The Canadian team earned nine gold medals, five silver and one bronze at the event being held at Lake Banook in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

The Canadian four-man kayak team of Marshall Hughes, Vencent Jourdenais, Nicholas Matveev and Pierre-Luc Poulin got the home nation off on a high note, winning the 500-metres race.

“It was amazing to be able to be the first race and first gold to set the tone,” said Poulin, who helped his team edge out second-place Argentina by half a second.

“We face the boats we will need to beat next year for Olympic qualification, so I think this was a good opportunity to see what we need to do for next year.”

Canada’s four-woman kayak team of Courtney Stott, Lissa Bissonnette, Michelle Russell and Maddy Schmidt soon added a second gold to the host nation’s tally as they held off the challenge of Mexico.

“That race was closer than we would have liked, but it’s all motivation to keep us moving toward next year to qualify for [the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo],” said Russell.

The Canadians will hope to continue their winning ways in an event that runs through to Sunday (September 16).

There are 16 participating countries in the event including Mexico, Cuba, Argentina and Chile.

In all, 350 athletes from both North and South America are set to take part, including 73 paddlers from the host nation.

In many disciplines, the Championships will serve as a qualifier for the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima.