Eleven Olympians participated in initiative presented by Intact Insurance to inspire the next generation of athletes
OTTAWA, ONTARIO – Thousands of Canadians got the chance to meet their Olympic speed skating heroes during Medals on Tour presented by Intact Insurance, a six-stop cross country initiative organized by Speed Skating Canada that recently came to an end in Victoria.
The second edition of Medals on Tour took place from April 8-24, 2026, and featured stops in six different communities – Sherbrooke, Que.; Newmarket, Ont.; Iqaluit, Nuv.; Digby, N.S.; Brandon, Man.; and Victoria, B.C. – where World Cup, World Championship and Olympic speed skating medalists showcased the sport and inspired the next generation of athletes.
Eleven long track and short track skaters from Canada’s Milano-Cortina 2026 team participated in the initiative, including Félix Roussel (Sherbrooke, Que.), Jordan Pierre-Gilles (Sherbrooke, Que.), Courtney Sarault (Moncton, N.B.), Ivanie Blondin (Ottawa, Ont.), Steven Dubois (La Baie, Que.), Kim Boutin (Sherbrooke, Que.), Valérie Maltais (La Baie, Que.), Anders Johnson (Fort Frances, Ont.) and Isabelle Weidemann (Ottawa, Ont.).
Each tour stop featured a mix of on-ice and off-ice activities such as school visits, public skates, club training sessions, fireside chats, and meet and greet sessions with local charities and community groups. There were a handful of unique and memorable activities over the course of the 17-day tour:
- Roussel and Pierre-Gilles were brought back in time with visits to their former elementary schools and speed skating club in Sherbrooke
- Laoun and Doak swapped training tips with Special Olympics athletes from other sports at the Conway Workshop in Digby
- Dubois and Boutin witnessed arctic sunsets and took part in Toonik Tyme Festival activities in Iqaluit
- Sarault, Blondin, Maltais, Johnson and Weidemann brought smiles to the faces of patients and medical staff at children’s hospitals in Toronto, Winnipeg and Victoria
Roussel, Pierre-Gilles, Sarault and Blondin also visited the Intact Insurance offices in Montreal and Toronto, where they were joined by teammate William Dandjinou (Montréal, Que.), Olympic hockey star Laura Stacey, figure skater Madeline Schizas and Milano-Cortina 2026 curling medalists Rachel Homan and Emma Miskew for a celebration of the insurance provider’s first Olympic Games as a partner of the Canadian Olympic Committee.
The success of Medals on Tour would not have been possible without the support of local speed skating clubs, who helped to organize numerous events and to share information about the initiative with their community. Thank you to the Club de patinage de vitesse de Sherbrooke, Newmarket Jets Speed Skating Club, Nunavut Speed Skating Association, Southwest Nova Scotia Speed Skating Club, Cobequid Speed Skating Club, Westman Speed Skating Club, Peninsula Speed Skating Club and Esquimalt Speedskating Club.
Photos
Photos from each of the Medals on Tour stops can be downloaded from the albums below. A video recap of each tour stop is also available on Speed Skating Canada’s Instagram profile.
As part of their recently announced partnership renewal with Speed Skating Canada, Intact Insurance has committed to supporting the third edition of Medals on Tour following the 2030 Olympic Winter Games. For more information on the initiative, please visit www.speedskating.ca/medals-on-tour.