Canada coach Bev Priestman named her final roster for the FIFA Women’s World Cup on Sunday, acknowledging wins and losses on the injury front ahead of the 32-team tournament that opens July 20 in Australia and New Zealand.
Because of the health question marks, Priestman waited until virtually the last minute to announce her squad, just ahead of FIFA’s Monday deadline.
“I’m proud to name this dynamic and exciting 23-player roster,” the 37-year-old coach said in a statement. “I know every single person has given their all to make this squad. It’s a great mix of veterans, experienced and new players who can all bring something different this summer.”
The seventh-ranked Olympic champion Canadians are currently in camp on Australia’s scenic Gold Coast preparing for their tournament opener July 20 against No. 40 Nigeria in Melbourne. Canada will then head 2,700 kilometres west to Perth to face No. 22 Ireland on July 26 before returning to Melbourne to complete Group B play against No. 10 Australia on July 31.
The competition runs through Aug. 20 across nine host cities in Australia and New Zealand. The Canadians, who have been fighting off the field with Canada Soccer to secure a labour agreement, will wage their campaign entirely in Australia under the draw.
The two biggest question marks were midfielder Desiree Scott and forward Nichelle Prince. Scott picked up a knee injury at the end of the 2022 season that required surgery while Prince has been recovering from an Achilles injury.
The 35-year-old Scott, a veteran of the 2011, 2015 and 2109 World Cups, did not make the roster. The hard-nosed defensive midfielder whose nickname is The Destroyer, has won 186 caps for Canada and captains the NWSL’s Kansas City Current.
The 28-year-old Prince, a speedy Houston Dash attacker with 90 caps, did make the cut.
Defender Jade Rose, a rising star at just 20, was forced to withdraw from the pre-tournament camp due to injury.
Janine Beckie will also miss the World Cup after undergoing knee surgery. The influential and versatile forward, who tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee in March in a Portland Thorns pre-season game, has 36 goals in 101 appearances for Canada.
“I’m naturally devastated for the players who have missed out, especially due to injuries, but I know every player will be with us on our journey and have been pivotal in getting us to this point,” said Priestman.
The injuries provided a reprieve for defender Gabby Carle, who was not originally invited to the pre-tournament camp. The 24-year-old Carle, who was part of the Canadian gold-medal team at the Tokyo Olympics, has won 24 caps.
Midfielder Marie-Yasmine Alidou and forward Clarissa Larisey, also invited to the camp, did not make the final roster.
Forward Deanne Rose makes the final roster despite a lengthy absence due to an Achilles injury, but saw brief action with Reading at the end of the English club season.
Defenders Shelina Zadorsky and Jayde Riviere also endured illness/injury issues this season but recovered in time to secure their roster spot.
The injuries have meant Priestman has not been able to field a consistent 11 ahead of the tournament. The Canadian women last played April 11, when they lost 2-1 to No. 5 France in Le Mans.
Canada plays a final tune-up game against No. 4 England on Friday behind closed doors. The two teams could meet again in the round of 16 at the tournament.
Captain Christine Sinclair will be taking part in her sixth World Cup, having made her debut at the soccer showcase in 2003. She has also played at four Olympics and two Pan American Games.
The 40-year-old from Burnaby, B.C., is the world’s all-time leading goal-scorer with 190 from 323 senior appearances, including 310 starts. Sinclair scored in each of her five previous World Cup appearances.
Other veterans include Sophie Schmidt (221), Kadeisha Buchanan (131 caps), Ashley Lawrence (117), Jessie Fleming (115), Allysha Chapman (96), Adriana Leon (96), Prince (90), Zadorsky (89) and Quinn (89), who goes by one name.
The 35-year-old Schmidt has said she will retire from international football after the tournament, her fifth World Cup.
Buchanan, Chapman, Fleming, Lawrence and Leon will each be appearing at their third World Cup.
Youngsters on the roster include 18-year-old midfielder Olivia Smith (two caps) and 19-year-old midfielder Simi Awujo (six caps).
Smith, a freshman at Penn State who plans to cut her collegiate career short to turn pro, was 12 when she made her debut in the Canadian youth program in 2017 under Priestman. Smith, a late addition to the pre-tournament camp, helped Canada qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup with a 5-3 win over Costa Rica in June.
Awujo, a sophomore at USC, represented the U.S. at the youth level before switching national associations to play for Canada. In December, she was named Canada Soccer Young Player of the Year.
Neither was born when Sinclair, in her second senior outing, scored her first goal for Canada in March 2000 in a 2-1 loss to Norway at the Algarve Cup.
The squad has an average age of 27 with a combined caps total of 1,745 (with Sinclair and Schmidt accounting for 544 of those). Goalkeeper Lysianne Proulx is the lone uncapped member of the squad.
Thirteen of the 23 play their club football in Europe with nine of those in England, including Chelsea’s Buchanan, Fleming and Lawrence and Arsenal’s Sabrina D’Angelo and Cloe Lacasse.
Sinclair, who captains Portland, is one of eight NWSL players.
Seventeen of the 23 were part of the 2019 World Cup roster, joined by Awujo, Lacasse, Smith, Proulx, defender Vanessa Gilles and forward Evelyne Viens. The Canadians exited in the round of 16 four years ago in France, beaten 1-0 by Sweden.
Canada avenged that loss by defeating the Swedes 3-2 in a penalty shootout in the Tokyo Olympic final.
CANADA WORLD CUP ROSTER
Goalkeepers: Sabrina D’Angelo, Welland, Ont., Arsenal (England); Lysianne Proulx, Boucherville, Que., SCU Torreense (Portugal); Kailen Sheridan, Whitby, Ont., San Diego Wave (NWSL)
Defenders: Kadeisha Buchanan, Chelsea (England); Gabrielle Carle, Levis, Que., Washington Spirit (NWSL); Allysha Chapman, Courtice, Ont., Houston Dash (NWSL); Vanessa Gilles, Ottawa, Olympique Lyonnais (France); Ashley Lawrence, Caledon East, Ont., Chelsea (England); Jayde Riviere, Markham, Ont., Manchester United (England); Shelina Zadorsky, Kitchener and London, Ont., Tottenham Hotspur (England).
Midfielders: Simi Awujo, Atlanta, USC; Jessie Fleming, London, Ont., Chelsea (England); Julia Grosso, Vancouver, Juventus (Italy); Quinn, Toronto, OL Reign (NWSL); Sophie Schmidt, Abbotsford, B.C., Houston Dash (NWSL).
Midfielders/Forwards: Christine Sinclair (capt.), Maple Ridge, B.C., Portland Thorns (NWSL); Olivia Smith, Whitby, Ont., Penn State.
Forwards: Jordyn Huitema, Chilliwack, B.C., OL Reign (NWSL); Cloe Lacasse, Sudbury, Ont., Arsenal (England); Adriana Leon, Maple and King City, Ont., Manchester United (England); Nichelle Prince, Ajax, Ont., Houston Dash (NWSL); Deanne Rose, Alliston, Ont., Reading (England); Evelyne Viens, L’Ancienne-Lorette, Que., Kristianstads DFF (Sweden).
EDMONTON – The legendary k.d. lang got the band back together at the Canadian Country Music Association awards show.
Lang teamed up with the Reclines for the first time in 35 years to belt out “Big Boned Gal” from their last album together in 1989.
Clad in a blue and green western-style dress, lang strut across the stage in Edmonton to embody the “big boned gal from southern Alberta.”
The awards show saw Alberta’s MacKenzie Porter and Ontario’s Josh Ross take home hardware for being best female and male artists of the year.
Ross also won entertainer of the year and single of the year for “Trouble.”
Ontario artist Jade Eagleson won album of the year for “Do It Anyway.”
The James Barker Band from Woodville, Ont., won fans’ choice and group of the year.
During their acceptance speech, frontman Barker hinted at new music and a possible tour in 2025.
Ross says he and his band play roughly 150 shows every year and are never home, but says taking home entertainer of the year made the hard work worth it.
Porter won for female artist of the year and top video for “Chasing Tornadoes.”
The female artist win ends the five-year streak of Tenille Townes being awarded the coveted hardware.
Porter had been nominated seven times previously for the award in the past decade but hadn’t won until now.
The artist from Medicine Hat, Alta., says it takes a lot of hard work and hustle to succeed as a female in the country music industry and gave a shout out to her fellow singers and her newborn daughter.
Joining the two artists in the winners’ circle was Ontario singer-songwriter Owen Riegling, who won for breakthrough artist of the year.
The show began with American artist and co-host Thomas Rhett being dubbed an honorary Canadian by Edmonton Oilers players Corey Perry and Leon Draisaitl.
Rhett donned an Oilers jersey that was gifted to him by the pair.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.
EDMONTON – Ontario country artist Jade Eagleson has won album of the year at the 2024 Canadian Country Music Association Awards in Edmonton.
The singer from Bailieboro, Ont., was up for six awards alongside Alberta’s MacKenzie Porter.
Eagleson took home album of the year for “Do It Anyway” and says he’s thankful to his wife and management team for helping him reach the level he’s at.
The James Barker Band from Woodville, Ont., also won fans’ choice and group of the year at the award show, held in Edmonton.
During their acceptance speech, frontman Barker hinted at new music and a possible tour in 2025.
Another Ontario crooner, Josh Ross, has taken home a trio of awards, receiving entertainer of the year, male artist of the year and single of the year.
He says he and his band play roughly 150 shows every year and are never home, but says taking home entertainer of the year makes the hard work worth it.
Porter took home female artist of the year, ending the five-year streak of Tenille Townes being awarded the coveted hardware.
Porter had been nominated seven times previously for the award in the past decade but hadn’t won until tonight.
The artist from Medicine Hat, Alta., says it takes a lot of hard work and hustle to succeed as a female in the country music industry and gave a shout out to her fellow singers and her newborn daughter.
Joining the two artists in the winners’ circle was Ontario singer-songwriter Owen Riegling, who won for breakthrough artist of the year.
The show began with American artist and co-host Thomas Rhett being dubbed an honorary Canadian by Edmonton Oilers players Corey Perry and Leon Draisaitl.
Rhett donned an Oilers jersey that was gifted to him by the pair.
The return of k.d. lang and the Reclines was expected to be a highlight of the show.
The appearance will mark the first time the Alberta songstress has teamed up with the band in 35 years and is tied to lang’s induction into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.
The awards show is back in Alberta’s capital for the first time since 2014. It was held in Hamilton last year and in Calgary in 2022.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.
VANDERHOOF, B.C. – British Columbia Conservatives are promising changes they say will bring more stability to the province’s struggling forest industry.
Leader John Rustad announced his plan for the sector a week before the official launch of the provincial election campaign, saying a Conservative government would do away with stumpage fees paid when timber is harvested and instead put a tax on the final products that are produced.
Rustad said Saturday that under a provincial Conservative government, a small fee may be charged upfront, but the bulk would come at the end of the process, depending on what type of product is created.
He also promised to review how wildfires are managed, as well as streamline the permit process and review what he calls the province’s “uncompetitive cost structure.”
“British Columbia is by far the highest cost producers of any jurisdiction in North America. We need to be able to drive down those costs, so that our forest sector can actually be able to do the reinvestment, to be able to create the jobs and make sure that they’re still there to be able to support our communities,” he said.
The governing New Democrats meanwhile, say eliminating stumpage fees would inflame the softwood lumber dispute with the United States and hurt forestry workers.
In a statement issued by the NDP, Andrew Mercier, the party’s candidate in Langley-Willowbrook, said Rustad failed to support the industry when he was in government under the former BC Liberals.
“Not only will Rustad’s old thinking and recycled ideas fail to deliver, his proposal to eliminate stumpage would inflame the softwood lumber dispute — punishing forestry workers and communities,” Mercier said, accusing Rustad of ignoring the complexity of the challenges facing the industry.
The softwood lumber dispute between the U.S. and Canada stretches back decades. In August, the U.S. Department of Commerce nearly doubled duties on softwood lumber.
International Trade Minister Mary Ng has said Canada has taken steps to launch two legal challenges under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement.
Rustad said a provincial Conservative government would push hard to get a deal with the United States over the ongoing dispute “whether it’s with the rest of Canada or by itself.”
He said his party’s proposed changes are in the name of bringing “stability” and “hope” to the industry that has seen multiple closures of mills in rural communities over the last several years.
Most recently, Canfor Corp. decided to shutter two northern British Columbia sawmills earlier this month, leaving hundreds of workers unemployed by the end of the year.
According to the United Steelworkers union, Canfor has closed 10 mills in the province since November 2011, including nine in northern B.C.
Jeff Bromley, chair of the United Steelworkers wood council, said Saturday the idea of changes in favour of taxing the final product has been floated in the past.
He said the finer details of the Conservative plan will be important, but that the system needs to be improved and “new ideas are certainly something I’d be willing to entertain.”
“Something needs to happen, or the industry is just going to bleed and wither away and be a shadow of its former self,” Bromley said.
“Politics aside, if (Rustad) can come up with a policy that enables my members to work, then I would be supportive of that. But then I’m supportive of any government that would come up with policies and fibre for our mills to run. Period.”
When Canfor announced its latest closures, Forests Minister Bruce Ralston said the sector was a “foundational part” of the province and the current NDP government would work to support both local jobs and wood manufacturing operations.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024
