Canadian athletes on outside as Carney government's 1st budget sees no new sports funding

Canada's summer and winter Olympians, along with other athletes, were left on the outside during Tuesday’s budget announcement by the federal government, despite a push in recent months by the Canadian Olympic Committee and national sport organizations for more resources.

In Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first budget delivered by Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne, no new funding is allocated toward sports in the announcement, with 2005 representing the most recent increase in core federal funding for Canada’s 62 federally funded NSOs.

Core funding is money the sport organizations rely on to fund operations, athletes, coaches and support staff.

The ask this year was a $144 million increase to offset two decades without a significant boost that appear as millions of dollars of deficits on the books of NSOs, according to COC CEO David Shoemaker.

He was hopeful Carney, a former collegiate hockey goalie who has previously stated 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 we are falling way behind our competitors. Germany, Italy, France are outspending us by 10 times,” Shoemaker revealed to CBC Sports recently.

In the April 2024 budget, the government proposed two-year investments totalling $41 million toward the Sport Support Program (which goes toward NSOs and five other groups who support the development of Canadian sport), the Future of Sport in Canada Commission (a body whose two main focuses are funding and safe sport) and community sport programming.

The proposal was less than half the $104 million increase requested by the COC.

Canada's nine gold medals and 27 in all 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 further funding.

“I worry about performance in Milano Cortina [in 2026] and certainly for [Los Angeles in 2028],” he said at the time in reference to the next Winter and Summer Olympics.

Funding is the most important issue for Canadian Olympians, according to COC Athletes’ Commission chair Philippe Marquis.

“Sport organizations are at the brink of falling apart with the lack of funding and the resources,” the two-time Olympian in freestyle skiing told CBC Sports earlier this year. “Everyone is tight [financially].”

Many NSOs struggle to operate, let alone efficiently. Some were told this year their funding would be slashed by the federal government, so they made cuts and slashed expenses where possible.

Diminished support for the next generation is a common theme, whether it means fewer paid travel meals or decreased access to a team doctor on the road.