Occasion: Secretary of State van Koeverden delivers remarks at the 2026 Annual COC Session Meeting by the Canadian Olympic Committee
Date: May 29, 2026
Location: Montréal (Quebec)
Check Against Delivery
About one year ago, Prime Minister Mark Carney asked me and my team to deliver on a mandate to build Canada Strong for all through sport.
Sport has the power and potential to shape lives and connect people in ways that very few things can.
In fact, it can be one of our most powerful tools for nation building, for social connection. And when done well, these partnerships are built on trust, teamwork, access, and belonging.
Whether you play on a local sports team, drive your kids to practice, cheer on your favourite athletes, volunteer at the Canada Games, compete at your first Olympic or Paralympic Games, or become a world champion, sport brings Canadians together.
It is about places where people can find community and connection.
When Canada comes together through sport, we are a country united.
A Canada that’s strong.
A Canada that can stand up to anything, or anyone.
Our new government is Building Canada Strong for all—with proven nation-building tools, like sport.
Together, from playground to podium, we will do just that.
First, we will build.
Canadians have entrusted our new government to move from reliance to resilience and Prime Minister Mark Carney is leading Canada with a fiscally prudent, socially compassionate, environmentally responsible, and economically ambitious approach that is future focused on our collective success and well-being.
In the fall, we started building by investing in sports infrastructure.
We invested in the place—the heart of our communities.
Sport infrastructure is about more than building a facility. It is about creating world‑class, accessible facilities where national team athletes can train and represent Canada at their best.
It is also about projects that provide local families and communities with vibrant, accessible spaces to fuel participation, connection, and a growing passion for sport.
The Build Communities Strong Fund is building the infrastructure that Canadians rely on every single day.
We are also investing in people.
About a month ago, our new government announced the largest investment in Canada’s sport system in all of Canada’s history:
with $755 million in new funding over the next five years.
And with $118 million per year ongoing, our plan is to strengthen the Canadian sport system, support national team athletes, bolster full participation across the country, and host more world-class international events, here on Canadian soil.
What I heard from many of you today makes me feel incredibly confident that we share a commitment to seizing this opportunity for system modernization and transformation.
At the same time, we can all recognize how underfunded the sport system has been for decades.
For as long as I can recall, Canadians have been forced to ask themselves: why aren’t we there for our teams and athletes when we are such a fortunate nation, a proud and sport-loving country?
I am proud to say that with this historic $755 million investment in sport, Canadians no longer have to wonder why—because this is a world-class investment in world-class teams and athletes.
But it is more than that. Our collective mandate has changed. We are now using sport for nation-building. This is not more money to do the same thing.
This is an investment for change. And to support you, and your organizations in doing so. For the right reasons. To get it done well. In a sustainable way that will set up a sport system that delivers both social and economic benefits to Canadians and Canada.
Within the next five years, we need to demonstrate to the Prime Minister and Canadians a strengthened sport system: an optimization of system efficiencies, alignment and competitive capacity, lowering administrative costs. But I want to be clear, we’re not looking for a smaller sport system.
In fact, I want this to create more jobs in sport, more economic contributions to sport, particularly for young people in a system that is more inclusive and more accessible. Higher participation for all, better support for national team athletes, and lasting legacies from more sport-hosting opportunities.
But these are all things you already know.
We have heard it directly from you. During our dinners, during our phone calls, this room collectively called for great changes.
You have called for change in Canada’s sport system. Now it is time to get to work.
This is the means of that ambition.
Our new government’s investment is underpinned by five pillars of opportunity:
Build, protect, participate, perform, and host.
And we can create solutions and actions for system success along three axes:
- the X (horizontal) axis: efficiencies across national-level organizations,
- the Y (vertical) axis: alignment with Provincial/Territorial Sport Organizations (PTSOs), community clubs and grassroots sport, and municipalities right across our country.
- the Z (diagonal) axis: partnerships with the private and philanthropic sector.
The second pillar, protect: A strong sport system is one that Canadians can trust and believe in. One that is safe, inclusive, diverse, affordable, accessible and built to support people at every stage of their athletic journey.
That means continuing to strengthen safety, integrity, accountability and transparency.
This means being accountable and achieving results.
The third pillar, participation: Sport should be accessible and affordable for all Canadians.
With this investment, we are broadening our collective mandate. We are asking National Sport Organizations (NSOs) to be the stewards of their sport, lead participation strategies, and streamline systems to work more closely with the grassroots organizations that deliver sport programming in our communities every day.
We will also work with partners across the system on a disability and inclusion road map.
This funding should be used to catalyze partnerships with the private and philanthropic sectors, to offer low- and no-cost sporting opportunities to more Canadian kids and families. Especially for underrepresented communities, who face unique barriers to enter, and stay in sport.
Our fourth pillar, perform: Canada’s top athletes are a great source of pride for our entire country.
Every time a Paralympic or Olympic athlete competes wearing the maple leaf, they represent us all. Athletes are our greatest ambassadors.
This new funding will represent an increase to the Athlete Assistance Program and Next Gen initiatives, as well as increased funding for mental health to provide holistic support to the athletes that inspire us.
I want to be crystal clear, Canada is a country that wants to win. This new sports system will bring home more gold-medal opportunities.
We are investing more in high-performance sport, and the National Sport Organizations that support our national teams.
Our final pillar, host: Hosting sporting events matters. It’s important for our place in the world.
It’s a diplomatic power and an engine of economic growth.
It’s a lever for infrastructure development and an invitation to the private sector to invest in projects that build our nation. It’s often a great source of own-source revenue for our National Sport Organizations, and an invitation to new sponsors, partners, donors, and volunteers.
We are waiving the 6-month application timeframe for this year, in this novel investment, to ensure that we can be competitive today and for future bids, through the International Single Sport Events funding package.
Timing
And now I want to return to the point I made right at the beginning about system transformation.
On my end, Sport Canada is working as quickly and diligently as possible to gain access to these new funds.
Existing Sport Support Program Guidelines will be used in year one to support investments in participation, high performance, and organizational capacity through amendments to past applications submitted by NSOs, Multisport Service Organizations (MSOs), and Canadian Sport Centres (CSCs).
An addendum to the 2026-2027 Sport Support Program Guidelines will be developed to include eligible project-related activities and expenses for NSOs and MSOs aimed at incentivizing efficiencies and maximizing private sector investment.
The Sport Support Program funding framework will be revamped for 2027-2028 (and beyond) to include all priorities under one set of guidelines.
This includes key performance indicators, many of which are already outlined in the Canadian Sport Policy.
This represents a new era for sport in our country, an opportunity to lead, grow, innovate and improve—all virtues strongly held by Canadian teams and athletes.
So, let’s get to work—together, we will Build Canada Strong through Sport.
Thank you everyone.
