Achieving Podium Success
The Government of Canada, through Canadian Heritage, is the single largest investor in sport in Canada.
Canadian Heritage (Sport Canada) works in partnership with athletes, coaches, officials, the sport community, and Canadian provinces and territories to improve opportunities for Canadians to participate and excel in sport at home and on the international stage.
This year, Canadian Heritage is providing $140 million to support participation and excellence in sport from the playground to the podium. This is the highest level of sport funding ever in Canada and will help create a more responsive sport system that better meets the needs of Canada's athletes and coaches.
Find out more about Canada's support for sport.
- The Canadian Sport Policy
- Own the Podium – 2010
- Athlete Assistance Program
- National Sport Organizations
- Multisport Service Organizations
- Canadian Sport Centres
- Sport Hosting Program
- Support for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games
The Canadian Sport Policy: A new momentum toward excellence
The Canadian Sport Policy outlines a vision and sets goals for increasing sport participation and excellence in Canada. Developed in collaboration with the Canadian Sport community and the 13 provinces and territories, the Policy provides a roadmap for all partners in Canada's sport system to work toward building a leading sport nation by providing resources for the development of amateur sport in Canada.
As we look toward 2008, 2010, 2012 and beyond, the Government of Canada and other funding partners, like the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and the Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC), created the Canadian Sport Review Panel to help them target funding to sports with the greatest potential of achieving podium performances at the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Canada's winter sport partners have launched Own the Podium – 2010.
Own the Podium is a vision and plan to enhance the recruitment, development and preparation of high performance athletes as they strive to make Canada the number one nation at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games and number three at the Paralympic Winter Games. It is a collaborative effort between Canada's 13 winter national sport organizations and the major winter sport partners, including the Canadian Olympic Committee, the Government of Canada, the Calgary Olympic Development Association, Canadian Paralympic Committee, and the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
Own the Podium - 2010 has an overall budget of $110 millions, to which the Government of Canada has contributed $55 million.
The Athlete Assistance Program (AAP) provides a living and training allowance for athletes, as well as tuition assistance for student-athletes. AAP provides up to $10,800 per year for developing athletes and $18,000 per year for senior athletes. More than 1,450 athletes receive support from the AAP.
Canadian Heritage supports 55 of Canada's national sport organizations for various programs that support national teams, developing athletes, coaches and officials, staff and operations and initiatives aimed at improving participation in sport across Canada. This supports the delivery of quality sport programs that reach 4.6 million Canadians.
Multisport Service Organizations
Canadian Heritage also helps multisport service organizations deliver programs and services that assist athletes throughout their development.
Canadian Heritage supports a network of Canadian Sport Centres to enhance the training environment for high performance athletes. The centres, which are located in all the provinces, are intended to complement national sport organization programming and provide service to high-performance athletes in pursuit of excellence.
The Sport Hosting Program assists Canadian organizations host sport events in Canada, such as world championships and the Canada Games. The program provides high performance development opportunities for our athletes. In 2004-05, Canadian Heritage funded 44 international sport events.
Support for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games
The Government of Canada has made a major investment to deliver a successful 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. The federal government has committed $497 million for the Games to date. This includes $255 million for capital costs and $55 million towards the Legacy Endowment Fund, which supports the ongoing operation of key sport venues. Federal funding will be used to ensure that the Games reflect Canadian priorities in areas such as environmental protection, sustainable development, official languages, cultural diversity and Aboriginal participation.