The Canada national indoor lacrosse team represents Canada in international tournaments of indoor lacrosse. It is the best national box lacrosse team in the world, having won all five World Indoor Lacrosse Championships, starting with the 2003 ILF World Indoor Lacrosse Championship held in Canada. Team Canada has never lost a game in the tournament. Their biggest rivals are the Iroquois Nationals, who have finished in second place in all four tournaments.
Team Canada consists of primarily professional players from the National Lacrosse League. Many players also play Major Series Lacrosse or in the Western Lacrosse Association.
The first World Indoor Lacrosse Championship was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Canada entered the tournament as the favourite to win. They went through the six-team group without any losses. In the semifinals they beat Team USA. Team Canada, led by captain Jim Veltman, won the gold medal match against Iroquois Nationals 21-4 and became the first World Indoor Lacrosse Champions.[1]
The second World Indoor Lacrosse Championship was held in Canada again, this time in Halifax. The tournament was divided in two groups of four teams. Canada met Ireland, Australia and the United States in group play. They prevailed in all three matches to reach the semifinals, where they would meet England. Canada won 24–8 to move to the final, where they met the Iroquois Nationals again. Canada was down during the second and third quarters, but thanks to two goals from John Grant, Jr., they ended up taking the game to overtime. After thirty seconds, Jeff Zywicki scored his first goal of the game, so Team Canada could be crowned as the World Champion again.[2]
The 2011 FIL World Indoor Lacrosse Championship was held in the Czech Republic, the first time the tournament was held outside of Canada. The format of the tournament remained the same and the Canadians met Australia, England and Slovakia in group play. Canada went through unbeaten again. They beat Team USA 15–10 in the semifinal. In the final, they met the Iroquois Nationals again, and won 13–6.[3]
The Onondaga Nation near Syracuse, New York hosted the 2015 WILC. Once again, the Canadian team went undefeated and took gold while the Iroquois took the silver and the United States bronze.[4]
| Year | Round Robin | Record W-L-T | Standing | Semifinal | Gold Medal Game | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W, 28-5 W, 15-13 W, 25-1 W, 25-5 W, 16-5 | 5-0-0 | 1st of 6 | W, 17-9 | W, 21-4 CHAMPIONS | ||
| W, 25-1 W, 24-4 W, 18-5 | 3-0-0 | 1st of 4 Pool A | W, 24-9 | W, 15-14 OT CHAMPIONS | ||
| W, 27-1 W, 26-2 W, 28-5 | 3-0-0 | 1st of 4 Pool A | W, 15-10 | W, 13-6 CHAMPIONS | ||
| W, 11-9 W, 19-2 W, 18-7 W, 19-2 | 4-0-0 | 1st of 5 Blue Division | W, 19-3 | W, 12-8 CHAMPIONS | ||
| W, 16-6 W, 18-5 W, 17-5 W, 19-12 | 4-0-0 | 1st of 5 Blue Division | W, 21-4 | W, 19-12 CHAMPIONS |
The following 23 players were called up for the 2024 World Box Lacrosse Championship[5] [6]
| Alex Simmons | Forward | St. Catharines Athletics (OLA) | Albany Firewolves | Denver '22/Syracuse '23 | |
| Brett Dobson | Goalie | Whitby Warriors (OLA) | Georgia Swarm | St. Bonaventure '22 | |
| Jeff Cornwall | Defense | Coquitlam Adanacs (BCLA) | Calgary Roughnecks | N/A | |
| Jordan Gilles | Defense | Richmond/Coquitlam Adanacs (BCLA) | Colorado Mammoth | N/A | |
| Mitch Jones | Forward | Delta Islanders (BCLA) | Philadelphia Wings | N/A | |
| Ryland Rees | Defense | Port Coquitlam Saints (BCLA) | Rochester Knighthawks | Stony Brook '19 | |
| Warren Jeffrey | Defense | Mimico Mountaineers (OLA) | Colorado Mammoth | Vermont '19 |
Since 2002, the Canadian national team has challenged for the Heritage Cup on four occasions, winning three times.
| width=5% | Year | width=10% | Location | width=14% | Winning team | width=10% | Score | width=14% | Losing team | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 |  Canada (Mississauga, Ontario) | 21-16 | ||||||||
| 2004 |  United States (Denver, Colorado) | 17-8 | ||||||||
| 2013 | Canada (Montreal, Quebec) | 12-11 | ||||||||
| 2017 | Canada (Hamilton, Ontario) | 19-6 |
A 15-game exhibition series was scheduled to be played by Team Canada and Team USA to kick-start the newly formed International Box Lacrosse Association. Only eight games would end up being played with Canada winning 7–1.[7]