Canada's Summer and Winter Olympians and other athletes remained on the sidelines during the federal government's budget announcement Tuesday, even as the Canadian Olympic Committee and national sports organizations have pushed for more resources in recent months.
Prime Minister Mark Carney's first budget, presented by Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne, did not provide new funding for sports, with 2005 representing the most recent increase in core federal funding for Canada's 62 federally funded NSOs.
Core funding is the money that sports organizations rely on to fund their operations, athletes, coaches and support staff.
This year's request was for a $144 million increase to make up for two decades without a significant increase, which shows up in millions of dollars in deficits on NSO's books, according to COC CEO David Shoemaker.
He hoped Carney, a former collegiate hockey goalie who had previously professed his love and passion for sports, physical activity and recreation in Canada, would take a stand and prove to Canadians through the budget that athletes matter.
“He understands the power of sports. The reality is we're way behind our competitors. Germany, Italy, France outspend us 10 to one,” Shoemaker recently told CBC Sports.
In the April 2024 budget, the government proposed a two-year investment totaling $41 million in the Sports Endowment Program (which goes to the NSO 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 programs.
This proposal was less than half the $104 million increase requested by COC.
CBC's Power and Politics host David Cochrane sat down with Canadian Olympic Committee chief executive and secretary general David Shoemaker and Olympic and world sprint champion Andre De Grasse to discuss the COC's call for more funding for Canada's sports system.
Canada's nine gold medals and 27 gold medals for all of last year in Paris were records for the non-boycotted Summer Olympics. Despite the success, Shoemaker was concerned that the athletes would reach their full potential without further funding.
“I'm worried about the performance in Milano Cortina. [in 2026] and of course for [Los Angeles in 2028]he said then, referring to the next Winter and Summer Olympics.
According to COC Athletes' Commission Chairman Philippe Marquis, funding is the most important issue for Canadian Olympians.
“Sports organizations are on the brink of collapse due to lack of funding and resources,” the two-time Olympic freestyle skiing champion told CBC Sports earlier this year. “Everyone is cramped [financially]”
Many NSOs struggle to function, let alone be effective. Some were told the federal government would cut their funding this year, so they made cuts and cut spending where possible.
Reduced support for the next generation is a common theme, whether that means less paid meals on the road or limited access to a team doctor on the road.
2004 Olympic champion Adam van Coeverden outlines his vision for changing Canada's sporting system, from grassroots participation to high performance.
The 2024 federal budget increased monthly housing and tuition benefits by about 23 percent under the Athlete Assistance Program, to about $2,170. The program, commonly known as carding, is funded from a $40 million pool to support more than 1,900 eligible athletes.
“Was it enough? It doesn't have to be, and it needs 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, that would amount to about $21,000 per year. However, that amount will not cover the $25,000 team fee for Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton Athletes.
Adam van Coeverden, an Olympic kayaking champion and Carney's secretary of state for sport, said five months ago that it was “critically important” to increase core funding for national sporting bodies. He also agreed that carding funding would be indexed for inflation, although budgeting for this could be “a bit ambiguous”.
“As a sporting system, we advocate for more money for swimming, or more money for canoes, kayaks, or more money for rugby, or more money for rowing. And what we need is simply more investment in sport from all sectors and at all levels of government,” he said.
At the Women's Rugby World Cup in England, where Canadian rugby players Tyson Beukeboom and Taylor Perry were treated like rock stars, they won a silver medal. But with no permanent contracts and no national league at home, they are both unemployed and looking for work.
Rugby Canada announced last week that its fundraising campaign ahead of the Women's Rugby World Cup has exceeded its goal of just over $1 million. The money, added to the $2.6 million provided by the governing body, plugs a shortfall in Canada head coach Kevin Rouhe's training 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.
However, Rugby Canada CEO Nathan Bombris expected Canada to have one of the lowest budgets of the entire tournament.
“I'd like to see [the Canadian federal government] really appreciate the value that sport brings to the nation, to Canada, and really understand that,” he said.
On a positive note, it was announced last week that Canadian Olympic and Paralympic athletes and coaches will receive $3.11 million in mental health funding this winter.
The government also announced two months earlier a $4.5 million funding increase to support community initiatives, which went to the Canadian Paralympic Committee, Athletics Canada and other organizations.
