2025 was a year that a world-class soccer star arrived and pushed the Whitecaps to new heights, even as the Canucks bid goodbye to perhaps the best defenceman the franchise has ever known.
Here are the top British Columbia sports stories of 2025
* Prince Harry was among the global star power that gathered in B.C. in February as we hosted an emotional and inspiring Invictus games.
Retired air force officer bookends career with trip to Whistler for Invictus
* Season-long controversy tied to alleged mistreatment of a Vancouver Island trans basketball player by a Fraser Valley college team ended with an unexpected result.
CBC Bearcats win national women’s basketball title as controversial year ends in Cinderella fashion
* The province’s first professional hockey championship in a century finally came to B.C. this spring.
CALDER CUP CHAMPIONS: Abbotsford Canucks win AHL’s top prize
* The door slammed shut suddenly and unexpectedly on Fraser Downs, B.C.’s last professional horse race track.
Fraser Downs closes; horse racing over for good in Cloverdale
* Vancouver’s pro soccer standard-bearer welcomed an international superstar on the way to its best MLS season ever.
Whitecaps’ hot summer may lead to winning fall with Müller in town
* The B.C.-born backbone of Canada’s national women’s team shone as her squad took the world stage by storm
Oak Bay’s Sophie de Goede named World Rugby Player of the Year
* Popular former Canuck coach Bruce Boudreau had a new minor hockey trophy named in his honour
New AHL award named after former Vancouver Canucks head coach
* Former Hockey Night in Canada stalwart entered sport B.C.’s most hallowed hall.
Legendary hockey voice Hughson inducted into B.C. Sports Hall of Fame
* The world tipped its hat to a burgeoning B.C. ski destination
Revelstoke boasts world’s best powder, according to global ski resort ranking
* B.C. rugby star honoured with the coveted Tom Longboat award.
B.C.’s Shalaya Valenzuela named Canada’s top Indigenous female athlete
* Women’s professional hockey arrived on the scene for the first time in B.C.
Meet the Goldeneyes: PWHL Vancouver reveals team name
* A season of growing momentum for the province’s CFL side ended one round short
Roughriders rally to beat B.C. Lions 24-21, advance to 2025 Grey Cup
* Record-busting Vernon ultra athlete Shanda Hill, announced her retirement from competition mid-race in Taiwan.
B.C. ultra athlete retires while wheeling toward world record
* Women’s pro soccer is one year old in Canada, and B.C.’s team is undefeated in championships.
Vancouver Rise FC win inaugural Northern Super League Diana B. Matheson Cup
* The hype began to reach fever pitch as soccer fans learned what’s in store for BC Place next year.
Canada to play Switzerland, Qatar in Vancouver as World Cup
* Two months of early-season speculation ended suddenly for Vancouver hockey fans
Canucks trade captain Quinn Hughes to Minnesota in hockey stunner