TAKEAWAYS FROM THE 2025 LACROSSE REGISTRATION NUMBERS

 By Pierre Filion pierrefilion@bell.net

Every year at the annual meeting Lacrosse Canada publishes the total number of registered players who play lacrosse in Canada.

Local registrars turn their numbers to their provincial association who in turn send to Lacrosse Canada the number of registered players in their respective provinces. Lacrosse Canada adds up the numbers and issues an official document with the total number of registered players.

1. In 2025 there were 52,782 registered lacrosse players in Canada. In 2024 there were 51,131 which is a gain of 1651 players and a growth of 3.2%. Is this what is called ‘’growing the game’’?

2. It is not possible to ascertain if this was a good year or not because neither the provinces nor Lacrosse Canada had established targets or objectives related to the increase of the number of registered players. Everyone is trying to grow the game but no one has targets for growth.

3.The document published by Lacrosse Canada is called ‘’Membership voting grid’’ based on paid registered numbers provided at the 2025 AGM. This very specific and relevant document is provided only to the eleven (11) presidents of provincial associations at the annual meeting (AGM). It is circulated nowhere and is almost considered a secret document.

4. Lacrosse Canada has a tradition of not publicly issuing the number of its registered players. LC’s website never refers to it but used to proclaim that there were 85,000 participants in Canada. Later that number fell to 60,000 but never do we read about the exact number of registered players.

5. In democratic terms it is unacceptable that an association does not simply inform its paying members of the total number of members within their association. There are no valid reasons not to publicly declare the number of members within an association. Only foggy excuses.

6. It is from this very secret document that Lacrosse Canada collects the players’ membership fees established at 15$ per player per sector. Next year the membership fees will be of 30$ per player per sector; a 100% increase. Now, that is growth!

7. Presuming that players only play in one sector (box, men’s field, women’s field and sixes), which is not the case, Lacrosse Canada would collect from its paying members around 1,583,460$ (52,782 x 30$).

8. Box lacrosse is still the dominant game in Canada with 39,466 players; last year it was 38,157; a 3.4% growth and a net gain of 1309 players. 74.7% of the total membership is from box lacrosse. Lacrosse Canada has one National Team in box lacrosse. Every province has a box lacrosse program.

9. Men’s field lacrosse has lost 102 players from last year going from 8550 players to 8448 in 2025. Men’s field lacrosse represents 16% of LC’s total membership. Lacrosse Canada has two National Teams in men’s field. Nine provinces have a men’s field program; two don’t: First Nations and Newfoundland.

10. Women’s field lacrosse has grown slightly with a gain of 135 players bringing the membership to 3451 registered women and girls; it represents 6.5% of the total membership. Lacrosse Canada has two National Teams in women’s field. Six provinces have a women’s field program; five don’t: Québec, New Brunswick, First Nations, PEI and Newfoundland. Ontario represents 53.7% of the total membership in women’s field.

11. The newest version of the game (Sixes), which will be played at the 2028 Olympic Games, managed to register an ‘’impressive’’ total of 1417 players in 2025. Lacrosse Canada fields two Sixes National Teams. Four provinces have a Sixes program: Manitoba, Ontario, Québec and New Brunswick; the other seven don’t. Ontario registers 72.7% of the registered Sixes players in Canada.

12. The lone box lacrosse National Team rests upon 39,466 registered players; the six other National Teams rest upon 13,316 registered players in men’s field, women’ field and Sixes. The seven National Teams have a budget of 1,078,085$ for about 170 players.

13. Together Ontario, BC and Alberta register 42,645 of the 52,782 registered players; together the three provinces represent 80% of the national membership. Obviously the other eight, together, represent 20% of the national membership.

14. Alberta has grown its numbers of registered players by 6.9%; BC by 5% and Ontario by 3.3%; all those gains are above the national growth of 3.2%.

15. Six provinces have declared growth in 2025 while five have declared losses: Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Québec, FNLA and PEI. Is there anyone at Lacrosse Canada who is concerned by those losses and what will be done about them?

16. Two provinces have declared significant losses; Québec has gone from1169 players to 801 for a loss of 31.4% of its membership. Manitoba’s losses represent 15.1% of its membership. The provincial members of those provinces should be concerned; Lacrosse Canada should also be.

17. Canada’s most effective province, in terms of growth, is New Brunswick which has posted a 27.1% growth going form 701 players to 891 in 2025. New Brunswick (891) has more players than Québec (801).! A clear and steady leadership has seen its growth go from 288 players in 2022 to 891 in 2025; percentage wise no one has done better.

18. From those numbers, if we read them correctly, there is one obvious conclusion: Lacrosse Canada has no plan to increase the number of registered players in Canada and has left the provinces on their own in this domain. Until Lacrosse Canada and the provinces come together to establish a national plan for growth lacrosse will remain a marginal sport, growing somewhere and losing somewhere else one year and the contrary the next year.

19. While other sports have plans to increase the number of their members Lacrosse Canada remains silent and does not even care to release officially the number of its own members. Relevant and credible information in not circulated and a national plan does not exist. Enough said.