Canadian flags waved and youngsters cheered as Team Canada athletes returned home Monday after capturing 21 medals, including five gold, on the Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games.
Supporters gathered at airports in Toronto and Montreal, greeting athletes with signs, pom-poms and applause after Canada secured five gold medals together with a series of hard-fought podium finishes.
Canadian ice hockey players Renata Fast, left to right, Natalie Spooner and Ella Shelton speak with media at Pearson Airport in Toronto, on Monday, Feb. 23, 2026.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sammy Kogan
“Feels good, feels good to be back on Canadian soil,” curler Brett Gallant said upon arrival from Milan.
Gallant was a part of Canada’s return to the highest of the rostrum in men’s curling.
“Well it’s been a number of years since Canadian men have been at the highest of the rostrum, so it’s nice to perform that,” he said.
The ladies’s hockey team got here home with silver. Forward Natalie Spooner said the support from home was felt throughout the tournament.
“We felt a lot support from Canada, families and fans across the country and it’s amazing,” she told reporters. “Obviously it was heartbreaking we lost. I believed we had a fantastic game, had our probabilities and it just didn’t go our way.”
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Teammate Sarah Fillier described the championship atmosphere as unforgettable.
“That gold medal game, the constructing was electric and the best environment I’ve ever played in,” she said.
Bobsleigher Keaton Bruggeling, competing in his first Olympics, said the reception back home was overwhelming.
“To have the rallying, feel the pride within the flag, it’s an unbelievable feeling,” he said.
In Montreal, speedskater Valérie Maltais returned with three medals and the honour of serving as a flagbearer on the closing ceremony. “I got really emotional,” she said of the homecoming.
Freestyle skier Mikaël Kingsbury, probably the most decorated mogul skiers in the game’s history, brought home gold in dual moguls and likewise carried the Canadian flag.
“To win that in mogul skiing, the primary gold medal and the primary for Canada, and to be a flag bearer, it was huge,” he said.
Back in Toronto, members of the family waited eagerly for reunions. Marie Spooner said she was pleased with her daughter’s effort. “She has worked very hard to get there,” she said.
Fans lining the arrivals area said the Games helped unite the country. “It’s nice, it’s unity, bringing people together from all around the country,” one supporter said.
More athletes are expected to return in the times ahead.
