According to Devin Heroux of CBC Sports, the Canadian Federal Government will be giving financial assistance to sports organizations during the coronavirus crisis. In an announcement made on Friday, Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault announced that $72 million will be distributed to the sports sector in Canada.
It is believed that the amateur sports sector will receive the majority of the funding. National sports organizations will receive $34.5 million, sports organizations at the provincial and territorial levels will receive $32.5 million and the Athlete Assistance Program will receive $5 million. A lot of the funding will go to Canadian high-performance athletes who were preparing for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, and the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, which are now both scheduled for 2021.
From a financial perspective, the economic assistance for high-performance sport is positive. It is just unfortunate that sports are lumped into the heritage portfolio which includes arts, culture, museums, and the audiovisual sector. All of those other industries are receiving government support as well.
The announcement made by the Liberal minority government came a day after the Canadian Football League announced they were seeking $150 million in financial government assistance. CFL Commissioner Randy Ambrosie spoke to a House of Commons Committee on Thursday. The CFL is seeking $30 million now, and an additional $120 million if the season is cancelled. The chances of cancellation in 2020 are highly likely because of coronavirus. Yes, the CFL is a professional sports league, but does not generate enough funding from television revenues alone to be financially sustainable.
