Skating up to the face-off

Every year, most of Canada is gifted a cold, snowy season. As such, many Canadians can remember being exposed to a pair of ice skates at a young age. Whether you’ve skated on a local rink or watched hockey on TV, ice hockey is part of Canadian culture, and many participate in some way or another.

For the true hockey fans, the National Hockey League (NHL) season is already well underway. Still, you won’t want to miss another exciting hockey event coming to Canada this month.

The 2025 4 Nations Face-Off is an international tournament taking place from February 12 to 20, featuring NHL players from Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States. The tournament consists of three round-robin games for each team, before the top two advance to the final. The first four days of the tournament will be played at the Bell Centre in Montréal, Quebec. Then the players will cross the border to finish the second half of the tournament in Boston, Massachusetts.

Lacing up our skates

We’re well into winter now and for many of us, that means fully embracing the cold and enjoying some time outside. While indoor skating arenas keep ice skating and hockey available year-round, there is something special about skating on an outdoor rink during a Canadian winter.  

Skating was one of the most reported outdoor winter activities in 2021, with 13.0% of households nationwide going for a skate. This proportion was the same for those living in census metropolitan areas and outside them. By province, Alberta’s households (17%) were the most likely to lace up their skates, while those in British Columbia (7%) were the least likely.

In 2020, we counted 4,275 outdoor skating rinks for Canadians to glide on during the winter months. Year-round, there were 2,569 indoor skating arenas of various sizes across the country.

Employment in spectator sports and related industries

So much more goes into hosting tournaments and sporting events like the 4 Nations Face-Off than the games we see on TV—behind-the-scenes work and organization is a big part of making it all come together. With the first half of the 4 Nations Face-Off being held in Canada, employees in the spectator sports industry are likely already hard at work preparing for the event.

Followed by a sharp decline of 38.6% in 2020, the number of employees in the spectator sports and related industries has since rebounded, reaching 98.7% of the 2019 levels by 2023.

About three quarters (76.0%) of employees in the spectator sports industry were working part time in 2023—this proportion was little changed from 2019 (75.9%). This may have to do with the fact that the spectator sports industry employs the youngest cohort of staff, with more than half (60.9%) of employees aged 34 years and younger in 2023.

Spectator sports was the industry with the highest proportion of male employees (59.2%) across the spectator sports and related industries.

Continue reading about the demographic differences among employees in the spectator sports and related industries in the full analysis, Workforce insights: Demographics in the arts, entertainment and recreation sector from 2015 to 2023.