Skinner's resignation is the latest blow for Hockey Canada, which has in recent days lost high-profile sponsors and seen Hockey Québec and Hockey Nova Scotia vow to stop transferring membership fees to the national body.

Skinner, who is a lawyer by trade, was only appointed interim Board chair in August, following Michael Brind'Amour's resignation, but has resigned herself fewer than two months later.

In a statement, Skinner said it was "clear to me from recent events that it no longer makes sense for me to continue to volunteer my time as Interim Chair or as a Director of the organization".

The rest of the Board thanked Skinner in a statement and pledged to continue discussing reforms to Hockey Canada.

There is growing pressure for Hockey Canada's leadership to quit amid a scandal over how the organisation has handled claims of sexual misconduct, but so far those calls have been resisted.

At Canada's Parliament, Skinner told a standing committee last week that the Board "does not share the view that Hockey Canada should be making more leadership changes at this time", insisting President and chief executive Scott Smith still had its support.

Skinner also insisted it was not fair to "scapegoat hockey" as toxic behavior "exists throughout society" and is not unique to the sport.

Hockey Canada has faced heavy criticism for its treatment of allegations of sexual assault since it became known earlier this year that it had settled a case for CAD3.55 million (£2.2 million/$2.7 million/€2.7 million) with a woman who claims she was abused by members of Canada's junior national team in 2018.

An investigation into the incident has been reopened and law enforcement is also looking into an alleged group sexual assault committed by members of Canada's 2003 junior national team.

Hockey Canada has had its access to public funds frozen as a consequence, and revelations that membership fees may have been used to settle lawsuits related to sexual misconduct have sparked further outcry.

Hockey Québec and Hockey Nova Scotia have said they will not send money to Hockey Canada, while sponsors including Nike, Tim Hortons and Scotiabank have ended or suspended commercial relationships with Hockey Canada.

Canadian Sports Minister Pascale St-Onge had urged regional bodies to put pressure on Hockey Canada in order to push through a change of leadership, saying that if officials did not step down voluntarily, voting members needed to "clean the house".

"Anything that should happen with Hockey Canada from now on should happen with new leadership," St-Onge also said earlier this month.

Hockey Canada has committed to becoming a full signatory to the new Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner and published a six-pillar action plan to address "toxic behavior" and a "code of silence" it admits plagues the sport, as well as commissioning a governance review.

The governance review is to be led by Thomas Cromwell, a former Supreme Court justice.