Jonathan David

Early Life and Family

Jonathan David is the youngest of two children of Jean and Rose David. They were both born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and moved back to Haiti three months after Jonathan was born in Brooklyn, New York. (See also Haitian Canadians.) When Jonathan was six, he moved to Ottawa with his parents and older sister, Chrissy. Rose died of cancer when David was 19.

David started playing soccer at the age of 10 with the Gloucester Dragons. He then played for the Ottawa Gloucester SC Hornets and, starting in 2016, the Ottawa Internationals. David made a name for himself as one of the most dominant players in the history of the Ontario Youth Soccer League. In 41 games at the U-14 and U-15 level, David scored 70 goals. In 2015, David led the Hornets to the best OYSL regular season record and the OYSL East Division title at the U-15 level.

David’s childhood coach in Ottawa, Hanny El-Magraby, once told an Ottawa reporter that David “was exactly the type of player you want to coach. He listens and takes advice … Jonathan knew what he wanted to accomplish and was willing to listen to people who had experience.”

David grew up in the eastern part of Ottawa, where French was the primary language. During high school, David attended Louis Riel Public High School in Ottawa, which had a sports study program. Canadian women’s soccer star Vanessa Gilles also attended the school.

Among David’s soccer idols growing up were Brazil’s Ronaldinho and Neymar, as well as Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo. David also admired future basketball hall of famer Kevin Durant.

Canadian National Program Debut

At the age of 15, Jonathan David was part of the 2015 Canadian Youth Program at an identification camp. Two years later, he scored two highlight-reel goals in a 2–0 Canada win over Suriname at the 2017 CONCACAF (Confederation of North, Central America, and Caribbean Association Football) Under-17 Men’s Championship in Panama City. With both goals, David deked the Suriname defense, giving Canadian sports fans a glimpse of what was to come.

Career with the Canadian National Team

David made his debut for Canada’s national team on 9 September 2018. He scored two goals in an 8–0 win over the US Virgin Islands in CONCACAF Nations League Qualifying.

David has recorded a hat trick twice while representing Canada internationally. He first accomplished the feat on 23 June 2019 in a 7–0 Canada win over Cuba in CONCACAF Gold Cup action. He then scored three times in a 4–0 win over Suriname in a World Cup qualifier on 8 June 2021.

At the 2019 Gold Cup, David led the tournament in goals, with six. Canada reached the quarter-finals of the tournament before losing 3–2 to Haiti.

For nine months starting in June of 2021, David was an instrumental part of the Canadian team that attempted to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. David played 18 of Canada’s 20 games and scored nine goals. He finished second in goals with nine in the entire CONCACAF World Cup qualifying tournament. (David’s teammate, Cyle Larin, was the leader with 13 goals.) David also led Team Canada with eight assists. In 20 qualifying games, Canada had a record of 14 wins, four draws and two losses. Canada officially qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar with a 4–0 win over Jamaica on 27 March 2022 in Toronto.

At the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Canada lost all three games in the group stage, losing 1–0 to Belgium, 4–1 to Croatia and 2–1 to Morocco. David was unable to score. Since the 2022 World Cup, David has scored 15 more times for Team Canada internationally.

Professional Career Highlights

On 14 January 2018, Jonathan David signed his first professional contract with Belgium’s Gent. David had an immediate impact, scoring in his first game on 4 August 2018. In 83 games over two seasons with Gent, he scored 37 goals and added 15 assists.

From there, David made Canadian soccer history. On 11 August 2020, he went from Gent to France’s Lille in a $46.5 million deal (€ 30 million). This was the highest ever transfer fee paid for a Canadian player at the time, according to Soccer Canada. In 231 games with Les Dogues, David scored 109 goals and had 30 assists. David’s most memorable season with Lille from a team perspective came in 2020–21. He helped Lille win the Ligue 1 title — the fourth in franchise history. In 37 Ligue 1 games in 2020–21, David scored 13 goals.

Lille finished 2020–21 with 83 points — one point ahead of French powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain. In 2022–23, David finished the season third in the league in scoring with 24 goals. Twice while with Lille, in 2022 and 2025, David helped Les Dogues reach the Round of 16 in Champions League action. In 2024–25, David scored seven goals in 10 games.

On 4 July 2025, David’s contract with Lille expired. He then signed a five-year deal worth $48.1 million (€ 30 million) with Juventus in Italy.

Honours

Jonathan David was named the CONCACAF Men’s Player of the Year in 2025. He was also named the Canada Soccer Player of the Year in 2019, 2024 and 2025.