CANADA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Richard McLaren and Janie Soublière, McLaren Global Sports Solutions
McLaren Global Sports Solutions McLaren Global Sport Solutions 110 Bloor Street West, Suite 802 Toronto, Ontario Canada M5S 2W7 Tel: +1 (416) 283 2688 Email: info@mclarenglobalsportsolutions.com Web: www.mclarenglobalsportsolutions.com/
Introduction The Canadian sports law sector continues to provide diverse opportunities for legal practitioners of varying expertise and specialties, be it by: • assisting local, amateur or professional sports teams and regional or national sports associations; • drafting rules and contracts, overseeing day-to-day legal matters and representing athletes and coach - ing staff at all levels; • negotiating contracts related to anything from employment and sponsorship to image rights and broadcasting rights; • assisting sporting venue and event organisation with risk management and all the legal intricacies related to event planning; or • advocating or adjudicating disciplinary and com - mercial sports-related disputes of all kinds, be it before the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada ( SDRCC), the Court of Arbitration for Sport, civil or criminal courts or any professional league or club arbitration and grievance or discipli - nary processes. Developing Trends The general trends in amateur sport outlined in last year’s guide continue to impact all sports law prac - titioners in Canada, as do the growth of professional team sports, the anticipated changes to the existing Canadian Safe Sport mechanisms and the related government-mandated Commission appointed to investigate systemic abuse and human rights viola - tions in Canadian sport.
This year, three other notable trends are having a sig - nificant impact on sports law in Canada: • the exponential growth of women’s professional sport; • Sport Integrity Canada now administers the Cana - dian Safe Sport mechanism; and • the evolution of legislation governing match-fixing and gambling. The exponential growth of women’s professional sport in Canada As in Europe and the US, women’s professional sport in Canada has moved from a niche space to a main - stream commercial and cultural force. This shift has created new opportunities and legal considerations for practitioners. Canada’s professional women’s sports market has approximately doubled since 2023, reaching an esti - mated CAD380–CAD400 million in 2025, with growth projected to reach approximately CAD570 million by 2030. This expansion ushered a need for quali - fied legal experts to advise on all aspects of women’s professional sports. Indeed, there was an urgent need to develop league structures, and women’s players’ association were created to engage in collective bargaining with the new leagues. There was also a requirement for club structures to be aligned with developing league processes and rules, with market - ing and investment considerations additionally being thrown in at the forefront. Adjudication panels were created; regulations of all kinds were drafted. And this is just the beginning!
52 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook