The earliest skating association in Canada was the Amateur Skating Association of Canada, formed by
Louis Rubenstein of Montreal's
Victoria Skating Club in 1888 for both speed and figure skating. In 1914, the Figure Skating Department of Canada, formed as a section of the Amateur Skating Association of Canada stemming from the recognition of figure skating as a sport distinct from speed skating. Although an unofficial Canadian national championships was held in 1905, the first official competition, organized by the Figure Skating Department of Canada, took place in
1914, in the city of
Ottawa. In 1939, the Figure Skating Department of Canada was renamed as the Canadian Figure Skating Association (CFSA). In 1973, Calgary hosted the CFSA's first
Skate Canada International in Calgary. This event would later be incorporated into the
ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating when it was established in 1995 and is the oldest Grand Prix event. In 2021, in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic, Skate Canada held its first virtual competition, the 2021
Skate Canada Challenge. Skate Canada has worked for some years to make its sport more inclusive, regardless of gender. It has reworked the language of its bylaws and in 2019 it provided that teams in its non-elite programs would be defined as two skaters, rather than one male and one female. In 2022, it adopted that definition for its podium pathway as well, becoming the first national skating federation to do so. On December 16, 2025, Skate Canada announced that it would no longer host any national or international events in
Alberta, in response to that province's legislation requiring participants in sporting events to compete based on their gender assigned at birth. Skaters in Alberta could continue to participate in local skating events and Skate Canada events in other parts of the country. Premier
Danielle Smith has condemned the policy, calling it disgraceful, and stating that she expected Skate Canada to apologise and revert the policy. ==Organizational structure==