On Thursday, the National Assembly officially adopted Bill 90, An Act to recognize ice hockey as a national sport of Quebec and respecting national cultural references. 

The bill responds to the first recommendation of the Comité québécois sur le développement du hockey in its report “Le hockey, notre passion” published in 2022, namely to elevate ice hockey to the rank of Quebec's national sport.

The adoption of this bill by the elected members of the National Assembly recognizes the historical importance of ice hockey and the significant place this sport occupies in Quebec culture and identity, as well as designating the first Saturday in February as National Ice Hockey Day.

 “I'm very proud of the adoption of this bill, which gives our national sport formal recognition. Ice hockey is the sport that brings us together and makes us experience all kinds of emotions. This adoption is all the more significant given that we are just a few days away from celebrating 150 years since the first ice hockey game was played in Quebec. Thanks to this law, we're fostering Quebecers' sense of pride,” says Mathieu Lacombe, Minister of Culture and Communications.

The Act also introduces the notion of a “national cultural referent” within the Cultural Heritage Act, i.e. “an element of Quebec culture forged in tradition, which characterizes and evokes in a singular way an aspect of Quebec's cultural identity, constitutes a landmark widely shared by individuals in society”, such as ice hockey. In this way, it provides the government with more means of promoting and enhancing Quebec's cultural symbols.

In historical terms, Quebec was the scene of the emergence of modern ice hockey in the 1870s, and of the first official match in the sport's history, on March 3, 1875. The emergence of modern ice hockey is thus a major contribution by Quebec to the world history of sports.

“I'm proud that we're recognizing ice hockey as a national sport here in Quebec. Yes, it's a symbolic rebirth, at this time, on the legislative level, but I hope we'll use this recognition, now, this national rank as a springboard to ensure that we improve access to ice hockey for our young people,” said Robert-Baldwin MNA Brigitte B. Garceau. Garceau.

“We're also paying tribute to all those who came before us or all those who came before me as great athletes who put this sport on the map. Field hockey has an extraordinary tradition. At times (it) divided us into French-speaking and English-speaking teams, if you look at the history of Montreal. And then, well, it brought us together, and the sport has always been very, very, very unifying here in Quebec. And it's only natural that we should give it, at another level, its letters of nobility,” said Enrico Ciccone, MP for Marquette and former National Hockey League player from Pincourt.