Local events have been the theme in another big week for Canada in the sports world.
The National Bank Open across Montreal and Toronto came to a thrilling conclusion. The Toronto Blue Jays played seven crucial games at the Rogers Centre, and Markham hosted the Indy for the first time.
The Winnipeg Sea Bears won their first-ever CEBL title with victory over the Brampton Honey Badgers while Toronto FC made their return home after a World Cup hiatus.
Here’s everything you need to know about the week that was among Canadian sports teams and athletes.
National Bank Open comes to a close with controversial statements
TORONTO, ON – AUGUST 13: Iga Swiatek of Poland and Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan pose with their trophies after the Final match of the WTA National Bank Open tournament on August 13, 2026 at Sobeys Stadium in Toronto, ON, Canada (Photo by Julian Avram/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Iga Swiatek marked her return to peak form with a straight sets 6-2, 6-3 win over World No. 2 Elena Rybakina to claim the National Bank Open title on the women’s side in Toronto.
The Polish star with six Grand Slam titles to her name entered the tournament without a single title in 2026. Swiatek spoke of the criticism she’s received back home and pulled no punches during her post-match speech.
“It’s great, especially with all the people judging and hating,” Swiatek said shortly after winning. “Not international fans but more so at home, not the fans even but ‘the experts.’ Honestly, I’m happy that year by year, I give less of a sh*t about it and I could win this tournament to prove to everyone that they don’t make sense sometimes.”
Over in Montreal, Ben Shelton became the first player to clinch back-to-back titles on the men’s side in Canada since Rafael Nadal in 2018 and 2019. He also became the first man to win the event without dropping a set since Novak Djokovic in 2016.
A good chunk of the attention, though, went to his final opponent Brandon Nakashima for stirring the pot between Toronto and Montreal fans.
Currently ranked 22nd, Nakashima didn’t shy away from putting himself in a bad spot for when he likely plays in Toronto next year.
“I’m gonna be honest, I really enjoy it here in Montreal more than Toronto,” Nakashima said. “Unfortunately, we’ll be back in Toronto next year but I really look forward to coming back here in two years.”
Blue Jays in the thick of the race for A.L. Wildcard spot
TORONTO, CANADA – AUGUST 15: Louis Varland #77 of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches against the Toronto Blue Jays during the ninth inning in their MLB game at the Rogers Centre on August 15, 2026 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Mark Blinch/Getty Images)
The Toronto Blue Jays entered the week with seven crucial home games to play against the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. By winning five of those seven, they have now moved to within a game of the final wildcard spot in the American League.
Louis Varland continued his stellar season with four saves across the five wins and now has 28 on the season. It’s not all good news in Blue Jays land, though, as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was placed on the seven-day injured list on Saturday due to concussion symptoms.
It speaks to how poor the American League has been this season with the Blue Jays being right there in the playoff mix with a 61-65 record, but there is plenty more work to do in the week ahead.
Next up for the Blue Jays is a three-game set against the A.L. East leading Tampa Bay Rays followed by another three-game series against the Yankees. Both series will be on the road.
Winnipeg claims first-ever CEBL title
The Winnipeg Sea Bears claimed their first-ever CEBL title, defeating the Brampton Honey Badgers 98-94 in the final at home on Saturday.
Xavier Moon, three-time CEBL MVP, finished with 29 points, seven rebounds, and six assists to lead the Sea Bears to victory. He also claimed his third Finals MVP award. Simon Hildebrandt, a native of Winnipeg, hit the title-clinching triple in front of a CEBL-record crowd of 12,519.
The Honey Badgers are left to wonder “what if?” This was supposed to be the first CEBL Finals that followed a best-of-three format, with Game 1 scheduled to be in Brampton. However, due to condensation on the court at CAA Centre, the game was cancelled. Unable to reschedule and finish the tournament within the required window, both sides agreed to a do-or-die final that followed the format of years past.
Brampton did win the title back in 2022.
Athlete of the Week: Sara Parker
Dusseldorf, Germany – August 15: Hilda Haniel Reza Martinez of Mexico and Sara Parker of Canada battle for the ball during the Women’s 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championships semi-final match between Mexico and Canada at Flag Football Complex Dusseldorf-Garath on August 15, 2026 in Dusseldorf, Germany. (Photo by Alex Gottschalk/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images)
Canada winning a world championship is always a special moment and doing so in flag football came courtesy of huge performances from quarterback Sara Parker.
She finished the tournament with 23 touchdown passes to claim the tournament’s MVP award as Canada went undefeated.
Parker, from Montreal, will now be one to look out for in Los Angeles at the 2028 Olympics where the women’s flag football team will look to repeat the trick as champs.
Marcus Ericsson wins first-ever Markham Indy
Marcus Ericsson, driver of the #28 Andretti Global Honda, celebrates after winning the NTT INDYCAR Series Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham on August 16, 2026, in Markham, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Yuan Tian/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Sweden’s Marcus Ericsson won the first-ever Honda Indy in Markham, Ont. — an event that saw a change of venue after nearly 40 years at Toronto’s Exhibition Place.
It was a tense battle between Ericsson and Romain Grosjean near the finish, a crucial pass with four laps to go by the Swede proving the decisive factor. Grosjean claimed second place, while Ericsson’s teammate Will Power finished third.
“I think today we won it on pure pace,” Ericsson said. “We were the best car out there, and we won it because we played the game and we pushed when we needed to and we delivered when we needed to.
“That felt really good.”
It was an awkward start to the Markham event, the first practice day having to be cancelled because the track wasn’t completed in time and officials were unable to perform a final security check.
That meant moving both practice and qualifying to the same day on Saturday, before the main event on Sunday.
“IndyCar is incredibly disappointed that our promoter was not able to complete the track build on time, despite significant support from our team on site,” said IndyCar president J. Douglas Boles in a statement. “Ontario has always been a magnificent market for our sport and the number of spectators that attended today is a shining example of that.
“New events can always pose logistical challenges and we join in the frustration of our loyal fans and apologize.”
Toronto FC returns home as CF Montreal signs Alexis Sanchez
MONTREAL, CANADA – AUGUST 15: Alexis Sánchez #10 of CF Montréal walks the pitch as he salutes spectators during halftime in the MLS match between CF Montréal and D.C. United at Saputo Stadium on August 15, 2026 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/MLS via Getty Images)
Soccer returned to BMO Field for the first time since Portugal battled past Croatia at the World Cup, as Toronto FC defeated New England Revolution 2-1 for their first win since April 4.
A return home after six straight road matches certainly helped, but there was no bigger factor than new signing Niklas Dorsch, with the German midfielder firing home a magnificent strike into the top corner to give TFC a crucial two-goal cushion at the stroke of halftime.
TFC is currently 12th in the Eastern Conference standings and four points away from a playoff qualifier. They play four of their next five matches in Toronto and will hope that home momentum can carry them forward.
CF Montreal, meanwhile, made a big splash with the announcement that they have signed Chilean star Alexis Sanchez. The former Barcelona, Arsenal, and Manchester United forward last played for Spanish side Sevilla and brings some much-needed excitement for a Montreal side languishing second from bottom of the East.
The Vancouver Whitecaps continue to fly the flag high for Canada, leading the Western Conference with 37 points from 18 matches.
Dusseldorf, Germany – August 16: Team of Canada celebrate after winning the Women’s 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championships gold medal match between Canada and United States at Flag Football Complex Dusseldorf-Garath on August 16, 2026 in Dusseldorf, Germany. (Photo by Oliver Kaelke/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images)
Canada’s women won the flag football world championship with a 27-20 win over the United States. The result also means that they have clinched qualification for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Frederique Morneau starred for Canada with three touchdown catches while Sara Parker finished as tournament MVP with 23 total touchdown passes.
The Canadian men also clinched an Olympics berth by defeating Mexico 34-26 win in the men’s third-place game.
Noteworthy:
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The Toronto Raptors released their schedule for the 2026-27 season, opening night coming at home against the Chicago Bulls on Oct. 21.
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The Toronto Tempo will take on the Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark on Tuesday, looking to end a 10-game losing streak.
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Hockey Night in Canada: Punjabi Edition has been cancelled after 18 years on the air.