Welcome to the Canada Games Collection!

Fourth-year History student Kirsten Koop and graduates Mike Storms (BA ’22) and Paige Groot (BA ’22) look through some of the more than 6,000 Canada Games slides, photos and images being digitized for the SOHA.

The trio were part of a team that collected stories from athletes and volunteers about the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games.

Photo by Cathy Majtenyi.

What is the project?

The purpose of the Canada Games Collection is to record and preserve the history and legacy of the Canada Games through the memories and experiences of athletes, coaches, Games officials, volunteers, and Canada Games Council (CGC) members. These interviews reveal the impact the Canada Games have had on Canadian sport, individuals, and host communities since 1967.

The interviews in the collection were recorded virtually between July and October 2020 in the lead-up to the Niagara 2021 Canada Summer Games. Shortly after the completion of the interviews, the Games were rescheduled for August 2022.

We invite you watch and/or listen to these interviews and learn about the history of the Canada Games and the impact the Games have had on our contributors, their families, friends, and their communities. If there is a theme or subject you are interested in, type it into the search bar in the top right-hand corner of this page, and see if any of the contributors discuss it in their interview.

Team Alberta goaltender Eastman takes a break during a men's box lacrosse game against Team Ontario, 1985.

Partners:

In collaboration with the Canada Games Council.

This project was made possible through generous funding from Brock University through its Match of Minds program, the Centre for Pedagogical Innovation, VPR Canada Games, the Faculty of Humanities, and the Humanities Research Institute, as well as from CEWIL Canada, and TechNation.

Canada Games Collection oral history interviews.

Contributors:

The Canada Games collections features 26 oral history interviews with Canada Games athletes, coaches, Games officials, volunteers, and Canada Games Council members, and insight from 47 volunteers and 44 athletes from the 2022 Niagara Canada Summer Games. From the SOHA team, we would like to thank all of our interviewees for their stories and their time. Without your contributions, there would be no collection to showcase.

Members of the Canada Games Council were at Brock University Oct. 20 to drop off more than 66,000 photos, slides and images as part of a collaborative digitization project with the SOHA.

Co-directors of the SOHA Elizabeth Vlossak, Associate Professor of History, and Julie Stevens, Associate Professor of Sport Management and Special Advisor, Canada Games, are pictured receiving one of the 14 boxes from Canada Games Council representatives Kelly-Ann Paul and Amélie Proulx.

Image by Alison Innes.

Canada Games Council Photograph Collection Digitization Initiative:

Since September 2021, the SOHA, in collaboration with the Canada Games Council, has been digitizing the Canada Games Council’s photograph collection of over 66,000 prints, slides, and negatives dating back to the first Games in 1967.  

The purpose of this digitization initiative is both to preserve the photographic legacy of the Canada Games Council and to make the images more accessible to the public. The goal was to digitize 500-1,000 of the images, however the SOHA has since preserved more than 2,000 photographs. You can learn more about the photographs and the stories behind them in the special exhibits curated by students from Brock University.  

The special exhibit "The Beginning of Greatness: The Development of High-Performance Women’s Ice Hockey at the Canada Games" was presented at three research conferences: "Two Days of Canada: Canada at Play," "Society for International Hockey Research (SIHR) annual general meeting," and "Middle Atlantic New England Council for Canadian Studies (MANECCS) bi-annual research conference." The quality of research was recognized by MANECCS with the George Sulzer Young Scholar's Award.

Jayna Hefford (Ontario #15) during a women's ice hockey game against Team Nova Scotia, 1995.

Hefford, the second captain of Team Ontario and a five-time Olympian, was the sixth female inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, and one of only three women’s ice hockey players who have won four Olympic gold medals.

Navigating the Collection:

On the side of the web page, you will find a menu bar to navigate the Canada Games Collection.

“Interviews” display the 26 oral history interviews conducted for the collection. Interviews were conducted with athletes, coaches, Games officials, volunteers, and Canada Games Council members.

“Images” provide more information on the Canada Games Council Photograph Collection Digitization Initiative.

“Special Exhibits” showcases the exhibits curated by students in Brock University’s Department of History as part of HIST4P50 – Directed Research. Students digitized parts of the Canada Games Council’s photograph collection, and then each developed an exhibit using both the images and oral history interviews in the Canada Games Collection that sheds new light on the history of the Canada Games and their legacy on Canadian sport, youth, and communities. The exhibits include the history and legacy of high-performance women’s ice hockey at the Canada Games, and the history and evolution of lacrosse in Canadian sport and society.

“Athletes Corner” presents 44 athletes’ answer to the question: “what do the Canada Games mean to you?” Here you can browse through their answers and learn about athletes’ experience at the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games.

“Volunteers Corner” presents 47 volunteers’ answer to the question: “what do the Canada Games mean to you?” Their answers offer insight into the volunteer experience at the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games, and the importance of volunteering to ensure the Canada Games continue going strong.