Canada's Olympic chief is calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney to boost sports funding after the nation fell short of its medal goals at the Milano Cortina Games. The country aimed to exceed 26 medals but will finish with 21 at most, prompting concerns about maintaining Canada's winter sports dominance.
Following a disappointing performance at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, Canada’s top Olympic official is pressing Prime Minister Mark Carney to significantly increase sports funding if the nation wants to maintain its status as a winter sports powerhouse.
David Shoemaker, head of the Canadian Olympic Committee, made his case during a Sunday press conference after Canada fell short of its medal expectations. The country had set a goal to exceed the 26 medals earned at the 2022 Beijing Olympics but will conclude these Games with a maximum of 21 medals.
“It was just a month ago that Prime Minister (Mark) Carney made international headlines with his inspiring speech at Davos (World Economic Forum),” Shoemaker stated. “In that speech, he talked in large part about ambition, about the strength of Canada at home and the values we can and should project to the world. We realise sport isn’t the answer to all of this government’s many urgent priorities.”
Shoemaker continued his appeal to the Prime Minister, saying: “But to Prime Minister Carney, who addressed Team Canada in a hockey jersey, who called Team Canada athletes as they topped the podium this week, who believes as much as anyone in the power of sport, I would say this: Sport is an integral part of that strength of character and country.”
“Sport represents a set of values that define us. Through sport, we have a real opportunity, if not a responsibility, to be ambitious about how we want to show up as a nation, both on the world stage and in communities across the country,” he added.
The funding crisis has been building for years. Canadian Olympic and Paralympic committees, along with national sports organizations, had requested a $144 million funding increase in Carney’s November 4 budget to compensate for two decades of stagnant support.
However, the federal budget allocated no additional money for sports programs.
“Core funding for national sports organisations has not increased in 20 years,” Shoemaker emphasized. “It needs to. It’s the money these organisations count on to fund operations, athletes, coaches and support staff. They safeguard the pathway from playground to podium.”
The medal shortfall represents a significant decline from Canada’s peak winter Olympic performances. The nation captured a record 29 medals at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games and led in gold medals with 14 during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, finishing third overall with 26 total medals.
Canada’s chef de mission Jennifer Heil warned about the broader implications of the funding freeze. “Flat operational funding to NSOs in an inflationary world is a cut,” she explained. “We’re creating a pay-to-play system in Canada, where wealth and luck are some of the major determining factors as to who gets to stand on a podium.”
Despite the overall disappointment, Canada’s hockey programs showed their traditional strength, with both men’s and women’s teams competing for gold medals. The women’s team fell to their longtime rivals, the United States, in the championship game.
“Those are two of the greatest rivalries in Olympic sport, certainly in the Winter Games,” Shoemaker noted. “We know that people have been trying their best to find jerseys here in Milan and they’re not available. And even back home, stores are sold out.”
Shoemaker believes the enthusiasm for these iconic sporting moments reflects deeper national aspirations beyond athletics. “It goes back to that core message, that this feeling of patriotism, pride in country, the aspiration to do great things on the world stage, to sing ‘O Canada,'” he said.
These Olympics also raised challenging questions about Canada’s international presence, according to Shoemaker. “These Games brought us together, as they always do,” he reflected. “In return, they provided an opportunity to ask ourselves, ‘How do we want to show up on the world stage? What kind of country do we want to represent? Who do we want to be?'”
“In some ways, I think waiting eight days for a gold medal emphasised this point,” he added.
The wait for Canada’s first gold medal became historically significant when Mikael Kingsbury finally broke through on Day 9, marking the nation’s longest drought for an Olympic title since the 1988 Calgary Games.
Looking ahead, Shoemaker expressed determination to continue advocating for increased support. “We see the countries ahead of us,” he concluded. “We aspire to do better. What you’re sensing from us is this collective seriousness that in order to do better we have to continue delivering this message.”