Halifax to host Canada Sail Grand Prix with foiling catamarans
Halifax’s foiling cats return with the Black Foils and Bonds Flying Roos as the city expected more than 12,000 spectators and a bigger waterfront race stadium.
Halifax became one of SailGP’s sharpest live stages as the Black Foils and Bonds Flying Roos headlined a two-day sprint of foiling catamarans on the harbour. The 2026 Canada Sail Grand Prix: Halifax sat at the halfway point of the championship as SailGP’s seventh stop, with both race days scheduled for 4:00 p.m. local time and set to run from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
The field brought global weight as well as local stakes. Build Nova Scotia said 12 elite teams were entered, including Canada’s Team NorthStar, while SailGP’s event page listed 13 teams in the competition. The roster also included some of the sport’s most recognizable names, among them Giles Scott, Peter Burling, Tom Slingsby, Nathan Outteridge, Nicolai Sehested, Quentin Delapierre, Dylan Fletcher, Taylor Canfield, Paul Goodison, Phil Robertson, Erik Kosegarten-Heil, Sébastien Schneiter and Diego Botin. That kind of lineup made Halifax less a postcard stop than a live test of speed, precision and nerve on high-speed hydro-foiling cats.
The city leaned into the spectacle. SailGP described Halifax as the northernmost stop on the Americas circuit, and the Halifax Race Stadium was expanded with grandstands and Georges Island viewing areas to give fans a closer look at the boats when they lifted clear of the water. SailGP said more than 12,000 official spectators were expected over the two-day event, a sign that the harbour was being treated like a temporary arena rather than a distant backdrop.
The week around the races stretched the event beyond the top-tier fleet. Foil4All ran from June 13-19 at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic and the Halifax waterfront as a free, community-driven foiling and sailing week open to all, from first rides to high-performance pathways. That access gave the weekend a deeper reach, tying elite racing to a public entry point into the sport.
Halifax’s return carried the weight of its 2024 debut, which SailGP and local partners described as a record-breaking 12-minute sellout. Local reporting put the direct economic impact at $45 million and the global audience at 91.5 million, numbers that help explain why this stop landed as a civic event as much as a sporting one. Sir Russell Coutts called Halifax a fan favorite for its challenging conditions, Sarah Flanagan thanked the Province of Nova Scotia, the City of Halifax and partners for bringing SailGP back, Andy Fillmore said the harbour had shown the city to the world, and Dave Ritcey said the event would showcase Nova Scotia’s maritime roots.
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