreaking rules that have modernized the game and enhanced the fan experience. Under her leadership, the PWHL’s inaugural 2024 season set multiple attendance records and captivated a growing global community—earning Sports Breakthrough of the Year honors from Sports Business Journal. Previously, Hefford held the title of Interim Commissioner of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL) before accepting a critical advisory role with the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA), which led to the formation of the PWHL.

Diana Matheson holds the role of Founder and Chief Growth Officer at the Northern Super League - Canada's first women's professional soccer league, which kicked-off with six founding teams across Canada in April of 2025 and is set to kick-off its second season this April. She is a two-time Olympic bronze medalist who was a member of Canada’s Women’s National Soccer Team from 2003-2021. During her career Diana represented Canada over 200 times, played in four FIFA World Cups and three Olympic Games, and earned a bronze medal in both London 2012 and Rio 2016. Diana is perhaps best known during her soccer career for scoring the game-winning goal in the bronze medal against France in the London Olympic Games in 2012. During her time as an athlete, Diana co-founded the Player's Association for Canada's Women's National Soccer team.

Vicky Sunohara is the head coach of the University of Toronto's Varsity Blues women's hockey program, guiding the Blues to the 2019-20, 2022-23, and 2024-25 OUA McCaw Cup championship titles. She was named both the OUA and U SPORTS coach of the year in three consecutive seasons from 2019-23, while also earning OUA female coach of the year honours across all sports in 2019-20. The two-time Olympic gold medalist served as an assistant captain for seven years with Team Canada before retiring from international competition in 2008. In addition to the 1998, 2002 and 2006 Winter Olympics, Sunohara has represented Canada in several international ice hockey competitions. In total, she won 15 gold and three silver medals as a member of Canada's national team, finishing her career with 118 points (56 goals and 62 assists) in 164 games.

Shireen Ahmed is an award-winning multiplatform journalist, broadcaster, Senior Contributor with CBC Sports, a public speaker, and a sports activist focusing on the intersections of race and gender in sports. She is a global expert on Muslim women in sports. Her work has been featured and discussed in The Guardian, TIME magazine, Sports Illustrated, The Walrus, Football Weekly, Racialicious, Chatelaine, The National Post, espnW, Globe and Mail, MSNBC Democracy Now! and TRT World. She currently teaches Journalism and Sport Media at Toronto Metropolitan University and is part of the team of women behind the Burn It All Down podcast, the first feminist sports podcast that analyzes sports and sports culture from an intersectional feminist lens.