In which Ontario city was Wayne Gretzky born?

Wayne Gretzky was born in Brantford, Ontario.

Gretzky was born on January 26, 1961, in the southwestern Ontario city of Brantford. He grew up in the area in a hockey-focused family led by his father, Walter Gretzky, who built a backyard rink that became known as the Wally Coliseum. That rink gave Wayne and his siblings a place to practice and helped shape the early development of the player later nicknamed “The Great One.”

Brantford is closely associated with Gretzky’s childhood and legacy. The city is located along the Grand River, roughly southwest of Toronto, and has commemorated its most famous athlete in several ways, including the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre. Gretzky’s birthplace is sometimes mixed up with Toronto or nearby Hamilton because all are major Ontario hockey locations, but Brantford is the single canonical answer. Kingston, another prominent Ontario hockey city, is also not his birthplace.