Between 1976 and 1991, the Canada Cup was an invited international ice hockey event staged five times. The event was developed in response to a need for a truly global championship that would enable the greatest players from participating countries to participate regardless of their professional or amateur status.

The International Ice Hockey Federation, Hockey Canada, and the National Hockey League all approved it. Canadahas won the competition four times, and the Soviet Union has won it once. In 1996, the World Cup of Hockey took its place.

The Canada Cup trophy is made of pure nickel and weighs 120 pounds. It is designed like half of a maple leaf. In 1976, D. Scott McCann, President of Teledyne Canada, commissioned it to be processed at the Inco nickel smelter in Sudbury, Ontario. Donna Scott (Queen's University, Bachelor of Fine Arts, 1985) was inspired by Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon album cover when she designed the cup.

In 1976, Canada won the first Canada Cup, beating Czechoslovakia, the 1976 World Championship gold medalists, in a best-of-three final. The game was won by a 5–4 score in overtime, with Darryl Sittler scoring the game-winner. The Soviets won their first and only Canada Cup five years later, defeating Canada 8–1 in a one-game final. In the third edition of the event in 1984, the Canadians reclaimed the title.

Canada won its second Canada Cup with a victory against Sweden in the final after Canadian Mike Bossy scored an overtime game-winner to overcome the Soviets in the semi-finals.