Toronto rap superstar Drake wants to see a professional women's basketball team in his city.
On Wednesday, the rapper, who also serves as the Toronto Raptors' global ambassador, posted a message to the WNBA on his Instagram story saying, "I need a Toronto team."
In 2019, the Raptors brought home the NBA championship for the first time in franchise history. Sports expert Kevin Yeung, who is a content creator with TSN’s BarDown, says the strong appetite for basketball north of the border makes Toronto a strong contender to be an expansion city for the WNBA.
"The way that not just the City of Toronto, but the entire country of Canada, was showing their support for the Raptors, it really proves that there's a strong basketball audience here," Yeung told CTV's Your Morning on Friday.
Yeung also said that in recent years, there's been a wave of exciting young Canadians players making waves in both the NBA and the WNBA, such as Jamal Murray and Kia Nurse.
"People just genuinely want to support Canadians in basketball and basketball in Canada. That pipeline is so strong right now and it's still emerging. It's absolutely something that you can build going forward," he said.
"I think from a marketing perspective, it's absolutely something that the WNBA would want to tap into."
Raptors coach Nick Nurse is also on board with the idea. Nurse told reporters during a post-game news conference that a WNBA team would be "wildly successful" in Toronto.
"I think the women should be represented in Toronto with a WNBA team," he said.
While the WBNA has not announced any concrete plans, commissioner Cathy Engelbert told reporters in July that expanding the 12-team league was a priority. The website Front Office Sports also reported that the league had identified Toronto as one of four potential expansion cities.
This also comes at a time when the WNBA is hitting record viewership numbers. In the 2021 season, Canadian viewership during the league's opening weekend was up 325 per cent, according to the NBA.
"Obviously the league is in a really, really healthy place right now … and I think expansion sometime soon is definitely likely," Yeung said.
But despite these viewership numbers, the salary disparity between the men's league and the women's league remains high. WNBA players make an average of $120,000 annually, compared to $7 million for the average NBA player.
Yeung says expanding the WNBA could help close the pay gap by bringing more revenue into the league.
"As far as closing the rest of that salary gap, it really comes down to bringing more money into the WNBA and building the business of that league. One really big thing for that is going to be expanding the league, tapping into new markets and bringing new cash flow into the league," he said.
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American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
Canadian banks that refuse to identify the carbon rebate by name when doing direct deposits are forcing the government to change the law to make them do it, says Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault.
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Prince Harry, the son of King Charles III and fifth in line to the British throne, has formally confirmed he is now a U.S. resident.
Colin Jost, who co-anchors Saturday Night Live's 'Weekend Update,' revealed who he thinks is one of the best hosts on the show.
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The judge presiding over the trial of a man accused of fatally running over a Toronto police officer is telling jurors the possible verdicts they may reach based on the evidence in the case.
B.C.'s highest court has dismissed an appeal by an RCMP officer who was found guilty of sex crimes involving teen girls, upholding his conviction.
Saskatchewan Teachers' Federation (STF) President Samantha Becotte says two days of "difficult" negotiations has led to a "final offer" with slight improvements to salary and the inclusion of a line in the collective agreement – promising to address classroom complexity issues.
Nova Scotia's opposition parties are calling for the justice minister to resign after he said domestic violence is not an "epidemic."
A woman who recently moved to Canada from India was searching for a job when she got caught in an online job scam and lost $15,000.
Closing arguments were heard Thursday morning in the case of Michael Gordon Jackson, the Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter in 2021 to keep her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine.
An Assyrian church bishop who was stabbed during a service at his church said on Thursday he was recovering quickly, and that he had forgiven his attacker as police ramped up investigation into the riots triggered after the bishop's stabbing.
Nearly half of China's major cities are suffering 'moderate to severe' levels of subsidence, putting millions at risk of flooding especially as sea levels rise.
A human rights organization representing ethnic Armenians submitted evidence to the ICC, arguing that Azerbaijan is committing an ongoing genocide against them.
Group of Seven foreign ministers warned of new sanctions against Iran on Friday for its drone and missile attack on Israel, and urged both sides to avoid an escalation of the conflict.
An apparent Israeli drone attack on Iran saw troops fire air defences at a major air base and a nuclear site early Friday morning near the central city of Isfahan, an assault coming in retaliation for Tehran's unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country.
San Francisco on Thursday sued Oakland after officials there voted in favor of changing the name of the city’s airport to San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport, saying the change will cause confusion and is already affecting its airport financially.
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to run in the next election as a candidate under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's leadership, amid questions about his rumoured interest in succeeding his longtime friend for the top job.
Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned. The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
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As the United States sets its first national limits on toxic forever chemicals in drinking water, researchers say Canada is lagging when it comes to regulations.
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An ancient giant snake in India might have been longer than a school bus and weighed a tonne, researchers reported Thursday.
Facebook parent Meta Platforms unveiled a new set of artificial intelligence systems Thursday that are powering what CEO Mark Zuckerberg calls 'the most intelligent AI assistant that you can freely use.'
New archeological investigations in Guatemala reveal that the ancient Maya people had a ritual of burning royal human remains as a public display of political regime change.
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Google has fired 28 employees in the aftermath of protests over technology that the internet company is supplying the Israeli government amid the Gaza war, further escalating tensions surrounding a hot-button deal.
As Canada's biggest bookstore-turned-gift-giver's-paradise edges toward privatization, it's evident from a stroll around one of its Toronto stores that the retailer knows some things haven't been working.
Booming sales of cold drinks at Starbucks have created a problem: growing amounts of plastic waste from the single-use cups that Frappuccinos, Refreshers, cold brews and other iced drinks are served in.
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Sophie Kinsella, the best-selling author behind the 'Shopaholic' book series, has revealed that she is receiving treatment for brain cancer.
Ten beagles rescued from animal testing in the United States arrived in Alberta on Wednesday, thanks to a Canadian charity.
Nelly Korda, who is looking to tie an LPGA Tour record with her fifth straight win, shot a 4-under 68 on Thursday in the opening round of the Chevron Championship, leaving her two shots behind leader Lauren Coughlin in the year's first major.
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
The NHL Board of Governors voted unanimously Thursday to clear the way for the Coyotes' move to Utah next season.
Tesla will ask shareholders to reinstate a US$55 billion compensation package for CEO Elon Musk that was rejected by a judge in Delaware this year and to move the electric car maker's corporate home from Delaware to Texas.
Tesla has hit a series of roadblocks, including increased competition and declining sales. The company announced Monday it is slashing 10 per cent of its global workforce.
A driver from London will have to find alternative transportation after an OPP officer clocked them travelling nearly 200 km/h on Highway 401 over the weekend.
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Molly Knight, a grade four student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
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When Les Robertson was walking home from the gym in North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood three weeks ago, he did a double take. Standing near a burrow it had dug in a vacant lot near East 1st Street and St. Georges Avenue was a yellow-bellied marmot.
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Like many 10 year olds, Brenna Tonon loves to make Rainbow Loom bracelets – but she doesn’t just make them for fun.
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Three men who helped lead and co-ordinate the 2022 border blockade at Coutts, Alta., have been found guilty of public mischief.
Lethbridge police have arrested a Vermilion, Alta., man in connection with a 'grandparent scam' that took aim at a local senior.
An Alberta woman was killed in a multi-vehicle crash on a highway north of Coaldale, Alta., on Wednesday morning.
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A 65-year-old northern Ontario woman says her winning lottery scratch ticket is the best present she has ever received.
A northern Ont. city councillor says she fears many women will go without the proper health care after town loses access to mobile cancer screening.
Technology from the 19th century has been brought out of retirement at a Newfoundland gardening store, as staff look for all the help they can get to fill orders during a busy season.
A Celebrity Apex cruise to the Caribbean this month turned into a rocking Newfoundland kitchen party when hundreds of people from Canada's easternmost province happened to be booked on the same ship.
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