Kady Dandeneau has already won gold for Canada once at the Commonwealth Games. Now she gets to carry the flag when she does it again.

The wheelchair basketball player from Pender Island, British Columbia, was named Team Canada's Flag Bearer for the Opening Ceremony of the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, which kicks off July 23. Canada will send a record 35 Para athletes to the Games this year — the largest team in the country's history.

"Winning gold at the Commonwealth Games in 2022 was a special moment for our team, and we're excited for the opportunity to compete on that stage again," Dandeneau said. "We're looking forward to representing Canada with pride in Glasgow."

The milestone didn't happen overnight. Para sports first appeared at the Commonwealth Games as demonstration events in 1994, when the Games were held in Victoria, B.C. — Canada's own backyard. Chantal Petitclerc of Quebec became the first-ever Commonwealth Games champion in a Para event, winning the women's 800m wheelchair race in Manchester in 2002, the year Para events joined the official program. This year's record team is a sign of how far things have come.

Six Para sports will be contested in Glasgow: wheelchair basketball (3×3), swimming, athletics, lawn bowls, cycling, and powerlifting. All medals count toward each nation's overall total, meaning Para athletes are fully part of Team Canada, not a separate delegation.

That integration matters to Nicolas-Guy Turbide of Quebec City, who is returning to Glasgow as the defending champion in the men's 50m freestyle S13. He won gold at the 2022 Games and set a Commonwealth Games record. "The integrated Olympic and Paralympic programs all together shows us a different perspective," he said. "Our goals and objectives are very similar and having one team is something we look forward to."

The Para swimming team is stacked with Paris 2024 Paralympic medalists. Danielle Dorris of Dieppe, New Brunswick — a three-time Paralympian and two-time defending champion in the S7 50m butterfly — leads the women's squad alongside Katie Cosgriffe of Burlington, Ontario, who took bronze in the S10 100m butterfly at her first Paralympics last year. World champion Mary Jibb of Muskoka, Ontario, also joins them.

On the wheelchair basketball court, Dandeneau and teammate Élodie Tessier are bringing more than just Commonwealth Games experience. Last year, they helped Canada win the 2025 IWBF 3×3 Open World Championship, with Dandeneau named tournament MVP. Garrett Ostepchuk of Regina and Lee Melymick of Toronto also return from that world championship-winning men's team, joined by newcomers Reed De'Aeth of Sherwood Park, Alberta, and Kyrell Sopotyk of Aberdeen, Saskatchewan.

"Any time you have the opportunity to represent Canada, it's an incredible honour," Melymick said. "We have a great mix of experience and young talent on this team."

The Games run through August 4. For Dandeneau, the journey from Victoria 1994 to Glasgow 2026 traces a path Canada's Para athletes have been building for three decades — one gold medal at a time.