Jay Triano, Chief Wilton Littlechild and Canada’s 1990 women’s hockey team have been named the 2026 inductees into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, with the “Legacy Edition” to receive the Order of Sport on Nov. 4 in Gatineau, Que.
For basketball and hockey fans across Canada, the call went out this week with a familiar weight behind it: three names and one landmark team—each tied to turning points that changed what sport could be—will be formally recognized by Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.
Jay Triano, Chief Wilton Littlechild and the 1990 Canadian women’s hockey team were named the 2026 inductees on Wednesday. The class of 2026 will receive the Order of Sport on Nov. 4 at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que.
The Hall dubbed the 2026 group the “Legacy Edition. ” set to be inducted in the “Trailblazer” category as people who broke barriers. redefined their sport and created new opportunities for future generations. The institution is also a hybrid—physical and online—backed by digital storytelling through a national school program and the Indigenous Sport Heroes Education experience.
Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame has inducted over 750 Canadians since 1955 as athletes, builders and trailblazers. Its 100,000 objects and 60,000 archival records are housed in the Canadian Museum of History.
Cheryl Bernard. the Hall of Fame president and chief executive officer. framed the recognition as an acknowledgement of more than just the people who stood on podiums. In a statement Wednesday. she said: “The Legacy Edition of the Order of Sport Awards allows us to recognize the full ecosystem that makes Canadian sport so powerful — from trailblazing athletes and visionaries to families. community leaders. and organizations whose leadership has shaped opportunity for generations.”.
Triano’s path runs straight through the biggest stage in basketball. He was the first Canadian to be an NBA head coach. spending three seasons with the Toronto Raptors starting in 2008. and then serving with the Phoenix Suns in 2017. The 67-year-old from Tillsonburg, Ont., is currently an assistant coach with the Dallas Mavericks.
His hockey resume and international experience don’t sit in the background either. Triano captained the Canadian men’s team in the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games. He also coached Canada’s national team led by Steve Nash at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. Australia. where Canada lost by five points to France in the quarterfinals.
The women’s hockey team being inducted in 1990 carries its own credibility story—one that reshaped how the game was viewed internationally. In Ottawa, Canada won the first International Ice Hockey Federation-sanctioned world championship in women’s hockey. The victory helped establish the credibility of women’s ice hockey internationally and paved the path to Olympic inclusion eight years later.
For Chief Wilton Littlechild, recognition isn’t coming from one lane of contribution—it’s a second look at a lifetime built across sport and public service. The 82-year-old from Maskwacis, Alta., will be recognized by the Hall a second time after entering as a builder in 2018.
Littlechild established the first all-Indigenous hockey team in Alberta in the 1970s. He co-founded the North American Indigenous Games in 1990 and was a proponent of the International Indigenous Games first held in 2015.
His influence extended beyond the rink and beyond sport culture. He was the first Treaty First Nations person elected to Parliament in Canada in 1988.
The Hall is encouraging Canadians to nominate people for the Hall of Fame. A selection committee reviews submissions and votes to recommend inductees to the Hall’s board of governors.
The “Legacy Edition” isn’t the only recognition tied to this year’s ceremony. The Hall will also extend Legacy awards this year to sports businessman Larry Tanenbaum, the Southern family of Calgary’s Spruce Meadows and the Canada Games Council and Special Olympics Canada.
And at a community level, Edmonton’s Tim Adams—the founder and executive director of Free Play for Kids—will receive a community champion award.
Canada Sports Hall of Fame 2026 Jay Triano Chief Wilton Littlechild 1990 Canadian women's hockey team Order of Sport Gatineau Legacy Edition Dallas Mavericks Toronto Raptors Phoenix Suns
So they’re getting inducted again? Sounds like a whole ceremony thing, I guess.
Chief Wilton Littlechild getting in is kinda cool but I had no idea he was connected to hockey? I thought it was just sports athletes. Either way, love seeing women’s hockey get the spotlight.
Wait, Triano… like the coach? I always thought the 1990 women’s team was more of a thing for soccer not hockey tbh. Also “Legacy Edition” sounds like marketing but if it’s true trailblazing then sure. Why is it in Gatineau though, couldn’t they do it in Toronto?
I read the part about the Order of Sport on Nov. 4 and was like oh wow that’s soon, then I got lost in all the “Trailblazer” category stuff. Didn’t realize the Hall of Fame is also online and has a school program?? Kinda wish they would just focus on the winners, but I guess recognizing “families and organizations” makes sense. Still, I’m confused how they decided who counts as a visionary vs athlete.