sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½

TORONTO — The Professional Women's Hockey League has struck a multi-year agreement with Canadian Tire to be the league's first funding partner. 

The collaboration includes sponsorship of the PWHL’s inaugural draft on Sept. 18 in Toronto.

Canadian Tire has committed to allocate a minimum of 50 per cent of its sponsorship dollars towards women’s professional sports by 2026 through its Women’s Sports Initiative.

The company was one of the premier sponsors which permanently ended its relationship with Hockey sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ because of the national sporting organization's handling of sexual assault allegations in the past.

The PWHL was officially introduced on Aug. 29 with an announcement naming its six markets between sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ and the U.S. 

The teams will be in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Boston, Minneapolis-St. Paul, and the New York City area, with play set to begin in January.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2023.

The Canadian Press