After 26 years, longtime exec Denise Dignard hands Canadian women's basketball reins to next generation

The changes came swiftly for the Canadian women's basketball team.

After another Olympic letdown in Paris, captain Natalie Achonwa called it quits and head coach Victor Lapeña mutually parted with the organization.

Meanwhile, more quietly but perhaps just as significantly, general manager and high-performance director Denise Dignard, who recently announced her retirement after 26 years.

Dignard's exit signals a full rebuild for a team which has missed the knockout round at each of the past two Olympics and lost all three of its games in Paris.

"I look back on it and just think we've been able to get ourselves there. Now, I'll pass that Olympic dream and torch onto others to take it to the next stage, which is really competing for podium at the Olympics, where there's very small margin for error," said the 63-year-old Dignard.

The word that best describes Dignard's tenure atop the national team might be consistency.

In the last 12 years, Canada is one of just five countries that has competed in every Olympics and World Cup. But unlike the U.S., China, Australia and France, the Canadians have nothing show to for it.

Dignard with Canadian player Nirra Fields, left, prior to the Paris Olympics. (Canada Basketball)

New leadership group

Now, a new leadership group will be charged with getting the team over the hump.

The Port-Cartier, Que., native said the future is bright — but that the players need more international competition under their belts to contend with battle-tested opponents at the Olympics.

"You've got to be able to say every day, those who play on their national team are working at their craft. They're putting in the time to be very intentional about the things that they need to develop in order to be able to match up against the best internationally," she said.

Lapeña, the Spaniard who left a job in the pro ranks to join Canada full-time, spent three years on the Canadian sidelines, with the highlight a fourth-place finish at the 2022 World Cup.

Dignard said it was too soon to judge why, ultimately, the relationship did not work out. But she did say Canadian coaching development should be a priority moving forward.

On the court, the movement toward the next generation of players began in Paris where the likes of Syla Swords, 18, and Cassandre Prosper, 19, played meaningful minutes alongside WNBA rookies Aaliyah Edwards and Laeticia Amihere.

But the best Canadian player of the Lapeña tenure was likely Bridget Carleton, who seems to improve every year.

The Chatham, Ont., native is coming off a run to the WNBA Finals with the Minnesota Lynx in which she started every single game and made the game-winning free throws in Game 3 — the type of form she has often showed with Canada, including during the 2022 World Cup when she was named to the all-tournament team.

"I'm so happy that she had that opportunity with Minnesota, where they have such a great chemistry amongst the athletes and they're all fully invested and complement each other quite well and have this such connection to each other," Dignard said.

"And no matter whether they're up or down … they've got this belief and this resilience and so that's beautiful to watch and so for Bridget to be an important part of that team is really exciting."

Bridget Carleton has starred for the Canadian women's national team and is coming off a run to the WNBA Finals with the Minnesota Lynx. (Abbie Parr/The Associated Press)

Can Canada join the elite?

Whether the likes of Swords, Prosper or incoming Duke freshman Toby Fournier can join Carleton as an elite contributor may determine whether Canada can play for a medal at the 2028 Olympics.

For now, Dignard is happy to be "cheering from another seat."

Her basketball journey began as a teenager when she met a member of the 1976 Olympic team.

"They signed my picture saying, hey, see you on the national team one day. That Olympic dream was born inside of me. And so then a few years later, I end up playing for the national team," she said.

Dignard was part of the first Canadian women's basketball team to earn a world championship medal, taking home bronze in 1979.

Nineteen years later, she rejoined the program as manager of elite programs, where she worked alongside head coach Bev Smith.

"It was a dream come true because I had lived many experiences as an athlete, as a coach and as an administrator so that I could bring that to our women's program. And there was nothing in place truly for athletes to get opportunities to compete," Dignard said.

Still, Dignard referred to the task for her and Smith as "Sisyphean" as they sought resources to help lift the team to new heights.

Now, the boulder is being passed off.

"Denise Dignard has been an integral member of the Canada Basketball team for more than a quarter century," Michael Bartlett, president & CEO of Canada Basketball, said in a statement.

"From her tireless work building development programs for players and coaches to overseeing the vision, direction and operations of one of the top programs in international women's basketball, she has been instrumental in growing the sport here in Canada."

While Dignard said she would take some time to determine what's next, perhaps she could involve herself in a domestic professional league.

Through the years, she's harped on the need for one in Canada. And perhaps, with the recent advent of the Professional Women's Hockey League and the incoming Northern Super League, a women's basketball league is more realistic now than ever before.

Dignard said the incoming Toronto WNBA may not be enough.

"If you have more teams, then I know communities are going to invest their dollars in those professional Canadian teams. And the return by having a team right in your own hometown is really powerful," she said.

"We see it in professional clubs all through Europe, Asia. So instead of just having one WNBA team, having a number of teams at a professional level will truly help the Canadian women's national team."

With a new era of women's basketball in Canada on the horizon, it'll be up to the next generation to lift the national team to new heights.