Canadian government invests toward Paralympic athlete development

Twenty-million Canadian dollars to go toward high performance sport 24 Apr 2015
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Canada enters the arena during the Opening Ceremony of the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games at Fisht Olympic Stadium on March 7, 2014 in Sochi, Russia.

Canada enters the arena during the Opening Ceremony of the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games at Fisht Olympic Stadium on March 7, 2014 in Sochi, Russia.

ⒸGetty Images
By NPC Canada

"It's quite encouraging to see that our government is seeing sport as a strong vehicle for a healthier lifestyle, social change as well as its ability to unite and foster great pride in our country."

Canada's next generation of Paralympic stars will receive an increase in funding for the next four years.

The announcement was made earlier this week by Finance Minister Joe Oliver during his presentation of Canada's Economic Action Plan 2015-16, which included a CAD 20 million investment (CAD 5 million per year) in high performance sport over the four-year period, beginning in 2016-17, to be matched by the private sector.

"We are extremely thankful to have the government of Canada's support in the development of our next generation of Paralympic athletes, and with this support, we will be able to continue to build Canada's strong future in sport," said Gaetan Tardif, President of the Canadian Paralympic Committee.

"It's quite encouraging to see that our government is seeing sport as a strong vehicle for a healthier lifestyle, social change as well as its ability to unite and foster great pride in our country."

"We are investing in our future athletes and that sends a very strong message across our community that Canadians value sport and continue to support our athletes as they strive to achieve their Paralympic dreams."

The investment will target increased support toward coaching and improvement of daily training regimes for athletes. Additionally, it will go toward sport science and sport medicine services targeting up-and-coming elite athletes who are four to eight years from achieving Paralympic podium success.

"As we get increasingly excited about celebrating the Year of Sport in 2015 and get ready to host the Americas at the largest Pan/Parapan summer Games in Toronto this summer, such an announcement can only add to the drive and commitment of our athletes and coaches as they prepare for future Paralympic Games," Tardif said.