Halifax: A City for Sports Fans

Haligonians are passionate about their city and nowhere is that local spirit and pride of place more evident than in the stands of our local sports teams or along the route of an annual race.

Halifax loves sports and it shows.

Halifax sports teams

Whether it’s on the ice, on the pitch, or in the box, there's something for everyone to cheer about in Halifax. We like to go big or go home, so join the crowd and get behind the home team!

Halifax Wanderers Football Club

Sport: Soccer
League: Canadian Premier League (CPL)
Season: April - October
Home games: Wanderers Grounds

If you come to see the HFX Wanderers FC play, don’t forget to sport your Wanderers blue! One of the newest and most popular additions to Halifax’s sporting landscape is the HFX Wanderers Football Club. The professional soccer team, founded in 2019, plays in the Canadian Premier League.

Nestled between the Halifax Commons and Public Gardens, the Wanderers Grounds is an outdoor stadium that fits about 6,500 enthusiastic soccer fans - with room to grow! The modular stadium is designed to be able to expand as the team grows in popularity, which shouldn’t take long as Halifax proudly boasts the Canadian Premier League's 2021 Player of the Year (and top goal scorer) in Brazilian-born João Morelli.

The now ubiquitous blue ombre jerseys and scarfs are must-have accessories - and will keep you warm during those fall Saturday matches! And fun fact: the club’s motto is Scottish Gaelic for Our Harbour, Our Home, Our Soul. Does it get more East Coast than that?

Halifax Mooseheads Hockey

Sport: Hockey
League: Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Season: October - May
Home games: Scotiabank Centre

Halifax Mooseheads fans are some of the loudest and proudest hockey fans in the country. Home games at the Scotiabank Centre draw thousands of fans and the city is always hopping when it hosts Canada’s best junior hockey players.

Since becoming the first Atlantic Canadian team to join the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), the Moosehead’s home ice has been the launching pad for numerous NHL and Team Canada stars including Alex Tanguay, Nathan MacKinnon, and Jonathan Drouin. In fact, in the 2018-19 NHL season, three of the NHL’s top seven scorers were QMJHL alumni from Halifax – two of them former Mooseheads.

So put on your jersey and follow the herd to Moose Country. And when these super-talented juniors hit the pros one day, you’ll be able to proudly say you saw them play in Halifax!

Halifax Thunderbirds Lacrosse

Sport: Lacrosse
League: National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Season: December - April
Home games: Scotiabank Centre

Lacrosse is Canada’s official summer sport and North America’s oldest sport, dating back over 600 years! The sport has gained a popular following in Halifax in recent years thanks to the Halifax Thunderbirds professional box lacrosse team. The Thunderbirds play in the National Lacrosse League (NLL), having made their debut in 2019 in front of a crowd of almost 7,000 fans.

A night out at a Thunderbirds game provides all the energy of a professional sporting event at an extremely reasonable price. It’s a great way to enjoy a fun night out during the coldest months of the year in Halifax.

University sports

Halifax is home to half a dozen universities, which means that no matter the time of year, there is always a great variety of men’s and women’s sports to enjoy. In the fall, head to Saint Mary’s University's Huskies Stadium, or to Dalhousie’s Wickwire Field to watch the Dal Tigers play. In the winter, check out exciting team sports like basketball and volleyball or get your athletic fix with swimming and indoor track and field.

Dalhousie University Tigers
Saint Mary's University Huskies
Mount Saint Vincent University Mystics
University of King's College Blue Devils

Annual athletic events

Halifax plays host to some of the world’s largest sporting competitions and events, and when it comes to hosting, we know how to do it right.

Blue Nose Marathon

MAY

This much-loved annual event lets you get in on the action (if you want!). If your legs aren’t up for it, it’s worth coming out to cheer as the Blue Nose Marathon winds its way through the city of Halifax.

The race is known as “the people’s marathon” for its reputation for inclusivity, welcoming runners of all ages, abilities and fitness levels. The marathon traditionally takes place in the spring and offers six running events: 5 KM, 10 KM, half marathon, full marathon, team relay and youth run (4 KM and 2 KM).

The race features some challenging hill climbs, but it’s totally worth it to see some of the city’s most beautiful attractions, like Citadel Hill and Point Pleasant Park. And don’t worry - what goes up, must come down!

Maritime Race Weekend

SEPTEMBER

This race is everything quintessential East Coast: stunning coastlines, salty ocean air, pirates, music and of course, beer. It’s like a kitchen party, but with running!

Maritime Race Weekend offers two race distances along a beautiful coastal route: Sunrise 5 KM, Sunset 5 KM, or the Coastal 10 KM – all with stunning views of Atlantic Canada’s seascape. The courses follow the flat coastline of Eastern Passage, showing off the area’s interior beauty and the rolling hills through the Cow Bay area.

Special events in 2022

When you get the opportunity to see the best athletes from around the world do their thing, you take it!

The 2022 ICF Canoe Sprint and Paracanoe World Championships (also known as Canoe '22) will take place from August 3-7, in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Canoe sprint is a race to the line on a flatwater course with international competition set over four distances: 200, 500, 1,000 and 5,000 meters. The ‘City of Lakes’ will welcome athletes, families, officials and fans from across the globe to celebrate sport, community and excellence.

From August 31-September 5, St. Margaret’s Bay will host the World Championships for three Olympic sailing classes: the 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17. This is the first time the 49er, 49erFX and Nacra 17 World Sailing Championships will be held in Canada, drawing more than 400 athletes from over 35 countries. St. Margaret’s Bay is the perfect venue for world-class sailing events thanks to its consistent strong-to-moderate winds and spectacularly beautiful setting.