Lack of elite sport funding snuffing out Canadian Olympic dreams
At the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, Canada finished eighth in the total medal count. It was the country鈥檚 lowest Winter Olympic medal tally since the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City. The result is a failure of聽leadership;聽Prof. Karl Moore writes in Forbes.com. For many would-be Olympians, the costs are simply out of reach. Elite athletic programs聽don鈥檛聽get sufficient funding, and according to the Canadian Olympic Committee, athletes are paying an average of $25,000 each year out of pocket just to compete.聽聽
鈥淲e鈥檙e starting to create a pay-to-play system for our Olympians,鈥� Canadian Olympic chef聽de聽mission Jennifer Heil told Moore. 鈥淭hat doesn鈥檛 represent Canadian values, where there鈥檚 an equitable chance for a kid that has a dream to be able to embark on that journey.鈥澛�
