The mortgage industry is once again lacing up its bowling shoes and taking another spin in a collective effort to “Strike Out Cancer” in late February.
Now in its third year, the annual event has expanded from a standalone gathering in Toronto to a national campaign across 14 cities, with a fundraising goal of seven figures.
Generous donations from industry sponsors are once again covering operational costs so that every dollar raised — and matched by Health Canada — can go directly to cancer research via the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation and the Terry Fox Foundation.
In 2024, Strike Out Cancer’s inaugural event in Toronto raised $56,000 for Princess Margaret. Last year, nine concurrent events in different cities coast-to-coast raised more than $775,000 combined, with funds donated to local cancer research efforts in each community.
“Terry Fox helps us find cancer centres across the country, so that funds raised in Saskatchewan, for example, go to cancer research in Saskatchewan,” explains Don Stoddart, owner and principal broker of Key Mortgage Partners. “This year we have a goal of a million, and we’ve added another five locations across the country, so we’re up to 14.”
Event dates
- February 24 – Calgary, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Hamilton, London, St. John’s
- February 25 – Halifax, Quebec City, Toronto/Vaughan, Vancouver
- February 26 – Edmonton & Montreal
- February 27 – Ottawa
- March 4 – Kelowna
Some lighthearted fun mixed with some heavy hearts
Strike Out Cancer participants are encouraged to arrive in costume to compete for the annual “Best Dressed” award and wear a nametag displaying the name of the person touched by cancer that they’re bowling for.
“It starts off as a competitive bowling tournament that turns very quickly into a passionate understanding of friends and family and what it means to lose people,” Stoddart says. “It brings back a lot of great memories of those people.”
Stoddart founded Strike Out Cancer in 2023 after losing four people to cancer in quick succession.
“He and I were at the bedside of [MPC Hall of Fame Inductee] Ed Karthaus about a month and a half before he passed away, and coincidentally, on that same day, Jessica Fitzpatrick came to visit to Ed as well,” explains Axiom Innovations CEO Dong Lee. “Within a year, both of them had passed away, and it was Don who said, ‘we need to do something to just recognize how precious life is and how cancer has taken some really good people from our lives.’”
Banking on some healthy competition
Stoddart says the national reach of the event has inspired some friendly competition between Canadian cities, which ultimately drives more donations.
Last year, for example, it appeared that Ottawa had out-raised Montreal, until the final numbers were tallied and the latter narrowly edged out the former.
“We now have Montreal and Quebec City, so those two are going to have some fun with each other,” Stoddart adds. “You’re trying to raise more than the person beside you, your team is trying to raise more than the other team, your centre is trying to raise more than the other centre, but when you get to the event the whole focus and atmosphere changes, because of that name on your chest.”
“It’s an incredibly competitive industry across all sectors, whether it’s the lenders or the brokers or the franchises,” explains Wane Davis, who has worked as a marketer in the mortgage industry for over 40 years. “The thing that really warms my heart is, in such an aggressive industry they can all come together as one industry for one cause.”
Bigger and better than ever
Davis, himself a cancer survivor, was brought on to assist with marketing for last year’s event, but says he’s had a lot more time to add more professional touches to the 2026 edition.
This year he says participants should anticipate a more sophisticated social media campaign, signage and digital communication materials — even an original jingle.
“We’re trying to improve sponsorship recognition, which goes a long way in getting more sponsorship dollars, which allows us to do more in more markets,” Davis adds. “Don Stoddart said to me that it’s gone from a mom-and-pop thing to a national campaign.”
Each of the 14 regional events will be managed by a local ambassador who has volunteered to sell tickets, organize local sponsors and oversee the event.
“We’re humbled that people would step up,” says Lee. “When you ask for help, you just hope they’ll say ‘yes,’ but when they come back all-in, it’s just a sense of ‘wow,’ and we don’t take it for granted.”
The events will all take place between February 24 and 26, except for one in Kelowna, B.C. on March 4. Organizers anticipate another sellout year, with a total of 1,800 bowlers and another 200+ non-bowling spectators. Participants only need to raise a couple hundred dollars each on average to surpass the seven-figure fundraising goal, with the help of matching funds.
“Every year we do this, we get better at it,” Lee adds. “We’re just overwhelmed with the success of it, and I think when you do it with the right mindset, good things happen.”
In the future, organizers hope to see participants raising funds in just about every Canadian community.
“As long as there’s a bowling alley anywhere close to them, then it would be nice to let them be involved,” Stoddart says. “I hope it continues on for years past me and just continues to grow.”
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Last modified: January 14, 2026
