According to recent studies, around 77% of Canadians keep up with professional sports.
There are few better ways to spend a weekend night off than watching sports with your favourite comfort food and an ice-cold drink.
The only problem is that most of the best games are hosted by major television networks or exclusive sports streaming platforms that come with an expensive monthly subscription.
There are, however, a few alternative solutions.
Below, I’m going to show you the best ways to watch sports for free in Canada. After all, there’s no substitute for saving money and having a good time.
Can I Stream Live Sports In Canada For Free?
Back in the “old days,” if you wanted to watch a game, you needed to have a cable TV subscription, purchase the match through a pay-per-view platform, or attend the game live in person.
Thanks to the internet, though, it’s easier to view sports today than it’s ever been in the past.
Sports streaming platforms like Sportsnet, DAZN Canada, ESPN and more offer subscribers the ability to watch almost any match they please on-demand.
This is very convenient for those with a busy schedule, as they don’t have to schedule a set viewing time.
While paid sports streaming subscriptions offer the best video quality and versatility, there are several other ways to access free streaming sports in Canada. Some of my top favourites include:
- YouTube (great for sports clips and highlights)
- Facebook Watch (good for certain matches)
- CTV Sports (good for locally-aired matches)
- Twitch TV (great for e-sports and gaming)
Best Free Sports Streaming Sites In Canada
Sports streaming platforms have become very popular, as they make it easy to incorporate sports into your schedule. Before streaming, you’d have to simply hope that you were able to get off early and make it home in time to catch the game or use a DVR to record it (remember those?).
If you’re looking for the best free sports streaming sites in Canada, then you’re in the right place!
Below I’ll show you all of my favourites, which are all updated and working as of October 2022.
Are you ready to get into the game?
1. YouTube
- Watch Free Sports: YouTube
- Available Sports: Basketball, football, soccer, UFC, boxing, racing, and more
YouTube is one of the world’s most-used streaming and video-watching platforms, with over 2.3 billion monthly users.
One of the best things about YouTube is that it’s 100% free! Anybody can log into the platform with their Google account and look up the highlights from the latest matches. This makes it one of the best free sports streaming sites in the world.
To access the greatest variety, you’ll want to sign up for YouTube TV.
As a free user, you can even watch some full matches, games, fights, and races on YouTube.
2. CTV Sports Streaming
- Watch Free Sports: CTV Streaming
- Available Sports: Basketball, Hockey, Baseball, Soccer, Football
CTV offers a 100% free sports streams to all Canadian residents. You don’t need a cable or satellite TV subscription to take advantage of CTV’s free streaming, either.
Once you visit CTVs on-air streaming site, you can watch live sports that are currently being aired in your region. You can also catch up on previous matches if you’re unable to watch them for free.
All of the sports games are ad-supported, so you’ll have to sit through some commercials and video ads. However, this is going to be the case with almost any free sports streaming service in Canada.
The only downside of CTV sports streaming is that the platform doesn’t offer as wide of a variety of matches as you’ll get with a paid streaming platform. It’s an excellent site for local matches, though!
3. CBC Gem Sports
- Watch Free Sports: CBC Gem
- Available Sports: Baseball, Hockey, Soccer, Football, Boxing, Basketball, Rugby
CBC is one of Canada’s largest broadcasting networks and offers a 100% free streaming service to all Canadian residents.
If you’re looking for a match that’s not available on CTV’s free streaming service, then there’s a chance you might find it here. I’ve found that CBC Gem offers a great selection of rugby matches, if you’re into the sport.
All of CBC Gem’s content is ad-supported, which is what allows them to stream for free. However, you can upgrade to a paid subscription if you want an ad-free viewing experience.
4. Food Network
- Watch Free Sports: Food Network TV
- Available Sports: Cooking competitions
This might be a bit of a stretch, but a growing number of the population views cooking competitions as a sport. When you watch these cooking competitions, it’s easy to see why too.
Multiple chefs work on a tight timeline, in a set space, and following strict rules… That definitely sounds like a sport to me!
Food Network offers 100% free, ad-supported streaming of all of your favourite cooking competitions such as Top Chef Canada and Iron Chef Canada.
5. DAZN Canada (Free Trial)
- Watch Free Sports: DAZN Canada
- Available Sports: Football, Hockey, UFC, Boxing, Basketball, Baseball, Rugby, and more
DAZN is one of the top-rated sports streaming services in Canada. With the DAZN platform, you’ll be able to watch almost any game, match, or race that you want, from anywhere in the world.
DAZN is a premium subscription service that typically costs $19.99 per month. However, DAZN also offers a free trial period that new users can take advantage of.
If there’s an upcoming match that you really want to watch, you can time your free trial subscription around the air date of the match so that you can watch it for free.
6. FuboTV (Free Trial)
- Watch Free Sports: FuboTV
- Available Sports: Basketball, Soccer, Boxing, Baseball, Football, Racing, Rugby, and more
FuboTV was designed to completely replace the traditional cable tv subscription. With a FuboTV membership, you’ll be able to watch all of the games that you’d usually be able to view on major television networks.
FuboTV offers plans that start at $70 per month. However, the platform also offers a full one-month free trial period as well.
The free trial is a great time to stream some free sports and see if the platform is right for you at the same time.
7. Facebook Watch
- Watch Free Sports: Facebook
- Available Sports: Basketball, Baseball, Soccer, Boxing, UFC, Olympics, Football, Hockey, and more
Watch is a Facebook hub that’s geared exclusively towards video content. On the Facebook Watch page, you can view clips and highlights of recent games. Occasionally, you’ll be able to find a full-length or half-length match on Facebook.
More than anything, it’s best for quick clips. The main appeal of the platform is that it makes it easy to share clips with your friends and family who are also on Facebook.
8. Reddit Live Sports Streaming
- Watch Free Sports: Reddit Sports
- Available Sports: Baseball, Hockey, Basketball, Football, Boxing, UFC, and more
Reddit is an independent social media network that’s known for its tight-knit communities, fan pages, and information groups.
However, it’s also a great place to catch up on the latest sports news, view clips from recent matches, and discuss the games with Reddit sports groups.
Like Facebook Watch, it’s not necessarily the best place to watch full matches. However, it’s unparalleled when it comes to the sheer variety of global sports clips that you can watch (thanks to Reddit’s global user base).
9. Sportrar.tv
- Watch Free Sports: Sportrar.tv
- Available Sports: Basketball, Baseball, Hockey, Football, Cricket, Rugby, Boxing, and more
Sportrar.tv is an ad-supported streaming website where you can watch recorded sports matches. You won’t find any live sports listed, as all content is uploaded after the air date.
However, it’s one of the few sites that allows you to stream full games for free. The only downside is that the site has lots of pop-up ads and spam content, so you may need to invest in an ad blocker.
10. Twitch
- Watch Free Sports: Twitch TV
- Available Sports: e-sports
If you’re into gaming and e-sports, then you can’t go wrong with Twitch TV. It’s one of the largest streaming platforms in the gaming industry and is frequented by superstars and celebrities. You can watch gaming competitions with the world’s top Call of Duty players and more, all for no monthly fee.
Some of the top-paid gamers in the world stream their daily gaming for free on Twitch, so it’s a good chance to catch them in action.
11. Stream2Watch
- Watch Free Sports: Stream2watch.vip
- Available Sports: Boxing, Baseball, Football, Hockey, Basketball, and more
Compared to other platforms, Stream2Watch is a bit spammy and ad-laden. It’s very similar to the Sportrar website that I mentioned above. You can view and download recordings of recent matches, but you can’t view live matches as they’re happening.
12. ESPN
- Watch Free Sports: ESPN
- Available Sports: Basketball, Football, Hockey, Soccer, Baseball, Boxing, and more
When it comes to free sports streaming sites, ESPN is one of the top authorities in North America. On the website, you’ll be able to watch all of the latest sports clips, see live scores, and even watch full matches.
If you purchase the ESPN+ package, then you’ll have access to a wider variety of live matches and major games. While you can watch free content on ESPN’s website, the ESPN+ streaming package is only available to US residents at this time.
13. Sportsnet NOW Canada
- Watch Free Sports: Watch Sportsnets NOW
- Available Sports: Hockey, Football, Soccer, Boxing, UFC, Basketball, and more
Sportsnet NOW is Canada’s premier sports streaming platform and offers a similar variety of content as ESPN.
If you already have the Sportsnet channel with your regular cable subscription, then you can link your cable account and watch the online platform for free.
Otherwise, you’ll have to pay for the annual subscription, which starts at $200 per year.
Even without an account, you can still watch free highlights and view live scores on the Sportsnet NOW website.
Is Fox Sports Available In Canada?
Fox Sports Go is one of the most popular sports streaming sites in the US. The platform broadcasts a variety of sports programming, including EPL matches, NFL, auto racing, baseball, and others.
Unfortunately, it’s not directly available for streaming in Canada due to geo-restrictions.
These restrictions prohibit Fox Sports Go from streaming games and matches outside of the US, which is the only country it’s licensed to stream in. This can be particularly frustrating if you’re a US resident travelling in Canada.
However, there is a relatively easy workaround that you can use to bypass the geo-blocking function.
Assuming that you already have a Fox Sports Go subscription, you can use a low-cost VPN service like ExpressVPN to “mask” your Canadian IP address and adopt a temporary US IP address.
This effectively allows you to bypass the geo-restrictions, as the Fox Sports servers will see that you’re accessing the platform with a US IP, meaning that you must be located within the country.
This is one of my favourite travel hacks and can be used for just about any major streaming service. Whether I’m home in Canada or travelling through the beaches of Thailand, I can still kick back and stream some TV or catch a match at the end of the day.
What’s The Best Streaming Service For Hockey?
Whether you’re trying to keep up with your favourite team or you’re in a fantasy hockey league, streaming matches online makes it easy, as you can usually watch them any time of the day after they air live.
The top-three streaming platforms for hockey in Canada are:
- TSN+ (The Sports Network)
- Sportsnet NOW
- FuboTV
TSN is arguably one of the best hockey streaming platforms. Unfortunately, though, TSN doesn’t offer any free sports streaming options. To access it, you’ll either need to have TSN through your cable/satellite subscription or purchase a separate TSN+ online streaming subscription.
In my opinion, the best free hockey streaming platform is YouTube.
You won’t be able to view every hockey match for free on YouTube, but it’s a great place to watch old games or catch up on the latest highlights.
- Related Reading: 12 Hockey Cards Worth Big Money
Pay-Per-View vs Streaming subscription: what’s Better?
Some sports streaming services offer a pay-per-view option for non-subscribers to view headline matches, fights, and games.
With so many sports streaming subscriptions available, though, you may be wondering what the point of pay-per-view (PPV) sports is.
Depending on the match in question, pay-per-view may be your only way to watch it. Often, even paid subscriptions require members to pay for major matches (this is especially true when it comes to boxing and martial arts).
If you don’t watch sports all that often, you may find it simpler to sign up for one of the free streaming sites I mentioned above. If there’s a particular match that you want to watch, you can usually buy access through a PPV program.
This will save you money that you’d otherwise have to fork over every month for a full subscription that you’d rarely use.
However, if you’re a major sports fan, and want to keep up with all of the latest matches, then it’s usually more cost-efficient to sign up for a paid sports streaming platform instead of constantly relying on PPV.
Is It Legal To Stream Sports For Free In Canada?
All of the sites that I mentioned above are 100% legal and are either supported by ads or subscriptions. As a viewer, you shouldn’t have any legal issues watching sports for free online.
Conclusion
The best way to watch matches for free in Canada is to head down to your local sports pub and take advantage of their premium subscriptions.
If you’d rather stay at home, though, any of the options I mentioned above are worth checking out.
Looking for more opportunities to watch free TV and movies online? Keep on reading to see my list of the top free streaming platforms in Canada!
