Skate Canada made an announcement on Wednesday revealing that Mike Slipchuk will be stepping down from his position as high-performance director following the 2026-27 season, marking the end of his 20-year tenure in the role. Slipchuk joined Skate Canada in 2006 and during his leadership, Canadian figure skaters achieved remarkable success, securing a total of 10 Olympic and 24 world championship medals.

Notably, under Slipchuk’s guidance, Canada clinched four Olympic medals at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, including gold medals in ice dance by Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, as well as in the team event. The gold medal achievement by Virtue and Moir solidified their status as the most decorated Olympic figure skaters in history, with three gold and two silver medals to their names.

Despite previous Olympic triumphs, Canadian skaters faced challenges in recent years, with no medals earned at the Beijing 2022 Games and only one bronze secured by Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier in ice dance at Milan Cortina earlier this year. Over the past two decades, Canada has seen success in various figure skating disciplines, with standout performances such as Patrick Chan’s consecutive men’s world titles from 2011 to 2013 and Virtue and Moir’s three gold medal victories.

The most recent world champions from Canada were pairs skaters Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps in 2024. Skate Canada has disclosed that Slipchuk will continue to be involved in an advisory capacity post his resignation to facilitate the transition to a new high-performance director.

Reflecting on his time with Skate Canada, Slipchuk expressed gratitude for the opportunity to lead the high-performance program, emphasizing the unforgettable moments of witnessing Canadian athletes stand on the podium adorned with medals and the national flag.