# Strength athletics in Canada

Strength athletics in Canada refers to the various Strongman events throughout Canada and its provinces in the sport of Strength athletics in association with the World's Strongest Man. The roots of strongman in Canada go back long before the birth of WSM in 1977, particularly with [Louis Cyr] in the early 1900s, who was deemed the "Strongest Man on Earth" during his lifetime. Four Canadian athletes have finished on the podium, placing 2nd in 1982 with Tom Magee and 3rd in 2005 with Dominic Filiou, Jean-François Caron placing 3rd in 2020, and Maxime Boudreault placing 3rd in 2021. The provinces of Canada hold annual championships with the top 2-4 athletes going on to the National Championships at the end of the year to crown Canada's Strongest Man. Mitchell Hooper's win at 2023 World's Strongest Man makes him the first Canadian to finish in first place.

## Canada's Strongest Man

Canada's Strongest Man is an annual strongman competition held in Canada, and features exclusively Canadian athletes. The event first started in 1982, with Tom Magee winning the first 2 titles. Hugo Girard would later go on to win a record 6 titles; a record that would later be beaten despite Hugo's proclamation that nobody would ever even go as far as to match it. After Hugo withdrew from competition due to injuries, fellow training partner and 5 time runner-up Jessen Paulin won in 2005 & 2006. Dominic Filiou won in 2007, becoming the first man to defeat Hugo Girard on Canadian soil. After the dust had settled following the end of Hugo's era, a new champion would emerge: Jean-Francois Caron. Jean-Francois, or "J-F", has dominated strongman in Canada since 2011, winning the title of Canada's Strongest Man every year and ushering in a new era of Strongman in Canada. J-F has also nurtured the success of other athletes and has worked towards developing the success of the sport in the country as a whole.

### Champions breakdown

| Year | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Location |
| 1982 | Tom Magee | (To be confirmed) | (To be confirmed) | |
| 1983 | Tom Magee | (To be confirmed) | (To be confirmed) | |
| 1984 | Event not held | Event not held | Event not held | Event not held |
| 1985 | Event not held | Event not held | Event not held | Event not held |
| 1986 | Dusko Markovich | (To be confirmed) | (To be confirmed) | |
| 1987 | Robert Dubeau | Marco Fortier | Ken Fisher | |
| 1988 | Tom Magee | (To be confirmed) | (To be confirmed) | |
| 1989 | Event not held | Event not held | Event not held | Event not held |
| 1990 | Gregg Ernst | (To be confirmed) | (To be confirmed) | |
| 1991 | Gregg Ernst | (To be confirmed) | (To be confirmed) | |
| 1992 | Event not held | Event not held | Event not held | Event not held |
| 1993 | Chuck Haase | (To be confirmed) | (To be confirmed) | |
| 1994 | Ron Trottier | (To be confirmed) | (To be confirmed) | |
| 1995 | Robert Ploughman | (To be confirmed) | (To be confirmed) | |
| 1996 | Event not held | Event not held | Event not held | Event not held |
| 1997 | Ginaud Dupuis | (To be confirmed) | (To be confirmed) | |
| 1998 | Event not held | Event not held | Event not held | Event not held |
| 1999 | Hugo Girard | Ed Brost | Ginaud Dupuis | Quebec, Canada |
| 2000 | Hugo Girard | Jessen Paulin | Geoff Dolan | Quebec, Canada |
| 2001 | Hugo Girard | Travis Lyndon | Jessen Paulin | Dolbeau-Mistassini, Quebec |
| 2002 | Hugo Girard | Jessen Paulin | Travis Lyndon | North Bay, Ontario |
| 2003 | Hugo Girard | Jessen Paulin | Geoff Dolan | Saint-Jean-de-Matha, Quebec |
| 2004 | Hugo Girard | Jessen Paulin | Travis Lyndon | Gatineau, Quebec |
| 2005 | Jessen Paulin | Travis Lyndon | Dominic Filiou | Gatineau, Quebec |
| 2006 | Jessen Paulin | Dominic Filiou | Louis-Philippe Jean | Gatineau, Quebec |
| 2007 | Dominic Filiou | Jessen Paulin | Hugo Girard | Gatineau, Quebec |
| 2008 | Louis-Philippe Jean | Jean-François Caron | Christian Savoie | Gatineau, Quebec |
| 2009 | Christian Savoie | Louis-Philippe Jean | Jean-François Caron | Quebec City, Quebec |
| 2010 | Christian Savoie | Jean-François Caron | Scott Cummine | Quebec City, Quebec |
| 2011 | Jean-François Caron | Christian Savoie | Scott Cummine | Quebec City, Quebec |
| 2012 | Jean-François Caron | Christian Savoie | Scott Cummine | Quebec City, Quebec |
| 2013 | Jean-François Caron | Christian Savoie | Ben Ruckstuhl | Quebec City, Quebec |
| 2014 | Jean-François Caron | Simon Boudreau | Ben Ruckstuhl | Quebec City, Quebec |
| 2015 | Jean-François Caron | Maxime Boudreault | Simon Boudreau | Dubreuilville, Ontario |
| 2016 | Jean-François Caron | Jimmy Paquet | Vincent Lapointe | Dubreuilville, Ontario |
| 2017 | Jean-François Caron | Jimmy Paquet | Karl Hjelholt | Plantagenet, Ontario |
| 2018 | Jean-François Caron | Jimmy Paquet | Maxime Boudreault | Plantagenet, Ontario |
| 2019 | Jean-François Caron | Karl Hjelholt | Jimmy Paquet | Plantagenet, Ontario |
| 2020 | Event not held | Event not held | Event not held | Event not held |
| 2021 | Gabriel Rhéaume | Wesley Derwinsky | Sean Hayes | Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, Québec |
| 2022 | Maxime Boudreault | Gabriel Rhéaume | Wesley Derwinsky | Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, Québec |
| 2023 | Simon Pratte | Joey Lavallee | Fredrick Rhéaume | Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, Québec |
* Results courtesy of www.ontariostrongman.ca

#### Repeat champions

| Champion | Times |
| Jean-François Caron | 9 |
| Hugo Girard | 6 |
| Tom Magee | 3 |
| Gregg Ernst | 2 |
| Jessen Paulin | 2 |
| Christian Savoie | 2 |

## Quebec's Strongest Man

| Year | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Location |
| 1999 | Ron Trottier | Ginaud Dupuis | Jessen Paulin | Dolbeau-Mistassini, Quebec |
| 2000 | Jessen Paulin | Dominic Filiou | Ginaud Dupuis | Dolbeau-Mistassini, Quebec |
| 2001 | Jessen Paulin | Martin Brisebois | Dominic Filiou | Lac-Etchemin, Quebec |
| 2002 | Jessen Paulin | Steve Bourgeois | Dominic Filiou | Baie-Comeau, Quebec |
| 2003 | Dominic Filiou | Jessen Paulin | Franky Bonneau | Gatineau, Quebec |
| 2004 | Jessen Paulin | Yannick Normandin | Steve Bourgeois | Mont-Joli, Quebec |
| 2005 | Jessen Paulin | Dominic Filiou | Steve Bourgeois | Dolbeau-Mistassini, Quebec |
| 2006 | Jessen Paulin | Dominic Filiou | Louis-Phillipe Jean | Quebec |
| 2007 | Dominic Filiou | Jessen Paulin | Louis-Phillipe Jean | Quebec |
| 2008 | Hugo Girard | Christian Savoie | Jessen Paulin | Quebec |
| 2009 | Christian Savoie | Jean-François Caron | Franky Bonneau | Quebec |
| 2010 | Christian Savoie | Jean-François Caron | (To be confirmed) | Warwick, Quebec |
| 2011 | Jean-François Caron | Christian Savoie | (To be confirmed) | Warwick, Quebec |
| 2012 | Christian Savoie | Jean-François Caron | (To be confirmed) | Warwick, Quebec |
| 2013 | Jean-François Caron | Christian Savoie | (To be confirmed) | Warwick, Quebec |
* Results courtesy of www.ontariostrongman.ca

## Ontario's Strongest Man

| Year | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Location |
| 2000 | Travis Lyndon | Jamie Aszmies | Rob Verkest | London, Ontario |
| 2001 | Travis Lyndon | Jamie Aszmies | Chris Ronzon | London, Ontario |
| 2002 | Mark Lozer | Ryan Green | Travis Lyndon | Hawkesbury, Ontario |
| 2003 | Travis Lyndon | Ryan Green | Steve Lozer | Ottawa, Ontario |
| 2004 | Travis Lyndon | Ryan Green | Jamie Aszmies | Kitchener, Ontario |
| 2005 | Travis Lyndon | Mike Bade | Joe Montgomery | North Bay, Ontario |
| 2006 | Travis Lyndon | Joe Montgomery | Sean Bates | Port Stanley, Ontario |
| 2007 | Joe Montgomery | John Dungey | Len Elliott | Ottawa, Ontario |
| 2008 | Jose Plante | Paul Vaillancourt | Len Elliott | Wawa, Ontario |
| 2009 | Paul Vaillancourt | John Dungey | Luke Skaarup | Kitchener, Ontario |
| 2010 | Paul Vaillancourt | Eric Rautenberg | Luke Skaarup | Cornwall, Ontario |
| 2011 | Paul Vaillancourt | Kyle Rayner | Karl Hjelholt | Toronto, Ontario |
| 2012 | Luke Skaarup | Kyle Rayner | David Droeske | Kitchener, Ontario |
| 2013 | Ben Ruckstuhl | Kyle Rayner | Max Boudreault | Thunder Bay, Ontario |
| 2014 | Luke Skaarup | Ben Ruckstuhl | Paul Vaillancourt | Thunder Bay, Ontario |
| 2015 | Ben Ruckstuhl | Luke Skaarup | Maxime Boudreault | Toronto, Ontario |
| 2016 | Paul Vaillancourt | Karl Hjelholt | David Jennings | Trenton, Ontario |
| 2017 | Maxime Boudreault | Karl Hjelholt | Kyle Rayner | Trenton, Ontario |
| 2018 | Maxime Boudreault | Karl Hjelholt | Ben Ruckstuhl | Trenton, Ontario |
| 2019 | Maxime Boudreault | Karl Hjelholt | Ben Ruckstuhl | Kapuskasing, Ontario |
* Results courtesy of www.ontariostrongman.ca

## Western Canada's Strongest Man

| Year | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Location |
| 2000 | Grant McReynolds | Geoff Dolan | Beerd Beekman |
| 2001 | Beerd Beekman | Geoff Dolan | Ed Brost | Calgary, Alberta |
| 2002 | Geoff Dolan | Maurice Paquette | Cory Gillespie | Saskatoon, SK |
| 2003 | Geoff Dolan | Alan Block | Brad Provick | Fort Qu'Appelle, SK |
| 2004 | Brad Provick | Geoff Dolan | Gino Castonguay | Winnipeg, Manitoba |
| 2005 | Alan Block | Chris Colonval | Ed Brost | Edmonton, Alberta |
| 2006 | Scott Cummine | Al Block | Chris Colonval | Regina, SK |
| 2007 | Chris Colonval | Scott Cummine | Matt Parkes | Regina, SK |
| 2008 | Matt Parkes | Scott Cummine | Alan Block | British Columbia |
| 2009 | Scott Cummine | Jon Moerike | Maurice Paquette | Altona, Manitoba |
| 2010 | Scott Cummine | Brad Provick | Maurice Paquette | Saskatoon, SK |
| 2011 | Scott Cummine | Nathan Rolston | Jon Wade | Edmonton, Alberta |
| 2012 | Scott Cummine | Brad Provick | Jay Smith | Regina, SK |
| 2013 | Scott Cummine | Brad Provick | Jon Wade | Regina, SK |
| 2014 | Scott Cummine | Brad Provick | Quinton Falk | Regina, SK |
| 2015 | Dom Liontas | Brad Provick | Artur Walus | Regina, SK |
| 2016 | Scott Cummine | Brad Provick | Dom Liontas | Regina, SK |
| 2017 | James Loach | Brad Sheperd | Artur Walus | Regina, SK |
| 2018 | James Loach | Dom Liontas | Artur Walus | Regina, SK |
| 2019 | Brad Shepherd | Sam Rissling | Artur Walus | Regina, SK |
| 2020–2021 | Event not held due to Covid | Event not held due to Covid | Event not held due to Covid | Event not held due to Covid |
| 2022 | Sean Hayes | James Jeffers | Tyler Sigurdson | Regina, SK |
| 2023 | James Jeffers | Tristain Hoath | Colten Sloan | Fort McMurray, AB |
* Results courtesy of July 1 Western Canadas Strongest Man on Facebook

## Atlantic Canada's Strongest Man

| Year | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place |
| 2000 | Tim Griffith | Shane Murphy | (To be confirmed) |
| 2001 | Shane Murphy | (To be confirmed) | (To be confirmed) |
| 2002 | Shane Murphy | Jonathan Hickey | (To be confirmed) |
| 2003 | Shane Murphy | Brad Carty | Jonathan Hickey |
| 2004 | Brad Carty | Shane Murphy | Grant Connors |
| 2005 | Grant Connors | Darrell Crouse | Kevin O'Keefe |
| 2006 | Grant Connors | Jonathan Schooten | Chris Bulman |
| 2007 | Grant Connors | Danny Frame | Jonathan Schooten |
| 2008 | Grant Connors | Danny Frame | Chris Harper |
| 2009 | Grant Connors | Danny Frame | Jonathan Schooten |
| 2010 | Grant Connors | Danny Frame | Kalen Brennan |
| 2011 | Grant Connors | Jonathan Schooten | Jay Smith |
| 2012 | Kalen Brennan | Alex Wallace | (To be confirmed) |
* Results courtesy of www.acstrongman.com

## North America's Strongest Man

North America's Strongest Man is an annual strongman competition consisting of athletes from both United States and Canada. The event was established in 1992 with Gary Mitchell of the United States winning the inaugural competition.
Despite the three hiatus periods (1994-1997, 2004-2006 and 2015-2022), the competition has been held seventeen times. Canada has produced five champions who shared ten titles among them while United States has produced seven champions with a title each for a total of seven.
The contest has been always held in Quebec.

### Champions breakdown

| Year | Champion | Runner-Up | 3rd Place | Location |
| 1992 | Gary Mitchell | (To be confirmed) | (To be confirmed) | Gatineau, Quebec |
| 1993 | Steve Pulcinella | (To be confirmed) | (To be confirmed) | Gatineau, Quebec |
| 1994–1997 | Event not held | Event not held | Event not held | Event not held |
| 1998 | David Brown | (To be confirmed) | (To be confirmed) | Gatineau, Quebec |
| 1999 | Steve Dmytrow | (To be confirmed) | (To be confirmed) | Gatineau, Quebec |
| 2001 | Hugo Girard | Geoff Dolan | Phil Pfister | Gatineau, Quebec |
| 2002 | Hugo Girard | (To be confirmed) | (To be confirmed) | Gatineau, Quebec |
| 2003 | Jon Andersen | Chad Coy | Walt Gogola | Gatineau, Quebec |
| 2004–2006 | Event not held | Event not held | Event not held | Event not held |
| 2007 | Jessen Paulin | Brian Shaw | Christian Savoie | Gatineau, Quebec |
| 2008 | Jessen Paulin | Christian Savoie | Pete Konradt | Gatineau, Quebec |
| 2009 | Christian Savoie | Jean-François Caron | Josh Thigpen | Gatineau, Quebec |
| 2010 | Christian Savoie | Jean-François Caron | Scott Cummine | Gatineau, Quebec |
| 2011 | Christian Savoie | Jean-François Caron | Karl Gillingham | Gatineau, Quebec |
| 2012 | Jean-François Caron | Dave Ostlund | Jackie Ouellett | Gatineau, Quebec |
| 2013 | Jean-François Caron | Christian Savoie | Dave Ostlund | Gatineau, Quebec |
| 2014 | Brian Shaw | Jean-François Caron | Simon Boudreau | Gatineau, Quebec |
| 2015–2022 | Event not held | Event not held | Event not held | Event not held |
| 2023 | Trey Mitchell | Lucas Hatton | Wesley Derwinsky | Victoriaville, Quebec |
| 2024 | Maxime Boudreault | Lucas Hatton | Tristain Hoath | Victoriaville, Quebec |
* Results courtesy of David Horne's World of Grip: http://www.davidhorne-gripmaster.com/strongmanresults.html

### Repeat champions

| Champion | Times & years |
| Christian Savoie | 3 (2009, 2010, 2011) |
| Hugo Girard | 2 (2001, 2002) |
| Jessen Paulin | 2 (2007, 2008) |
| Jean-François Caron | 2 (2012, 2013) |