Today, Sport Canada published the findings of the review of its targeted excellence approach. The findings provide insight on Canada’s high-performance sport system that will help align and improve Targeted Excellence, by focusing on longer-term sustainable technical and financial support and the development of high-performance sport in Canada.
Canada needs to sustain the development of high-performance sport systems for all Olympic and Paralympic sports, not only for those that are targeted to win medals at Games. Winning medals for Canada will always be important, but it cannot be the only measure of success.
As a result, we will work with our sport partners to establish key indicators that demonstrate that we are advancing the high-performance sport system for all Olympic and Paralympic Sports, including improvements in coaching, sport science, and research and development.
We will continue working with our sport partners on addressing these and other issues raised in the review and framing next steps.
As the single largest investor in this country’s sport system, the Government of Canada will continue to support our sport organizations and athletes to ensure that Canada remains a leading sport nation.
Quotes
“As a Paralympian who had the honour of representing Canada, I know first-hand the importance of supporting our country’s high-performance athletes. We can all share in the pride of their success at Olympic and Paralympic Games, and we want to ensure that these performances are sustained while still guaranteeing the effective management of public funds by aligning priorities and programs within Canada’s world-class sport system.”
—The Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities
“We congratulate Minister Qualtrough and the Government of Canada for their leadership in initiating this important review for Canada’s Targeted Excellence Approach. Own the Podium is very pleased with the results, which strongly indicate the medal-targeted strategy launched in 2005 to advance Canada’s high-performance agenda has produced impressive results,” said John Furlong, Chair, Own the Podium. “The review points to opportunities for further enhancement to the system – a finding we applaud. This review will help guide our approach going forward to achieve our goal of helping more Canadian athletes climb onto the podium at the Olympic and Paralympic Games.”
— John Furlong, Chair, Own the Podium
“From our perspective as the largest private sector funder of sport in this country, Sport Canada’s review has been diligent and timely. The report reflects on what is needed to allow our athletes to continue to shine on the world stage; something Canadians have shown us they truly care about. We look forward to working with Minister Qualtrough on addressing the identified needs within a national strategy for high-performance sport.”
—Tricia Smith, President, Canadian Olympic Committee
“We applaud the strong leadership of Minister Qualtrough for her continued efforts towards enhancing and aligning the Canadian sport system. We look forward to the next steps following this launch to continue the dialogue with the sport community and move forward with a united goal of becoming a world-leading sport nation.”
—Marc-André Fabien, President, Canadian Paralympic Committee
Quick Facts
- Over 1,400 Canadians provided direct input into the review process, including 804 through direct invitations to Canada’s sport community and 605 through an open forum.Goss Gilroy Inc. (GGI) was contracted to obtain input and feedback from athletes, coaches, sport partners and stakeholders across Canada through interviews and surveys. GGI also completed a document and literary review, as well as a review of Sport Canada’s own database.
- The Government of Canada, through Sport Canada, provides $64 million annually to Targeted Excellence based on research initiatives and recommendations from Own the Podium, as part of the almost $200 million annual investment into Canada’s sport system overall.
- Own the Podium is a not-for-profit organization that plays a critical role in supporting Canada’s overall approach to Targeted Excellence.
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