2025–26 Canadian Ice Dance: News and Updates

[Alilou]

JLB has been living in Montreal for 5 or 6 years and lives there now with Olivia Smart. It would be truly astonishing if he didn’t have PR. And with PR for that long citizenship will be relatively quick and easy.

 

[dramagrrl]

Not really sure how I feel about this. He's a great skater, but he is also seven years older than her and hasn't competed in several seasons. This pairing kind of feels like giving up long-term possibilities for short-term gain.

I guess I just want to go backwards and wish LaLa hadn't split. Sigh.

 

[angi]

I think if Canada had to see the demise of Lajoie/Lagha, at least they are getting Lajoie/Baker and (the rumored) Lim/Lagha. It's not a bad deal to split one great team and get two teams with the potential to be also great (and beyond).

 

[marbri]

Not really sure how I feel about this. He's a great skater, but he is also seven years older than her and hasn't competed in several seasons. This pairing kind of feels like giving up long-term possibilities for short-term gain.

I guess I just want to go backwards and wish LaLa hadn't split. Sigh.

I don't disagree with a lot of that BUT there really aren't a lot of options out there for someone as good as Marjorie so I kind of look at it as she gets to continue to skate and train like an elite athlete and see what happens in the future.

eta... Look what happened when Emmy Bronsard was left without a partner, tried a season with someone below her level only to shift over to solo dance. We lost too many great female talents in ice dance to let Marjorie collect dust on a shelf waiting for someone else worthy of her to come along.

 

[marbri]

Skate Canada Instagram

Skate Canada / Patinage Canada on Instagram: "NEW ICE DANCE TEAM UNLOCKED 🔓 @marjorie.lajoie and @jeanlucbaker have officially joined forces, bringing together years of experience, including appearances at the Olympics and World Championships. We

128 likes, 2 comments - skate_canada on June 1, 2026: "NEW ICE DANCE TEAM UNLOCKED 🔓 @marjorie.lajoie and @jeanlucbaker have officially joined forces, bringing together years of experience, including appearances at the Olympics and World Championships. We can’t wait to see what this new...

www.instagram.com

 

[danafan]

Skate Canada is promoting the partnership on their Facebook.

Facebook

www.facebook.com

 

[miffy]

Excellent! New teams always make it interesting, and age aside it was such a shame he retired so soon.

My only regret is he and Olivia could have skated for GB with no citizenship issues albeit not much of a height difference.

 

[skategal]

Skate Canada Instagram

Skate Canada / Patinage Canada on Instagram: "NEW ICE DANCE TEAM UNLOCKED 🔓 @marjorie.lajoie and @jeanlucbaker have officially joined forces, bringing together years of experience, including appearances at the Olympics and World Championships. We

128 likes, 2 comments - skate_canada on June 1, 2026: "NEW ICE DANCE TEAM UNLOCKED 🔓 @marjorie.lajoie and @jeanlucbaker have officially joined forces, bringing together years of experience, including appearances at the Olympics and World Championships. We can’t wait to see what this new...

www.instagram.com

So Canada it is then.

 

[Colonel Green]

Lajoie/Baker seemed to me like something the internet made up, so I'm kind of stunned that it's real.

Good get for Marjorie, though. So many ice dance ladies in her position seem to end up without good options, so I'm glad that wasn't the case here.

 

[Wyliefan]

They tagged Skate Canada so that should answer any questions about that

Oh, I was so busy looking for a little flag icon, I forgot to look for a tag.

 

[Marta24]

I don't disagree with a lot of that BUT there really aren't a lot of options out there for someone as good as Marjorie so I kind of look at it as she gets to continue to skate and train like an elite athlete and see what happens in the future.

eta... Look what happened when Emmy Bronsard was left without a partner, tried a season with someone below her level only to shift over to solo dance. We lost too many great female talents in ice dance to let Marjorie collect dust on a shelf waiting for someone else worthy of her to come along.

I get a headache everytime I think about all the lost talents in Canadian ice dance.

 

[I Luv Bulldogs]

Not to jump too far ahead, but how will the rules apply to them for GP events? Is it based on Marjorie's results last year? Is there any benefit to him being a returning skater with those rules?

Trying to figure out if I will see them live at SCI in Kelowna . At least I know I will get to see them live at Nationals in Mississauga and hopefully at Worlds too in Tampere!! Wheeee!!! (all under the assumption they are competing for Canada lol, I hope!)

With all the breakups and retirements, I was getting a bit bummed about which skaters will be ompeting in Kelowna as this will be my first live event in a few years.

Now I'm excited at the possibility lol.

 

[marshallpond]

I am excited to see JLB get back to competition! He may not have competed when he retired but he's been so busy doing choreos and coaching. Can't wait to see this new pairing!

JLB will be in Courchevel, France, from June 7-11 for a Your True Step seminar for French skaters selected by the Federation (not your usual Your True Step seminar where anyone and everyone can sign up, but exclusively for skaters handpicked by the French Fed)

 

[marbri]

So are we ready for the LaBa vs LiLa rivalry for the next quad

 

[marbri]

I am excited to see JLB get back to competition! He may not have competed when he retired but he's been so busy doing choreos and coaching. Can't wait to see this new pairing!

JLB will be in Courchevel, France, from June 7-11 for a Your True Step seminar for French skaters selected by the Federation (not your usual Your True Step seminar where anyone and everyone can sign up, but exclusively for skaters handpicked by the French Fed)

I guess that may answer the question of what Marjorie is currently doing in France?

 

[Rhumba d’Amour]

WOW. I did not see that coming, even with the rumours that were flying.

I knew it was the first of the month, but I did have to check to make sure we’ve entered June, not April

 

[Rhumba d’Amour]

Not really sure how I feel about this. He's a great skater, but he is also seven years older than her and hasn't competed in several seasons. This pairing kind of feels like giving up long-term possibilities for short-term gain.

I guess I just want to go backwards and wish LaLa hadn't split. Sigh.

Maybe she intends to skate another season or two, and then move on to something else, schooling or whatever. If so, this starts to make more sense

 

[kirkbiggestfan]

I never realized that LaLa were quite short. They always skated bigger than their size. I would think that Lajoie/Baker will go fo entertaining routines. Baker is quite the entertainer and blade master. You'd think that Lajoie wasn't thrilled to do ballet programs or artsy fartsy themes for Zach. I was amazed to see Lajoie pull off balletic routines even though she lacks all the fundamentals skills of a ballerina on ice.

 

[Colonel Green]

Maybe she intends to skate another season or two, and then move on to something else, schooling or whatever. If so, this starts to make more sense

I would assume this is probably a 2030-and-done arrangement (assuming there aren't any intervening issues).

 

[dancing_on_ice]

Will USFS kick up a fuss about JLB’s release? the most recent release from USFS to Skate Canada I can think of was Deanna and she needed to wait 2 years iirc. Will they count JLB as already waited that out with his retirement?

 

[marbri]

I would think Skate Canada wouldn't announce it if he wasn't released?

 

[Colonel Green]

Will USFS kick up a fuss about JLB’s release? the most recent release from USFS to Skate Canada I can think of was Deanna and she needed to wait 2 years iirc. Will they count JLB as already waited that out with his retirement?

Given how long he's been retired, and also the IAM muscle, I would guess no.

 

[Former Lurve Goddess]

If I had to guess, I'd bet that JLB and Marjorie have a good off-ice friendship and perhaps she thought it best to team up with someone she knows she's gets along with, whose training habits she's familiar with and who has also previously been in the world top 10. And maybe psyching oneself up for another quad as opposed to two is just psychologically more motivating.

I'm still gutted about the LaLa breakup and still think they should have been on the podium at 2024 worlds, but sadly, some things aren't meant to be.

 

[Karen-W]

Not to jump too far ahead, but how will the rules apply to them for GP events? Is it based on Marjorie's results last year? Is there any benefit to him being a returning skater with those rules?

It's an interesting question.

The "Return/Split Couple" clause in the GP General Announcement only states "Placed 7-10 at..." and then lists the three most recent Worlds - so for the coming season, that would be 2026, 2025 & 2024 - which covers Marjo's results with Zak for 2026 & 2025, however, they were 5th in 2024 and...

The "Comeback" clause in the GP General Announcement states "Top 6 in the last 10 years" which would apply to Marjo in 2024 and Jean-Luc in 2022.

The "Return/Split Couple" clause says "may always be chosen as an Organizing ISU Member Skater as per paragraph 2.2. f) and in addition, may be considered as an Organizing ISU Member’s Choice as per paragraph 2.2. g)" and they're placed on the SB list according to the most recent SB - so, in this case, LajLag's 2025-26 SB, which puts them ahead of every other team not guaranteed 2 GPs.

We saw last year that one of those clauses was applied to FBCiz and they wound up with 2 GPs - and I tend to think the assignments were more in line with applying the "Return/Split Couple" clause to them using FBSor's 2023-24 SB to rank them at the very top of the SB list and ahead of every other team not guaranteed 2 GPs, especially since one of their GP assignments was a host assignment at GPdF.

ETA - the contrast being that the Shibs were most certainly a "Comeback" team and they received 2 GPs, neither of which was a host assignment, which is in line with the language in the Comeback clause section which gives skaters/teams priority for 2 GPs ahead of all others once the guaranteed GPs are doled out & doesn't imply that 1 of the GPs should be a host assignment.

My best guess, we'll see the same thing happen for the new LaKer partnership - SCI host assignment (why not? the pickings are slim otherwise) and they'll be chosen by another host fed for a 2nd GP assignment (bet on either NHK or Finlandia, IMO).

 

[Lanie]

I am shocked because it seemed like one of those things that was just sort of nonsense on the internet but damn

Always loved JLB's skating so it'll be fun to see him with Marjo.

 

[withwings]

Haven't read past this post, but I would be very careful spreading the rumours you hear on twitter and reddit. I wouldn't put any stock in either of these as partnerships unless and until the skaters themselves say so.

... i do not have either twitter account or read reddit and, unfortunately, i am not too much into internet in general. Sorry for my late reply to your post.

 

[skatfan]

I would think Skate Canada wouldn't announce it if he wasn't released?

He’s been gone so long, and worked for US Figure Skating, plus don’t they have to let him go if he’s been gone for two seasons? Or is that an older rule!

 

[just tuned in]

I will miss JLB’s fascinating commentary during official practice ice at the major comps. Maybe he can still commentate for US Nationals?

 

[cholla]

I guess that may answer the question of what Marjorie is currently doing in France?

I saw a picture she took in Lyon today and my "slaves" and I started wondering who the hell there she was having a try out with Something tells me I'll probably drop by Courchevel next week out of curiosity...

 

[Belsornia]

My only regret is he and Olivia could have skated for GB with no citizenship issues albeit not much of a height difference.

Olivia lifted Nile Wilson, she could have lifted Jean-Luc!

So are we ready for the LaBa vs LiLa rivalry for the next quad

Skate Canada will have all the ex-partner rivalries with Bashynska/Perron vs Urban/Beaumont continuing too. The former LaLas are already winning the catchy portmaneau contest though.