Western Canada

Western Canada is a portion of Canada which includes:
*British Columbia
*Alberta
*Saskatchewan
*Manitoba
*Northwestern Ontario (Sometimes during National playdowns due to its proximity to the Western provinces)
This grouping has often been paired off for national tournament purposes into two groups
*British Columbia and Alberta (McKenzie Cup)
*Saskatchewan and Manitoba (Rathgaber Cup)
This pairing is presently used to determine regional qualifiers for the Allan Cup.
At the Major Junior level this grouping lead to the establishment of what is now known as the Western Hockey League in 1966.
At the Junior A level these pairings were also used until 2012, when it was replaced with the Western Canada Cup which combined the four provinces into one tournament with two team qualifying for the National Championship tournament, the Royal Bank Cup.
At the Junior B level, the five areas are matched up in the Keystone Cup to determine the Western Canada Junior B champion (there is no Canadian national championship at the Junior B level).  The tournament dates back to 1978 with it taking the present name in 1983.
Under the former East vs West match up for the Allan and Memorial Cups, Northwestern Ontario would be included in the grouping if the National championship final was being held in Eastern Canada.  Several times the tournaments would start with the British Columbia and Alberta champions playing in the first round, that winner playing the Saskatchewan champion, then that winner playing the Manitoba champion, and finally that winner meeting the Northwestern Ontario champion for the Western Canada championship.  Some years when the championship was held in the west the Maritimes champion would play the Quebec champion and then keep moving westward with matchups also involving the Ottawa District, Northern Ontario, Ontario and then finally the Northwestern Ontario champion, with the final champion meeting the Western champion.
Category:Canadian regions