Sport boosted and bridged by massive funding infusion, says Secretary of Sport

Canadian sport has been given a boost and a bridge, says the country’s Secretary of Sport.

In the federal government’s spring economic update, $755 million more over the next five years, and $118 million more thereafter, was provided to grow participation in sport, support Canada’s athletes on the world stage and attract more international events to the country.

“We know that sport is Canada’s ultimate nation-building project and the Prime Minister believes that too,” Adam van Koeverden said Wednesday from Vancouver. “It’s all about bringing our giant country together.

“We have a boost for Canadian organizations to make some changes and to address some of the long-standing issues, to create those opportunities and the connective tissue that we’re talking about. The bridge is a long-term plan that will ensure that there’s durable, sustainable impact.

“The $755 million announcement is the largest commitment to sport in our nation’s history.

“I call it a generational impact because of the quantum of funding that we’re talking about, but it’s also a massive change forever.”

The Canadian Olympic and Paralympic committees had lobbied on behalf of national sport organizations ahead of the last two federal budgets for an increase in core funding, which they said hadn’t increased in over two decades.

Some NSOs were running deficits. Others had cut back on training camps, travel to competitions and developing next generation athletes.

The lobbying ramped up at February’s Winter Games in Milan and Cortina, Italy, where Canada fell out of the top five countries in total medals at a Winter Olympics for the first time since 1994, and where the country’s Paralympic medal count also decreased.

The Future of Sport in Canada Commission’s final report issued March 24 stated chronic underfunding of sport made for an unsafe sport system.

“I want to make that clear that funding from the federal government is always conditional on safe sport ambition, on governance standards, and on meeting the requirements of the Canadian safe sport policy, as well as other multiple requirements that we have to make sure that sport is safe, strong, maintains integrity, and does what sport does best, which is take care of Canadians,” van Koeverden said.

Van Koeverden, a winner of Olympic gold and three more medals in kayak sprints, and now the MP for Burlington North-Milton West in Ontario, was appointed Secretary of Sport by Prime Minister Mark Carney a year ago.

Included in Tuesday’s funding announcement in the spring economic update in Ottawa was $660 million more to national sport organizations over the next five years, and $110 thereafter to develop elite athletes, invest in safe sport measures and grow participation in their sports.

“The national sports organizations that come up with robust and ambitious plans to increase participation rates in Canada while supporting high-level national teams, while taking on new opportunities with the private sector, with philanthropy, those organizations that want to host events in Canada, they will benefit from a larger investment from the federal government,” van Koeverden said.

“We invest where ambition is and where organizations want to take on those opportunities, we’ll build Canada strong with them together.”

He thinks the government’s funding announcement could spur the private sector to get more involved.

“This is leverage, this is leadership, and this is delivering,” he said. “We’re all about charting the path, setting the standard, and creating the environment that is ready for investment from the private sector.

“The time to invest in sport is now. It’s a good investment. It’s going to pay off for your business, but also for Canadians. It’s also really fun, so why not?”

The new sport funding envelope also includes $50 million over the next five years to host international events.

Van Koeverden was in Vancouver on Wednesday to announce an additional $145 million for security in Vancouver and Toronto around the men’s FIFA World Cup. The first match in Canada is June 12 in Toronto, where host Canada faces Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 29, 2026.

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press