The Government of Canada celebrates our athletes and sport in Canada
This winter, Canadians athletes have been front and centre making us proud on the world stage and at home. Sports events were held across the country and touched the lives of Canadians of all ages and backgrounds.
The Government of Canada invested $1,775,000 in these events, including the 2018 FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup at Canada Olympic Park. And how can we forget the successful PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, where athletes achieved personal bests, broke world records, and made Olympic and Paralympic history. The excitement continues as our athletes get ready for the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games in April.
“Over the winter months, we have been reminded time and time again of the power of sport as Team Canada athletes won a record-breaking number of medals in PyeongChang. Sport is part of our national identity and is critical to building healthy communities and a strong economy. That’s why our government is proud to continue to be the largest investor in Canada’s sport system and in our athletes. They are amazing role models, and a source of inspiration for all Canadians, especially our youth.”
—The Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science and Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities
In February, the Government’s budget for 2018 was also unveiled. It outlined a further commitment to sport in Canadain the following key areas of focus:
Women in Sport
The Government is setting a target to achieve gender equality in sport at every level by 2035. To achieve this, the Budget proposes to provide an initial $30 million over three years to support data and research and innovative practices to promote women and girls’ participation in sport and provide support to national sports organizations to promote the greater inclusion of women and girls in all facets of sport.
Indigenous Youth and Sport
The Budget also proposes an investment of $47.5 million over five years, as well as $9.5 million in ongoing annual funding after that, to expand the use of sport for social development in more than 300 Indigenous communities.
Special Olympics
The Government of Canada proposes an investment of $16 million over five years, starting in 2018–19, with $2 million per year ongoing, for Special Olympics Canada to sustain its empowering movement, which supports more than 45,000 children, young people and adults in Canada with intellectual disabilities through its network of more than 21,000 volunteers.
Participation in Active Living
Budget 2018 proposes an investment of $25 million over five years, starting in 2018–19, for ParticipACTION to increase Canadians’ participation in daily physical activity.
The Government of Canada is the single largest investor in Canada’s sport system, providing funding for initiatives to support our high-performance athletes and to promote sport participation among all Canadians, from the playground to the podium.
Canada’s targeted enhanced excellence approach, which includes coordinated investments by the Government of Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee based on recommendations by Own the Podium, has resulted in Canada’s best performance at the Olympic Winter Games with a total of 29 medals.
The Government of Canada is working with the Canadian Paralympic Committee to ensure that our athletes have what they need to perform at their very best. This March, Canada’s Paralympic athletes once again made history in PyeongChang and earned a total of 28 medals, a new record for Team Canada at the Paralympic Winter Games.
Image courtesy: Jason Ransom/COC
