Maltais started competing in 2002, and won the Canadian Championship in 2003 and again in 2004. Internationally, she came 5th in the World Cup during her rookie year (2003–04) with 2 podium finishes that year. In her second year (2004–05), she won the European Cup and came in 8th in the World Cup. During that World Cup she had two podium finishes, including her first gold. In the 2005 World Championships, Maltais finished 4th, letting her set her sights on an Olympic medal in Turin in 2006, the first time Snowboard Cross would be contested at the Winter Olympics.