Bruce Arthur: Canada’s new sports strategy is ambitious. It also requires a complete rethink of the system - Toronto Star

The $2.5 billion in funding over nine years is a moonshot, Bruce Arthur writes, and creates a new reality in Canadian sports.

Secretary of state for sport Adam van Koeverden called sports “the ultimate nation-building activity” in his closing speech.

Bruce Arthur is a columnist for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @bruce_arthur.

OTTAWA—Canada needed a national sports summit. After all, the incentives that made the 2010 Vancouver Olympics a success created a sports system that was pointed at elite performance above all else. And eventually it faltered, in more than one way.

So when the leaders of Canada’s sports community gathered for two days in Ottawa, it felt a little like standing on the edge of an ocean with a canoe. The $2.5 billion over nine years in funding increases following the crisis at the Milan Olympics have created a new reality in Canadian sports. Austerity is over. Bigger sports can stop triaging. Smaller sports can truly dream.

“For years, we’ve always said we know exactly what we would do to build the sports system of our dreams, a world-class system, if we only had the resources,” said secretary of state for sport Adam van Koeverden in his summit-opening speech. “Now we do. So now we will.”

What does that look like? Nobody truly knows. There are so many moving pieces — more efficiency, more national sport organization (NSO) amalgamation, more infrastructure, different funding sources, more participation — but what stands out is the ambition. This is not just aimed at elite performance, but it envisions success. It is not just aimed at infrastructure, as much as we need it. It’s not just for safe sport, though van Koeverden calls that non-negotiable. It is not just aimed at the massive twin challenges of participation, and affordability of sport. That last one, we should note, is probably the hardest one to change.

No, the goal here is everything. Van Koeverden called sports “the ultimate nation-building activity” in his closing speech, and does not accept that this much ambition is doomed to fail.

“No, because the goal is progress,” said van Koeverden, whose office has also been tasked with the responsibility of the Physical Activity and Sports Act. “We don’t have to get this all done by January. Previous campaigns and objectives in sport have had a clear date and a number of medals. That’s not what we’re doing here. We’re saying that it’s about more than just the weight of gold, silver, and bronze.

“So it’s the ambition that matters more than the target ... (this is not) a six-month or a six-year project, it’s a forever project, and it’s as many Canadians as possible ambition.”

So if Canada overindexed on medal-chasing for 20 years — and to be clear, we shouldn’t grumble about winning medals — this is a pivot to participation as a road to success. You can bet there will be conflicts and turf wars and unintended consequences. How it is all measured and weighed — what is success? — is a question. The role of private enterprise and charity will be a central theme, as NSOs try to diversify funding. Submissions for 2027 funding are already around the corner, and in his closing address, van Koeverden outlined 10 government priorities for that funding, with participation atop the list.

“I think a bunch of us have different ideas, but I think what’s interesting is that everybody’s really open-minded in a way that maybe we haven’t been before,” said Carla Qualtrough, who as minister of sport helped push forward the Future of Sport in Canada report. “When you’re in an of environment of scarcity of resources, it’s hard to figure out any other way to work together, right?”

Canadian sport has been built like so many institutions, in the most Canadian way: an initial burst, and a gradual decline. In a time of national uncertainty, this is a moonshot.

“I believe this is a vision for great Canadian success,” said David Shoemaker, the CEO of the Canadian Olympic Committee. “We’ve proven we know how to win medals at the highest level and compete with every country in the world, and that with more investment and more targeted investment, I think we’ll be highly competitive. It’ll take a little while for the money to work its way through the system. But that should work well.”

As for increasing participation, Shoemaker says, “other countries do this and do this well. I don’t think it’s a challenge we’re not capable of meeting.”

“One of the things we could also do wrong is all this new money and not change a thing,” said Michael Bartlett, the CEO of Canada Basketball. “(The sports system) has always been rooted in this urgency and this crisis. Let’s think about what it feels like to live in a thriving state.”

So can the Canadian sports system, which has spent two decades trying to do more with less, reimagine itself? What will it look like? What can we do?

“Now we’re gonna see truly how brave we are,” said Dr. Eric Myles, the chief sport officer at the Canadian Olympic Committee. “And when I say the we, it’s many of us. That includes the government, that includes us, that includes the system. How brave are we truly with this?”

Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request.

There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again.

You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply.

Opinion articles are based on the author’s interpretations and judgments of facts, data and events. More details

Bruce Arthur is a columnist for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @bruce_arthur.