Canada’s Summer and Winter Olympians, along with other athletes, were left out during Tuesday’s budget announcement by the federal government, despite pressure in recent months from the Canadian Olympic Committee and national sports organizations for more resources.
In Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first budget delivered by Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne, no new funding was allocated for sports in the announcement, and 2005 represents the most recent increase in core federal funding for Canada’s 62 federally funded NSOs.
Core funding is money that sports organizations rely on to fund operations, athletes, coaches and support staff.
This year’s ask was a $144 million increase to make up for two decades without a significant boost that appear as millions of dollars in shortfalls on NSOs’ books, according to COC Executive Director David Shoemaker.
I had hoped that Carney, a former university hockey goaltender who had previously expressed his love and passion for sport, physical activity and recreation in Canada, would take a stand and, through the budget, tell Canadians that athletes matter.
“He understands the power of sport. The reality is that we are falling far behind our competitors. Germany, Italy and France are spending 10 times more than us,” Shoemaker revealed to CBC Sports recently.
In the April 2024 budget, the government proposed two-year investments totaling $41 million for the Sports Support Program (which goes to NSOs and five other groups that support the development of Canadian sport), the Commission on the Future of Sport in Canada (a body whose two main focuses are funding and safe sport) and community sports programming.
The proposal was less than half of the $104 million increase requested by the COC.
CBC’s Power & Politics host David Cochrane sat down with Canadian Olympic Committee CEO and Secretary-General David Shoemaker and Olympic and world champion sprinter Andre De Grasse to discuss the COC’s call to increase funding to Canada’s sports system.
Canada’s nine gold medals and 27 overall last year in Paris were records for a non-boycotted Summer Olympics. Despite the success, Shoemaker was concerned about athletes reaching their full potential without more funding.
“I am concerned about the performance at Milano Cortina [in 2026] and certainly for [Los Angeles in 2028]”he said at the time in reference to the upcoming Winter and Summer Olympic Games.
Funding is the most important issue for Canadian Olympic athletes, according to COC Athletes Commission President Philippe Marquis.
“Sports organizations are on the brink of collapse due to lack of funding and resources,” the two-time freestyle skiing Olympian told CBC Sports earlier this year. “Everyone is tight [financially].”
Many NSOs struggle to operate, much less efficiently. Some were told this year that the federal government would cut their funding, so they made cuts and cut spending wherever possible.
Declining support for the next generation is a common theme, whether it means fewer paid travel meals or less access to a team doctor on the road.
2004 Olympic champion Adam van Koeverden outlines his vision for reshaping Canada’s sports system, from grassroots participation to high-performance excellence.
The 2024 federal budget increased monthly support and training allocations by approximately 23 percent under the Athlete Assistance Program to approximately $2,170. The program, commonly known as carding, comes from a pool of $40 million to support more than 1,900 eligible athletes.
“Was it enough? Not necessarily, and it has to be indexed to inflation and obviously what’s happening around the world with the cost of living,” Marquis said.
If each athlete received an equal share of the $40 million, it would be equivalent to about $21,000 annually. However, that amount would not cover the $25,000 team fee for Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton athletes.
Adam van Koeverden, Olympic kayak champion and Secretary of State for Sport in Carney’s cabinet, said five months ago it was “critical” that core funding for national sports organizations be increased. He also agreed that card financing should be indexed to inflation, although budgeting for that could be “a little ambiguous.”
“As a sports system, we’ve been advocating for more money for swimming or more money for canoe kayaking or more money for rugby or more money for rowing. And what we need to see is simply greater investment in sport from all sectors and all levels of government,” he said.
Canadian rugby players Tyson Beukeboom and Taylor Perry were treated like rock stars at the Women’s Rugby World Cup in England, where they captured a silver medal. But without full-time contracts or a local league at home, both are unemployed and looking for work.
Rugby Canada announced last week that its fundraising campaign ahead of the Women’s Rugby World Cup exceeded its goal, raising just over $1 million. The money, added to the $2.6 million provided by the governing body, made up for the shortfall in Canada head coach Kevin Rouet’s preparation plan.
The money helped pay for two additional pre-tournament camps, the first in Chula Vista, California, in May before the Pacific Four Series, and the second in Perth, Ontario, in July before a pair of test matches in South Africa.
Still, Rugby Canada CEO Nathan Bombrys expected Canada to have one of the lowest budgets of the entire tournament.
“I would like to see [the Canadian federal government] “I really appreciate the value that sport brings to the nation, to Canada, and I really understand it,” he said.
On a positive note, it was announced last week that Canada’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes and coaches will receive $3.11 million in funding for mental health services this winter.
The government also announced two months earlier a $4.5 million increase in funding to support community initiatives, which went to the Canadian Paralympic Committee, Athletics Canada and other organizations.
