Pride Warmed Canadian Hearts This Winter

The Government of Canada celebrates our athletes and sport in Canada

GATINEAU, QC, March 21, 2018 /CNW/ - This winter, Canadians athletes have been front and centre making us proud on the world stage and at home. Sport 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.

In February, the Government's budget for 2018 was also unveiled. It outlined a further commitment to sport in Canada in 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.

Quotes

"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

Quick Facts

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.

For a complete list of investments this past winter, see the Backgrounder.

Associated Links

Sport Canada

Budget 2018

Backgrounder

Sport Canada Hosting Program

The Hosting Program assists sport organizations in hosting the Canada Games and international sport events in Canada. The Program contributes to sport excellence and enhances the international profile of sport organizations in Canada. It also delivers economic, social and cultural benefits to Canadian communities.

The Hosting Program is delivered through four components:

Canada Games

This component provides contributions to host societies that are duly incorporated for the staging of the Canada Games, such as the 2017 Canada Summer Games in Winnipeg.

International Major Multisport Games

This component is focused on large, multisport games, such as the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Commonwealth Games and the Pan and Parapan American Games.

International Single Sport Events

This component assists sport organizations in hosting international single sport events in Canada. It aims to enhance high-performance sport development and the international profile of Canadian sport organizations.

International Multisport Games for Aboriginal Peoples and Persons with Disabilities

This component provides competitive opportunities for designated, under-represented groups in Canada that face systemic barriers to sport participation. The Toronto 2017 North American Indigenous Games received a contribution from this component of the Hosting Program.

Listed below are all the winter sports events from December 2017 to March 2018 for International Single Sport Events. This represents a total of $1,775,000 in contributions from Sport Canada.

SOURCE Canadian Heritage