Hey, hey, hey, something on this sub that I actually feel qualified to answer.
I'm a huge fan of cricket, and have always been interested in the growth of the sport in "associate nations", basically nations that will often make appearances in international tournaments, but rarely make it through the first rounds. These nations include places like Oman, UAE, Nepal, USA, Namibia, Netherlands, and, of course, Canada.
What a lot of Canadians don't realise is that Canada (and the USA for that matter) was actually a major player in cricket's early history. There's evidence of cricket being played in Montreal in the late 18th century, and the first proper club (the Toronto Cricket Club) was founded in 1829. Fourteen years later, Canada would make history by playing in the first known international cricket game against none other than the United States. The game rapidly spread across the country during the mid 19th century, and the first Canadian PM, Sir John MacDonald, apparently proclaimed it was Canada's national sport.
In the late 19th century, Canada looked poised to become a major player in international cricket. There were multiple tours by English and Australian teams, and the Canadians even toured England at one point. There were also regular matches between Canadian and American teams, even though the sport was in decline in America. Finally, in 1892, the Canadian Cricket Association was formed to govern the sport at a national level. At the time, it may have seemed likely that Canada would be the fourth country to be granted "test status", only behind England, Australia, and South Africa.
So what the hell went wrong? Why did Canadian cricket stagnate, and then decline? Arguably the most important factor was the establishment, and rapid increase in popularity of other sports such as baseball, ice hockey, basketball, and American football. Cricket had a host of issues in Canada that meant it quickly took a backseat to other sports.
It was expensive to play, and had a reputation of being an exclusively upper-class sport in some places. Other sports were simply far more accessible to the average person, a problem that plagues the game to this day.
It was geographically isolated from the sport's main power bases (England and Australia). Despite the cultural links to the British Empire, American trends took root in Canada much easier owing to its geographical proximity.
Speaking of America, it was Canada's main source of international tours. However, popularity dried up there earlier than it did in Canada, robbing Canadians of their main international playing partners. The Imperial Cricket Conference, a precursor to the modern International Cricket Council, actually purposefully hampered the growth of cricket in the USA, which undoubtedly played a part in the sport's decline there.
Canada's weather and climate simply isn't suitable for playing cricket for much of the year, whereas other sports are far more flexible. Snow kills cricket.
It's worth noting that other cricketing nations didn't really have these same issues. Climate wasn't a problem. Sure, there were other sports such as rugby, AFL, and football, but they were played in winter rather than summer. And of course, other Commonwealth nations did not have the same exposure to American culture that Canada had or were still being directly governed from London at this time.
So by 1910, cricket was already on the decline in Canada, and that would only be accelerated by the onset of World War I. From 1913 to 1932, no overseas teams would tour Canada, and Canada would not tour overseas with the exception of a single tour of England in 1922. As a result, Canada was simply being left behind during a period where the sport was rapidly expanding, with the additions of the West Indies in 1928, New Zealand in 1930, and India in 1932.
An Australian tour in 1932 (which included the legendary Sir Donald Bradman) would briefly revive interest in the sport, and Canada would embark on successful tours of England during the 1930s. However, World War II would put an end to this, and although Canadian sides would still tour overseas during the 1950s, they would hardly garner any attention.
Following World War II, cricket began to transition from amateur to professional, and there was neither the money nor interest in Canada to keep up with the rest of the world. Cricket was absolutely no longer mainstream, and still isn't to this day. Local sports are simply too ingrained into Canadian culture, and although cricket is rapidly growing again, largely thanks to migrant communities, it will take a lot to make it mainstream.
Cricket has a fascinating history, so I'm happy to answer any questions.