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The WNBA is coming to Canada — and the organization is not planning on stopping its growth within the country anytime soon.
Toronto Tempo — one of the league’s expansion teams slated for play in 2026 — introduced their new general manager today, Monica Wright Rogers. She is a former WNBA player for the Minnesota Lynx who had most recently served as assistant GM for the Phoenix Mercury.
And while they’ll play the majority of their 21 home games a season in Toronto, the team’s new exec reiterated a previous desire to grow the team’s footprint to other arenas and cities around the country.
“We can’t wait to settle into our home at Coca-Cola Coliseum,” Wright Rogers said during her opening remarks. “But we’ll also be bringing this team to Montreal and Vancouver as part of our mission and our mandate to represent all Canadians. This is so much more than a team. It’s a movement to grow the game of women’s basketball in Canada.”
The WNBA will host its first-ever regular season game in Canada this summer, with the Seattle Storm and Atlanta Dream playing at Vancouver’s Rogers Arena on Aug. 15.
Team president Teresa Resch also followed up with more insight regarding the multi-city approach, stating they’ll need league approval to finalize more games outside their home arena.
“We’re working on building a framework that will have everybody in Canada feel part of this team, even if they won’t be able to attend the games in person… we’re not gonna be able to play in every single city,” Resch said in an exclusive interview with Offside. “But we hope to be in markets like Vancouver, Montreal. We have initial conversations that are going really great.”
Resch added that the team’s been monitoring merchandise sales across the country to identify where WNBA fans are supporting the team.
“There’s nothing but opportunity, being able to make sure that the Tempo logo is seen across the country,” Wright Rogers said.
Learning from other Canadian sports
Toronto’s leadership team also exemplified a strong push for leaning on previously existing Canadian teams and leagues for how to best excel within the Canadian market.
“I do need to reach out to [Toronto pro sports team’s] leadership teams and establish a relationship,” Wright Rogers said. “That’s probably top of my to-do list, just listening and learning. This is such a unique sports city, and I want to be thoughtful in how we operate in our inaugural season.”
One resource Resch has been leaning on is CEBL Commissioner Mike Morreale, who has overseen the growth of the Canadian basketball startup since its launch in 2017.
“It’s been incredible to see their growth and some of the different tactics they use. We think that there’s a great opportunity for women’s basketball. It’s a different game than men’s and a different fanbase,” Resch said. “We talked to [the CEBL] a lot about ‘is there something that we can do to elevate the women’s game?’ We’re looking forward to continuing to work with them.”
Resch, who spent a decade with the Toronto Raptors front office before her move to the Tempo, also touched on recruiting a largely American player pool to the league’s only Canadian team.
“Most of these women have played overseas in their ‘off-season’ for years. And personally, Canada doesn’t feel like going overseas, so we’re really excited. We think it’s actually an advantage. And time will tell, but we think that we can position it as a place that people want to go and call home,” Resch said.
“There’s a lot of misinformation [about Canada], and I think that we’ve done a good job as a basketball community of educating a lot of people. There’s a lot of misconceptions that are no longer…we’re looking forward to even taking it to another level.”
With the WNBA’s free agency class for 2026 expected to be one of the best in league history — and Toronto set to participate in an upcoming expansion draft — the duo is pushing to bring some of the league’s top talent north of the border.
“It’ll be a no-brainer for a player who wants to play in a market like this,” Wright Rogers added.
