GATINEAU (January 11, 2026) – Skate Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee have announced the roster of Team Canada figure skaters nominated to compete at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games. The 12 athletes are:

Ice Dance
Piper Gilles (Toronto, Ont.) and Paul Poirier (Unionville, Ont.)
Marjorie Lajoie (Boucherville, Que.) and Zachary Lagha (St-Hubert, Que.)
Marie-Jade Lauriault (Ste-Anne-des-Plaines, Que.) and Romain Le Gac (Laval, Que.)

Men’s Singles
Stephen Gogolev (Toronto, Ont.)

Pairs
Deanna Stellato-Dudek (Chicago, Illinois) and Maxime Deschamps (Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que.)
Lia Pereira (Milton, Ont.) and Trennt Michaud (Trenton, Ont.)

Women’s Singles
Madeline Schizas (Oakville, Ont.)

Selection was based on international results and scores from the past two seasons, including the 2026 Canadian National Skating Championships. Team Canada earned Olympic quotas through skaters’ placements at the 2025 ISU World Figure Skating Championships this past March.

Gilles and Poirier will be making their third Olympic appearance together, after having competed at both PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022. Poirier also competed at Vancouver 2010 with a previous partner, and is estimated to be one of the few four-time Olympians to compete for Team Canada at Milano Cortina 2026. Gilles and Poirier are four-time medallists at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships, and are looking forward to the opportunity to compete for an Olympic medal, after Gilles overcame ovarian cancer during the 2022-2023 season.

“Piper and I are honoured to be selected for our third Olympic Games alongside this incredible team!” said Poirier. “We’re so excited to represent Canada once more and hope to bring a medal home with us.”

Making their Olympic debut, the 2024 ISU World Champions in the pairs event, Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps will achieve a life-long dream that was decades in the making. Stellato-Dudek will become the oldest female figure skater in almost a century to compete at an Olympic Winter Games. The duo will be strong contenders after claiming two medals on the ISU Grand Prix circuit this season.

“Maxime and I are honoured to represent the maple leaf in Milan. This selection represents years of work, discipline and belief, and it is a dream come true,” said Stellato-Dudek, who returned to skating in 2016 after a 16-year hiatus.

The team will count a total of seven veterans, including Beijing 2022 Team Event standout Madeline Schizas, as well as ice dancers Marie-Jade Lauriault and Romain Le Gac, who previously competed for France at PyeongChang 2018. Among the five newcomers will be three-time ISU Grand Prix medallists Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud, and first-time senior Canadian Champion Stephen Gogolev.

Figure skating is one of Canada’s most successful sports at the Olympic Winter Games, with 29 Olympic medals, six of which are gold. Team Canada has also qualified for the Team Event at Milano Cortina 2026. The roster of figure skaters slated to compete in the team event will be finalized at a later date.

The figure skating competition will begin before the Opening Ceremony, on February 6 (Day 0) with the Ice Dance Rhythm Dance, Pairs Short Program and Women’s Short Program segments of the Team Event. The final day of figure skating competition will be February 19 (Day 13) with the Women’s Free Skate. Figure skating will take place at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.

“Congratulations on bringing your dreams to life with elegance, precision, and creativity,” said Jennifer Heil, Team Canada’s Milano Cortina 2026 Chef de Mission. “This Olympic selection is a testament to your hard work,  the challenges you’ve overcome and your remarkable ability to inspire audiences with touching performances. In just a few weeks, your talent will shine on the world’s biggest stage, and Canada is ready to watch you shine.”

Prior to being named to Team Canada, all nominations are subject to approval by the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Team Selection Committee following its receipt of nominations by all National Sport Organizations.

The latest Team Canada roster can be found here and the qualification tracker can be found here.

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MEDIA CONTACTS:
Julia Michalopulos, Senior Manager, Communications
Skate Canada
C: 613-898-6416
E: jmichalopulos@skatecanada.ca

Tara MacBournie, Team Canada Milano Cortina 2026 Sport Communications Lead
Canadian Olympic Committee
C: 647-522-8328
E: tmacbournie@olympic.ca