| Canada at the Paralympics | |
|---|---|
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| IPC code | CAN |
| NPC | Canadian Paralympic Committee |
| Website | www |
| Medals Ranked 4th |
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| Summer appearances | |
| Winter appearances | |
Canada has participated eleven times in the Summer Paralympic Games and in all Winter Paralympic Games. They first competed at the Summer Games in 1968 and the Winter Games in 1976.
At the 2000 Summer Paralympics, Stephanie Dixon set the Canadian record for most gold medals at a single Paralympics, Winter or Summer, with five. [1]
At the 2002 Winter Paralympics, Canada set a new total Canadian gold medal record haul at a Winter Paralympics, with six. [2]
At the 2004 Summer Paralympics, Chantal Petitclerc & Benoit Huot tied the five gold medal record at a single Games. [1] Petitclerc also won the demonstration sport of Wheelchair Racing in the 2004 Summer Olympics.
At the 2008 Summer Paralympics, Chantal Petitclerc again tied the five gold medal record at a single Games. [1]
In 2010, Brian McKeever of Canada became the first athlete in the world to be named to the Winter Paralympics and Winter Olympics teams in the same year. At the 2010 Winter Olympics, he was scheduled to compete in the men's 50 km cross-country race. [3] [4] [5]
At the 2010 Winter Paralympics, Viviane Forest became the first para-athlete to win a gold in both the Winter and Summer Games, by winning the Women's Downhill for Visually Impaired. She had previously won gold in the 2000 and 2004 Summer Paralympics for women's goalball. [6] [7]
Lauren Woolstencroft became the first Canadian to win three gold medals at the same Winter Paralympics, at the 2010 edition; [8] this was eventually upped to five golds. With her fourth gold medal, she helped Canada set a record for most gold medals at any Winter Paralympic Games by winning the seventh medal. The previous mark was six, set at the 2002 Salt Lake City Paralympics. [2] With her fifth gold medal, she set the record for most gold medals won by any Winter Paralympian at a single Games, and she tied the record for gold medal haul of any Canadian Paralympian at a single Games, tying Chantal Petitclerc (who did the feat twice), Dixon, and Benoit Huot both Summer Paralympians. [1] Her five gold medals are also the record for any Canadian Winter Paralympian or Olympian. [9]
At the 2010 Games, Canada collected the most total medals and the most gold medals of any Winter Paralympics, up through 2010 for Canada, with 19 total medals, and 10 golds. [10]
At the 2018 Winter Paralympics, cross country skier McKeever became Canada's most decorated Winter Paralympian when he won a 14th medal in five Games from 2002 to 2018, passing the late Lana Spreeman, who won 13 medals in para-alpine skiing between 1980 and 1994. [11]
Canada has hosted the Games twice.
| Games | Host city | Dates | Nations | Participants | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 Summer Paralympics | Toronto | August 3 to August 11, 1976 | 32 | 1657 | 447 in 13 sports |
| 2010 Winter Paralympics | Vancouver | March 12 to March 21, 2010 | 44 | 506 | 64 in 5 sports |
In 1976, and in 2010, Canada also hosted the Olympic Games counterpart, the 1976 Summer Olympics and the 2010 Winter Olympics respectively. Canada did not host the Paralympic Games counterpart to the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta; this was the last Winter Olympics that the host city did not also host the Winter Paralympics. The 1988 Summer Paralympics was the first Paralympics to be linked to the hosting of the Summer Olympics. The 1976 Summer Olympics were hosted in Montreal, and not linked to the Toronto Paralympiad.
The ranking in these table is based on information provided by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and is consistent with IPC convention in its published medal tables, ordered first of all by the number of gold medals the athletes from a nation have won, followed by the number of silver medals and then the number of bronze medals.
Medals by summer sport
Leading in that sport
| Medals by winter sport
Leading in that sport
|
Best results in non-medaling sports:
| Summer | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Rank | Athlete | Event & Year |
 Badminton | 8th | Olivia Meier | Women's singles SL4 in 2020 |
 Football 5-a-side | did not participate | ||
 Parataekwondo | did not participate | ||
 Wheelchair fencing | 5th | Trinity Lowthian | Women's épée B in 2024 |
 Wheelchair tennis | 4th | Sarah Hunter & Brian McPhate | Quad doubles in 2004 |
This is a list of Canadian athletes who have won at least three gold medals or five medals at the Summer Paralympics. Bold athletes are athletes who are still in active.
| No. | Athlete | Sport | Years | Games | Gender | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Edgson |  Swimming | 1984-1992 | 3 | M | 18 | 3 | 0 | 21 |
| 2 | Chantal Petitclerc |  Athletics | 1992-2008 | 5 | F | 14 | 5 | 2 | 21 |
| 3 | Benoît Huot | Swimming | 2000-2016 | 5 | M | 9 | 5 | 6 | 20 |
| 4 | Walter Wu | Swimming | 1996-2004 | 3 | M | 9 | 4 | 2 | 15 |
| 5 | Stephanie Dixon | Swimming | 2000-2008 | 3 | F | 7 | 8 | 2 | 17 |
| 6 | Arnold Boldt | Athletics | 1976-1992, 2012 | 6 | M | 7 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| 7 | Joanne Mucz | Swimming | 1984-1992 | 3 | F | 6 | 2 | 0 | 8 |
| 8 | Lisa Franks | Athletics | 2000-2008 | 3 | F | 6 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| Jessica Sloan | Swimming | 2000 | 1 | F | 6 | 1 | 0 | 7 | |
| Michelle Stilwell | Athletics  Wheelchair basketball | 2000-2016 | 5 | F | 6 | 1 | 0 | 7 | |
| 11 | Joanne Bouw | Athletics | 1984-1996 | 4 | F | 5 | 0 | 2 | 7 |
| 12 | Aurelie Rivard | Swimming | 2012-2024 | 4 | F | 6 | 4 | 3 | 13 |
| 13 | Eugene Reimer | Athletics | 1968-1980 | 4 | M | 4 | 5 | 2 | 11 |
| 14 | Valerie Grand'Maison | Swimming | 2008-2012 | 2 | F | 4 | 4 | 0 | 8 |
| 15 | Jacques Martin | Athletics | 1984-2000 | 5 | M | 4 | 3 | 2 | 9 |
| 16 | Andre Viger | Athletics | 1980-1996 | 5 | M | 3 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
| 17 | Danielle Campo | Swimming | 2000-2004 | 2 | F | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| 18 | Rick Hansen | Athletics | 1980-1984 | 2 | M | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| 19 | Philippe Gagnon | Swimming | 2000 | 1 | M | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 20 | Andre Beaudoin | Athletics | 1988-2008 | 6 | M | 2 | 7 | 6 | 15 |
| 21 | Marc Quessy | Athletics | 1988-1996 | 3 | M | 1 | 5 | 2 | 8 |
| 22 | Brent Lakatos | Athletics | 2012-2024 | 2 | M | 2 | 9 | 2 | 13 |
| 23 | John Belanger | Athletics | 1984-1988 | 2 | M | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 24 | Joyce Murland | Athletics  Shooting | 1972-1976 | 2 | F | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
This is a list of Canadian athletes who have won at least two gold medals in a single Games. Ordered categorically by gold medals earned, sports then year.
| No. | Athlete | Sport | Year | Gender | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athletics | ||||||||
| 1 | Tham Simpson | Athletics | 1984 | F | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 2 | Lisa Franks | Athletics | 2000 | F | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 3 | Jamie Bone | Athletics | 1988 | M | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 4 | Laura Misciagna | Athletics | 1980 | F | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Richard Reelie | Athletics | 1988 | M | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Frank Bruno | Athletics | 1992 | M | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| 6 | Eugene Reimer | Athletics | 1968 | M | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Rick Hansen | Athletics | 1984 | M | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | |
| 8 | James Shaw | Athletics | 1996 | M | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Swimming | ||||||||
| 1 | Michael Edgson | Swimming | 1988 | M | 9 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 2 | Jessica Sloan | Swimming | 2000 | F | 6 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| 3 | Walter Wu | Swimming | 1996 | M | 6 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| 4 | Stephanie Dixon | Swimming | 2000 | F | 5 | 2 | 0 | 7 |
| 5 | Joanne Mucz | Swimming | 1992 | F | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 6 | Valerie Grand'Maison | Swimming | 2008 | F | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| 7 | Danielle Campo | Swimming | 2000 | F | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Philippe Gagnon | Swimming | 2000 | M | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | |
| Aurelie Rivard | Swimming | 2016 | F | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | |
| 10 | Summer Mortimer | Swimming | 2012 | F | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Multiple sports | ||||||||
| 1 | Martha Gustafson | Athletics | 1984 | F | 5 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Swimming | 1 | 1 | 0 | |||||
This is a list of Canadian athletes who have won at least three medals in a single event at the Summer Paralympics. Ordered categorically by medals earned, sports then gold medals earned.
| No. | Athlete | Sport | Event | Years | Games | Gender | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arnold Boldt | Athletics | High jump | 1976-1992 | 5 | M | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 2 | Benoît Huot | Swimming | 200m individual medley | 2000-2016 | 5 | M | 5 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 3 | Martha Gustafson | Athletics | Discus throw | 1976-1984 | 3 | F | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | Walter Wu | Swimming | 400m freestyle | 1996-2004 | 3 | M | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Kirby Cote | Swimming | 200m individual medley | 2000-2008 | 3 | F | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
This is a list of Canadian athletes who have competed in four or more Summer Paralympics. Active athletes are in bold. Athletes who were aged under 15 years of age and over 40 years of age are in bold.
| No. | Athlete | Sport | Birth Year | Games Years | First/Last Age | Gender | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Daw | Athletics, Rugby, Curling | 1970 | 1984-2006 | 14 - 36 | M | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2 | Clayton Gerein | Athletics | 1964 | 1984-2008 | 20 - 40 | M | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 3 | Arnold Boldt | Athletics  Cycling | 1957 | 1976-1992, 2012 | 18 - 35 | M | 7 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| 3 | Andre Viger | Athletics | 1952 | 1980-1996 | 27 - 43 | M | 3 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
| Chantal Petitclerc | Athletics | 1969 | 1992-2008 | 22 - 39 | F | 14 | 5 | 2 | 21 | |
| Paul Tingley |  Sailing | 1970 | 2000-2016 | 30 - 46 | M | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | |
| Benoît Huot | Swimming | 1984 | 2000-2016 | 16 - 32 | M | 9 | 5 | 6 | 20 |
This is a list of Canadian athletes who have won at least two gold medals or three medals at the Winter Paralympics. Athletes in bold are still active.
| No. | Athlete | Sport | Years | Games | Gender | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brian McKeever |  Cross-country skiing | 2002-2018 | 4 | M | 13 | 2 | 2 | 17 |
| 2 | Lauren Woolstencroft |  Alpine skiing | 2002-2010 | 3 | F | 8 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 3 | Sonja Gaudet |  Wheelchair curling | 2006-2014 | 3 | F | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | Mac Marcoux | Alpine skiing | 2014-2018 | 2 | M | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| 5 | Ina Forrest | Wheelchair curling | 2010-2018 | 3 | F | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 6 | Lana Spreeman | Alpine skiing | 1980-1994 | 5 | F | 1 | 6 | 6 | 13 |
| 7 | Viviane Forest | Alpine skiing | 2010 | 1 | F | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| 8 | Stacy Kohut | Alpine skiing | 1994-2002 | 3 | F | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 9 | Mark Arendz |  Biathlon | 2014-2018 | 2 | M | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 10 | Mollie Jepsen | Alpine skiing | 2018-2022 | 2 | F | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| Chris Williamson | Alpine skiing | 2002-2014 | 4 | M | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | |
| 11 | Natalie Wilkie | Cross country skiing | 2018 | 1 | F | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 12 | Karolina Wisniewska | Alpine skiing | 1998-2002, 2010 | 3 | F | 0 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
This is a list of Canadian athletes who have won at least two gold medals at a single Winter Paralympics. Order by gold medals earned, sport then year.
| No. | Athlete | Sport | Year | Gender | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lauren Woolstencroft | Alpine skiing | 2010 | F | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
This is a list of Canadian athletes who have won at least three medals in a single event at the Winter Paralympics. Order by medals earned, sport then year.
| No. | Athlete | Sport | Event | Years | Gender | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brian McKeever | Cross-country skiing | 10 km cross country | 2002-2018 | M | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 2 | Sonja Gaudet | Wheelchair curling | Mixed curling team | 2006-2014 | F | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | Ina Forrest | Wheelchair curling | Mixed curling team | 2010-2018 | F | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
This is a list of Canadian athletes who have competed in at least four Winter Paralympics. Still active athletes are in bold.
| No. | Athlete | Sport | Born Year | Games Years | First/Last Age | Gender | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Daw | Athletics, Rugby, Curling | 1970 | 1984-2006 | 14 - 36 | M | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1 | Lana Spreeman | Alpine skiing | 1955 | 1980-1994 | 24 - 38 | F | 1 | 6 | 6 | 13 |
The 2010 Winter Paralympics, or the tenth Paralympic Winter Games, were held in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia, Canada from March 12 to 21, 2010. The opening ceremony took place in BC Place Stadium in Vancouver and the Closing Ceremony in Whistler Medals Plaza.
Chantal Petitclerc is a Canadian wheelchair racer and a Senator from Quebec.
Canada participated in the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, Greece. With 28 gold, 19 silver, and 25 bronze medals, the Canadian team placed third in the medal rankings, behind China and Great Britain. Wheelchair basketball player and three-time Paralympic gold medallist Chantal Benoit was the delegation's flag bearer at the opening ceremony.
Brian McKeever is a Canadian cross-country skier and biathlete, who became Canada's most decorated Winter Paralympian when he won his 14th medal at the 2018 Winter Paralympics. He finished the 2018 Games with a career total of 13 gold medals and 17 medals, making him the most decorated Paralympic cross-country skier ever. McKeever claimed a 16th Paralympic gold medal in the men's para cross-country middle distance vision impaired race at Beijing 2022, drawing him level with the German para-alpine racer Gerd Schönfelder for the most men's Winter Paralympic wins.
Canada sent a delegation to compete at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing. 143 Canadian athletes competed in 17 sports. Canada also sent several officials to the games, including Tara Grieve in boccia and Andrew Smith in rowing. Canada finished seventh on the medal table at the Beijing games after finishing third on the medal table at the 2004 Summer Paralympics. Swimmer Donovan Tildesley, a world record-holder and medalist at the 2000 and 2004 Paralympics, was the country's flag bearer at the opening ceremony. The delegation is headed by Chef de Mission Debbie Low.
The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, from February 12 to February 28. A total of 2,632 athletes representing 82 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in 86 events from 15 different sports and disciplines.
Lauren Woolstencroft is a Canadian alpine skier and electrical engineer. Born missing her left arm below the elbow as well as both legs below the knees, she began skiing at the age of 4 and began competitive skiing at the age of 14. She is an eight-time gold medal winner at the Paralympics. In 1998, she was nicknamed "Pudding" by her teammates, due to her sweet tooth. Her life and achievements were celebrated in the Toyota ad "Good Odds" that aired just after kickoff during Super Bowl LII in February 2018.
Stephanie Dixon, is a Canadian swimmer. She is a three-time Paralympian and competed at the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Paralympic Games prior to retiring from competitive swimming in 2010. During her career, Dixon won nineteen Paralympic medals and seven Parapan American Games medals, and was a 10-time world champion. She is one of Canada's most successful Paralympians.
The alpine skiing competition of the Vancouver 2010 Paralympics will be held at Whistler, British Columbia. The events were due to be held between 13 March, and 21 March 2010. Events scheduled for 13 March, however, were postponed due to weather conditions – specifically, low visibility. The snowboard cross event was a demonstration sport until 2014.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has participated in every summer and winter Paralympic Games.
Canada was the host country of the 2010 Winter Paralympics, in Vancouver, the first time it had hosted the Winter Paralympics.
The women's downhill competition of the Vancouver 2010 Paralympics was held at Whistler Blackcomb in Whistler, British Columbia. The competition was scheduled for Saturday, March 13, but was postponed to Thursday, March 18, due to bad weather conditions.
The 2010 Winter Paralympics, officially known as the X Paralympic Winter Games, were held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, from March 12 to March 21, 2010. A total of 506 athletes from 44 nations participated in 64 events from five different sport disciplines.
Viviane Forest is a Canadian multi-sport Paralympic medallist. She was born and raised in Quebec, and currently resides in Edmonton, Alberta. She is the first Canadian Paralympian to win a gold medal at the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games.
Robin McKeever is a Canadian Paralympic cross-country skier.
The United States of America (USA), represented by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, has participated in every Summer and Winter Paralympic Games and is currently first on the all-time medal table. The nation used to be a dominant Paralympic power in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, but has steadily declined since the 1990s to a point where it finished sixth in the 2012 Summer Paralympics medal count. The team then improved to a fourth-place finish in 2016, and third in 2020, and unexpectedly finished first at the 2018 Winter Paralympics.
Germany (GER) participated in the inaugural Paralympic Games in 1960 in Rome, where it sent a delegation of nine athletes. The country, since 1949 officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), was until 1990 also called West Germany while the separate East German Democratic Republic (GDR) existed, which was recognized by the IOC only after 1964. East German athletes, however, participated in the Paralympics for the first and last time in 1984. Following the reunification of Germany in 1990, athletes from all of Germany compete simply as Germany (GER) again.
Canada competed at the XI Paralympic Games in Sydney, Australia from October 18 to 29, 2000. The Canadian team included 166 athletes; 113 on foot and 53 on wheelchairs. Canada finished third in the medal table and won a total of ninety-six medals; thirty-eight gold, thirty-three silver and twenty-five bronze.
Canada competed at the 2018 Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9 to 18 March 2018. Canada sent a team of 55 athletes to compete in all six sports. The chef de mission was retired sledge hockey player Todd Nicholson, appointed in January 2017.
| Main articles |
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| Significant figures | |
| Canada at international competitions | |
| Summer Olympics stats | |
| Winter Olympics stats | |
| Paralympics stats (host nation) | |
| Commonwealth Games stats | |
| National sports teams |
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| Ice hockey | |
| Football | |
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| Rugby league |
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| Other sports |
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| Governing bodies |
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| Related | |
 Nations that have competed at the Paralympic Games | |
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| Africa |
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| Americas |
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| Asia |
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| Europe |
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| Oceania | |
| Other | |
| Historical | |
1 Israel has been a member of the European Paralympic Committee (EOC) since 1994. | |
