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A slightly dented Canadian team geared up Thursday to chase Olympic gold medals, while the Canadian Olympic Committee’s chief executive officer warned the country’s large medal hauls in winter sport shouldn’t be taken for granted.
And Canada’s first hockey game of the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, scheduled for Thursday, was postponed because the Finnish women’s hockey team was struck with the norovirus.
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Decorated Canadian snowboarder Mark McMorris withdrew from big air qualifying Thursday evening after a crash in training.
The triple Olympic bronze medallist in slopestyle intends to still compete in that event in Livigno.
McMorris was the fourth athlete named to Canada’s Olympic team to get hurt.
Sam Bennett replaced forward Anthony Cirelli on the men’s hockey team because of injury.
Figure skater Deanna Stellato-Dudek won’t compete in the team event starting Friday because of a training injury, although she and teammate Maxime Deschamps haven’t been ruled out of pairs.
Snowboard cross racer Tess Critchlow also withdrew from the Winter Games because of injury.
“Certainly these injuries have not been something we’ve been happy to see,” said COC chief executive officer Dave Shoemaker on Thursday.
“These athletes spend their lifetime working toward the Olympic Games. For those who’ve been injured and unable to compete, I feel for them first and foremost and therefore, give them as much support to see if they can compete.
“In the case of those where it’s questionable, and then for those who haven’t been able to compete, give them the support so that perhaps there’s the next Olympic opportunity for them.”
Canada’s team of 206 athletes features 109 rookies and 47 who are already Olympic medallists.
There are eight second-generation athletes whose parents were also Olympians, as well as four sets of siblings.
Competition was already underway before Friday’s opening ceremonies in mixed doubles curling and women’s hockey, although defending women’s hockey champion Canada won’t play Finland until Feb. 12.
Shoemaker says the Canadian team’s goal is to beat the country’s total medal count from the previous Olympic Games, which was 26 in Beijing in 2022.
“Canadian athletes have, in my opinion, been performing well above what we should expect based on the resources at their disposal,” Shoemaker said.
“They are the best in the world, and I know we’ll witness that here in Italy. The future is more uncertain. For several years now, the COC and many of our partners in the sports system have been vocal about the funding shortfall in Canadian sport. Many sports have been forced to cut essential training camps and other services that would once have considered essential.
“We know we have a thinning athlete pool and real concerns for the next generation of athletes.”
Canada’s four gold medals in Beijing were the lowest since 1994 and well off the 14 earned by the host team in 2010 in Vancouver and Whistler, B.C.
Canadians claimed a record 29 medals in 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
The COC, which is privately funded through sponsorship, has lobbied the federal government on behalf of national sport organizations for a $144 million increase annually in core funding, which they say hasn’t increased since 2005.
“They are, in many, many cases, on the brink of insolvency and have had to make decisions that are putting increased financial pressure on athletes,” Shoemaker said.
“If we had a good medal result in Milano-Cortina and I have to explain to the government why we still have a funding problem, I’ll deal with that.”
Canadians will also compete amid its geopolitical tensions with the United States, whose president, Donald Trump, has often referenced Canada becoming a “51st state”.
Without Russia at these Winter Games because of that country’s invasion of Ukraine, a men’s hockey showdown in a big game against the U.S. feels inevitable. And Canada’s women’s hockey rivalry with the Americans has become dynastic in sport.
“The rivalry with the United States is one that’s decades and decades old in sport, and yet I think there’s a little bit more riding on it, and we’ll certainly see that in the hockey games and in the other sport venues,” Shoemaker said. “We certainly haven’t instructed our athletes to behave in a certain way.
“My message is to cheer for Canadians and sing ‘O Canada’ as loudly and as proudly as they possibly can. Ever since I was a young child, I wanted Team Canada to beat the U.S. in everything we ever did, and I continue to want to see that happen. We should find ways to focus that energy on things that are supportive of Canada rather than the other way around.”
Canada’s chef de mission Jenn Heil returned to Italy for the first time since winning freestyle ski moguls gold in Turin, Italy, in 2006.
“I want to take a moment on behalf of the athletes to thank Canadians for standing with this team,” Heil said. “We can’t do it alone. We can’t do it without Canadians behind us.
“I know that this team is going to move our country.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 5, 2026.
