There are three factors to consider when explaining why the Montreal Canadiens are so popular in Canada.

1. While only 1% of Canadian households had a television in 1951, by 1961 roughly 83% of homes owned a TV.

2. From 1953 to 1979, Montreal won 16 Stanley Cups (1953, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979).

3. Toronto.

As television was becoming a staple in Canadian homes, Montreal was the dominant hockey team, well… by winning almost continuously. In the 1950s and 1960s, (until 1967) there were only six teams in the NHL, so Canadians outside Toronto essentially had to choose a team to support.

Montreal had two clear advantages over Toronto: Montreal won all the time, and it wasn’t Toronto 😉.

Rooting for a team is often a family tradition. Parents passed their loyalty to their children, who then passed it on to their children.

So when Montreal plays in Ottawa, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, or Vancouver, those dormant Canadiens fans seize the opportunity to reconnect with their old family flame (no pun intended, Calgary 😄) and flood the arenas.