Canada competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, with a team of 196 athletes and 220 support staff.
As host of the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics, Canada was pressured to do well at the 2006 Games. The Canadian Olympic Committee's goal for 2006 was to have a top three finish in the medal count or 25 total medals, as a start to reach their goal of having the highest medal count at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia. Canada had managed to increase its medal count at each Winter Olympics since the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, United States. World Cup results from the 2005–06 season seemed to indicate that Canada would have a good performance in Turin, Italy. Canada met one of those goals and nearly met the other by finishing third behind the United States and Germany with 24 medals.FIS-Ski The Games were also the first litmus test for the increased athletic funding and resources pursued by the Own the Podium 2010 program.
Another task for the Canadian contingent was to promote the 2010 Games, Vancouver and surrounding region, the province of British Columbia, as well as Canada as a nation. This was evident in the Canadian participation in the closing ceremonies of the Games and the establishment of the Canada House in Turin. The Games also provided opportunities for organizing committees to gather experience and strategies to run the Games in Vancouver.
Medalists Canada's total medal count of 24 was the highest ever won by the nation in any Winter Olympics, and was the second highest total for the country at any Olympic games (summer or winter), exceeded only by the 44 medals won at the 1984 Summer Olympics which were boycotted by the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc countries. Not only did Canada increase its total medal count from the previous Winter Games for the 7th straight time (since 1980), but the total medal count was also the "best ever" for Canada for the 5th straight time (since 1992).
Canada won at least one medal in 10 of the 15 sport disciplines competed at the games, and gold medals in 6 different disciplines; both feats were unmatched by any other nation. Canada also had the most 4th and 5th-place finishes (14 and 9 respectively) of any country in these games. These results support the effectiveness of the Own the Podium 2010 program.
Cindy Klassen bested the total Olympic medals collected in a single Games by a Canadian, with 5, and bested the total Olympic medal count of any Canadian (Winter and Summer) with 6. The previous record of 3 medals at a single Olympics was held by Gaetan Boucher for the 1984 Winter Olympics and Marc Gagnon at the 2002 Winter Olympics. Meanwhile, Clara Hughes tied the old mark of 5 career Olympic medals, held by Marc Gagnon and Phil Edwards. Sixteen of the 24 medals were won by female athletes. At age 50, Russ Howard became the oldest Canadian gold medalist in Olympic history.
| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"| MedalNameSportEventDate Freestyle skiing Women's moguls February 11 Skeleton Men's February 17 Ice hockey Women's February 20 Speed skating Women's 1500 m February 22 Cross-country skiing Women's sprint February 22 Jamie KorabRuss HowardMark NicholsMike Adam Curling Men's February 24 Speed skating Women's 5000 m February 25 Beckie Scott Cross-country skiing Women's team sprint February 14 Steven Elm,Denny Morrison Jason ParkerJustin Warsylewicz Speed skating Men's team pursuit February 16 Clara HughesCindy KlassenChristine NesbittShannon Rempel Speed skating Women's team pursuit February 16 Skeleton Men's February 17 Speed skating Women's 1000 m February 19 Lascelles Brown Bobsleigh Two-man February 19 Anouk Leblanc-BoucherAmanda OverlandKalyna RobergeTania Vicent Short track speed skating Women's 3000 m relay February 22 Speed skating Women's 1500 m February 22 Short track speed skating Men's 500 m February 25 Jonathan GuilmetteCharles HamelinFrançois-Louis TremblayMathieu Turcotte Short track speed skating Men's 5000 m relay February 25 Speed skating Women's 3000 m February 12 Short track speed skating Women's 500 m February 15 Figure skating Men's singles February 16 Skeleton Women's February 16 Snowboarding Women's snowboard cross February 17 Amy Nixon Glenys BakkerChristine KeshenSandra Jenkins Curling Women's February 23 Speed skating Women's 5000 m February 25 | style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|
Medals by sportSportTotalSpeed skating2428Skeleton1113Cross-country skiing1102Curling1012Freestyle skiing1001Ice hockey1001Short track speed skating0314Bobsleigh0101Figure skating0011Snowboarding0011Total710724
Alpine skiing
Men AthleteEventFinalRun 1Run 2Run 3TotalRankPatrick BiggsSlalom54.38Did not finishFrançois BourqueSuper-Gn/a1:31.278Giant slalom1:16.611:19.31n/a2:35.924Combined1:40.5047.5246.233:14.2521Thomas GrandiGiant slalom1:17.231:19.65n/a2:36.8810Slalom53.6451.20n/a1:44.849Erik GuaySuper-Gn/a1:31.084Michael JanykSlalom55.3250.87n/a1:46.1917John KuceraDownhilln/a1:51.5527Super-Gn/a1:32.1022Combined1:41.0446.6745.553:13.2617Manuel Osborne-ParadisDownhilln/a1:50.4513Super-Gn/a1:32.0220Combined1:39.6950.11Did not startJean-Philippe RoyGiant slalom1:17.36Did not finishSlalomDid not finishRyan SempleGiant slalomDid not finishCombined1:41.65Did not finish
Women AthleteEventFinalRun 1Run 2Run 3TotalRankBrigitte ActonGiant slalom1:02.071:09.64n/a2:11.7111Slalom44.7547.15n/a1:31.9017Combined40.1844.591:30.982:55.7510Emily BrydonDownhilln/a1:58.9720Super-Gn/a1:33.509Combined40.9445.651:29.922:56.5113Sherry LawrenceDownhilln/a2:00.4727Super-Gn/a1:35.4734Christina LustenbergerGiant slalomDid not finishShona RubensDownhilln/a2:00.3026CombinedDid not finishGenevieve SimardSuper-Gn/a1:34.3820Giant slalom1:01.471:09.26n/a2:10.735Kelly VanderbeekDownhilln/a1:59.6324Super-Gn/a1:33.094
Note: In the men's combined, run 1 is the downhill, and runs 2 and 3 are the slalom. In the women's combined, run 1 and 2 are the slalom, and run 3 the downhill.
Biathlon
AthleteEventFinalTimeMissesRankMartine AlbertWomen's sprint27:04.4273Women's individual59:52.1565Robin CleggMen's sprint29:12.4351Men's pursuit40:30.33744Men's individual59:21.5236Sandra KeithWomen's sprint26:20.7366Women's individual55:56.3242Zina KocherWomen's sprint26:11.1462Women's individual54:18.8327Jean-Philippe LeguellecMen's sprint29:32.3260Men's individual1:00:28.0348David LeoniMen's sprint28:50.4142Men's pursuit41:07.41647Men's individual1:02:37.8665Marie-Pierre ParentWomen's sprint27:31.1276Women's individual1:02:57.1477Zina Kocher Sandra KeithMartine AlbertMarie-Pierre ParentWomen's relay1:26:09.71117
Bobsleigh
AthleteEventFinalRun 1Run 2Run 3Run 4TotalRankSerge DespresDavid BissettTwo-man56.1355.9256.6956.933:45.6711Pierre LuedersLascelles BrownTwo-man 55.57 55.50 56.11 56.41 3:43.59 Suzanne Gavine-HladyJamie CruickshankTwo-woman58.4957.8658.6558.823:53.8213Helen UppertonHeather MoyseTwo-woman 57.37 57.77 58.09 57.83 3:51.06 4Serge DespresNathan CunninghamSteve LarsenDavid BissettFour-man56.1056.1555.6955.583:43.5218Pierre LuedersKen KotykMorgan AlexanderLascelles BrownFour-man 55.34 55.43 54.95 55.20 3:40.92 4
Cross-country skiing
Sean Crooks was suspended for 5 days by the International Ski Federation for having excessive hemoglobin levels. He was able to participate in the men's sprint and 4× 10 km relay.
Distance AthleteEventFinalTotalRankAmanda AmmarWomen's 10 km classical31:51.754Chandra CrawfordWomen's 15 km pursuit50:35.460Drew GoldsackMen's 15 km classical42:09.353Men's 30 km pursuit1:24:14.356George GreyMen's 15 km classical40:43.931Men's 30 km pursuit1:19:08.925Men's 50 km freestyle2:09:38.444Chris JeffriesMen's 30 km pursuit1:26:17.061Men's 50 km freestyle2:13:49.558Devon KershawMen's 15 km classical41:42.747Sara RennerWomen's 10 km classical28:33.08Women's 15 km pursuit44:30.916Dan RoycroftMen's 15 km classical42:39.758Men's 30 km pursuit1:20:53.339Men's 50 km freestyle2:13:47.557Beckie ScottWomen's 10 km classicalDisqualifiedWomen's 15 km pursuit43:20.66Milaine TheriaultWomen's 10 km classical31:30.446Women's 15 km pursuit48:38.954Women's 30 km freestyleDid not startDevon KershawSean CrooksChris JeffriesGeorge GreyMen's 4 x 10 km relay1:48:15.911Milaine TheriaultSara RennerAmanda AmmarBeckie ScottWomen's 4 x 5 km relay56:49.810
Sprint AthleteEventQualifyingQuarterfinalSemifinalFinalTotalRankTotalRankTotalRankTotalRankAmanda AmmarWomen's sprint 2:22.78 49 Did not advance 49Chandra CrawfordWomen's sprint 2:51.06 8 Q 2:14.2 1 Q 2:13.4 1 Q 2:12.3 Sean CrooksMen's sprint 2:20.70 32 Did not advance 32Drew GoldsackMen's sprint 2:20.62 31 Did not advance 31Devon KershawMen's sprint 2:21.49 37 Did not advance 37Sara RennerWomen's sprint 2:15.37 9 Q 2:15.6 4 Did not advance 16Beckie ScottWomen's sprint 2:12.45 1 Q 2:16.6 1 Q 2:15.8 2 Q 2:14.7 4Phil WidmerMen's sprint 2:23.79 47 Did not advance 47George GreyDevon KershawMen's team sprint n/a 17:31.2 6 Did not advance 11Sara RennerBeckie ScottWomen's team sprint n/a 17:19.3 2 Q 16:37.5
Curling
Men's
: Brad Gushue, Mark Nichols, Russ Howard (skip), Jamie Korab, Mike Adam (alternate)
The Canadian foursome won the country's first Olympic medal in men's curling, and became the first Winter Olympic gold medal winners from the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Russ Howard was designated the skip by World Curling Federation rules, but Gushue threw last stones, and was considered to be the team leader.
Gushue's rink finished first in the round-robin at the Canadian Olympic Curling Trials, then beat Jeff Stoughton in the final to secure the Olympic berth.
Round-robin Draw 2 ;Draw 3 ;Draw 4 ;Draw 5 ;Draw 6 ;Draw 8 ;Draw 9 ;Draw 11 ;Draw 12
Standings RankTeamSkipWonLost1Markku Uusipaavalniemi722Brad Gushue633Pete Fenson634David Murdoch635Pål Trulsen546Ralph Stockli547Joel Retornaz458Peter Lindholm369Andy Kapp3610Sean Becker09
Playoffs Semifinal ;Final
The Minister of Education for Newfoundland and Labrador canceled classes across the province in the afternoon to allow children to watch the game.
Women's
: Shannon Kleibrink (skip), Amy Nixon, Glenys Bakker, Christine Keshen, Sandra Jenkins (alternate)
Shannon Kleibrink's rink finished third in the round-robin at the Canadian Olympic Curling Trials, then won the semifinal over Stefanie Lawton and the final over Kelly Scott to secure the Olympic berth.
Round-robin Draw 1 ;Draw 2 ;Draw 3 ;Draw 5 ;Draw 6 ;Draw 7 ;Draw 8 ;Draw 10 ;Draw 12
Standings RankTeamSkipWonLost1Anette Norberg722Mirjam Ott723Shannon Kleibrink634Dordi Nordby635Rhona Martin546Ludmila Privivkova547Ayumi Onodera458Dorthe Holm279Cassandra Johnson2710Diana Gaspari18
Playoffs Semifinal ;Bronze final
Key: The hammer indicates which team had the last stone in the first end.
Figure skating
AthleteEventCDSP/ODFS/FDTotalPointsRankPointsRankPointsRankPointsRankJeffrey ButtleMen'sn/a73.296 Q154.302227.59Mira LeungLadies'n/a50.6114 Q94.5512145.1612Joannie RochetteLadies'n/a55.859 Q111.425167.275Emanuel SandhuMen'sn/a69.757 Q120.4914190.2413Shawn SawyerMen'sn/a67.2012 Q123.6312190.2412Jessica Dubé Bryce DavisonPairsn/a55.4811104.2310159.7110Marie-France Dubreuil Patrice LauzonIce dance37.44454.367WithdrewValérie Marcoux Craig BuntinPairsn/a55.6210102.5911158.2111Megan Wing Aaron LoweIce dance31.421249.171285.8112166.4011
Key: CD = Compulsory Dance, FD = Free Dance, FS = Free Skate, OD = Original Dance, SP = Short Program
Freestyle skiing
Jennifer Heil became the first Canadian woman to ever win gold in freestyle skiing after winning for women's moguls. At the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, she finished fourth and ended up a hundredth of a point off the podium.