Canadian National Skating Championships

Canadian National Skating Championships
Status	Active
Genre	National championships
Frequency	Annual
Country	Canada
Inaugurated	1905
Previous event	2026 Canadian Championships
Next event	2027 Canadian Championships
Organized by	Skate Canada

The Canadian National Skating Championships (French: Championnats nationaux canadiens de patinage) are an annual figure skating competition organized by Skate Canada to crown the national champions of Canada. While the first official Canadian Championships were held in 1914, unofficial championships had been hosted by the Minto Skating Club in Ottawa since 1905. They have been interrupted only twice since 1920. The event was called the Canadian Figure Skating Championships (French: Championnats du Canada de patinage artistique) prior to 2023, when synchronized skating, which had previously held separate championships, was folded into the competition along with the other figure skating disciplines. The results are among the criteria used to determine the Canadian entries to the World Figure Skating Championships, World Junior Figure Skating Championships, Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, and Winter Olympics, as well as the members of the Canadian national team.

Medals are awarded in men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, ice dance, and synchronized skating at the senior and junior levels. Patrick Chan currently holds the record for winning the most Canadian Championship titles in men's singles (with ten), while Constance Wilson-Samuel holds the record in women's singles (with nine). Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford hold the record in pair skating (with seven), while Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz hold the record in ice dance (with ten).

History

The Amateur Skating Association of Canada was formed in 1887 to govern speed skating and figure skating in Canada. The first Canadian Championships were held in 1905 in Ottawa. Early editions of the championships were hosted by the Minto Skating Club, whose goal was to encourage a Canadian style of skating uniquely different than the traditional English style. This Canadian style was more in line with the international style, incorporating ballet and dance movements with ice skating, "permitting the greatest freedom on the part of the individual in respect to his movements," while the English style was much more rigid and formal, focusing on the tracing of elaborate special figures. The earliest championships featured single skating and pair skating (called "hand-in-hand skating"). Ormond Haycock won the inaugural singles event, as well as the pairs event with his sister Katherine. No competitions were held in 1907 after the Rideau Skating Rink was destroyed by a fire. While separate competitions for men and women were not held until 1913, an award was presented to the "top lady skater" at each competition prior to 1913. A separate governing organization for figure skating in Canada was established in 1914: the Figure Skating Department of the Amateur Skating Association of Canada. This was the forerunner of today's Skate Canada, and as such, the 1914 Canadian Championships are regarded as the first official championships, although they existed as a continuation of these earlier championships.

No competitions were held from 1915 through 1919 due to World War I. During World War II, no senior-level events were contested in 1943, and the women's event was the only senior-level event contested in 1944. Ice dance was added as a discipline in 1947, while the waltz and tenstep competitions were discontinued after 1959. Compulsory figures, which had been a required element of singles skating since the beginning, were retired after the 1990 championships. Competition in four skating was held irregularly, with the final competition taking place in 1997. The 2021 championships were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic; and in December 2021, due to Ontario's COVID-19 public health orders, Skate Canada announced that the 2022 Canadian Championships would be held in a closed arena without spectators or on-site media. Prior to 2023, the Canadian Synchronized Skating Championships had been held as a separate event. Beginning in 2023, the junior- and senior-level synchronized skating competitions were incorporated into the Canadian Figure Skating Championships; hence the change in the event's name.

Medallists

From left to right: The reigning Canadian figure skating champions: Stephen Gogolev (men's singles); Madeline Schizas (women's singles); Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud (pair skating); and Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier (ice dance)

Discontinued events

These events were held only in the years indicated. The waltz and tenstep were retired in 1959, while four skating continued intermittently until 1997.