Why is Canada’s medal count down?

MILAN — We’re now a full week into the Winter Olympics and Canada has yet to reach the top of any podium.

Is that a big problem?

There have been seven medals so far — three silvers and four bronzes — but gold remains elusive. You have to go all the way back to Albertville 1992 to find another instance where Canada went this long without a victory.

With nine days remaining, matching — let alone surpassing — the record-setting 29 medals won at Pyeongchang 2018, a benchmark many cited as a goal heading into Milan Cortina, now appears a tall order.

Naturally, the conversation has turned to funding, beginning with last week’s introductory news conference from the Canadian Olympic Committee.

“Talent, skills, resilience and motivation are not enough to reach the top of the podium. There has been no raise in financing since Torino 2006. We see how much the cost is a burden for our athletes,” said Eric Myles, the chief sport officer.

“Financing has not made any progress for a long time, when we think about the cost of living and other factors. These decisions mean we are moving backwards. That puts heavy pressure on athletes and their families. Federal government needs to support us. We need more serious investment so we can move forward.”

The federal government is on the ground here in Italy, and the Free Press put the issue directly to Adam van Koeverden on Friday. A decorated Olympic champion turned MP, van Koeverden has spent the past year serving as Secretary of State for Sport in Prime Minister Mark Carney’s cabinet.

“I’m an athlete. I competed at four Summer Olympics,” said the Ontario rower, who has a gold, two silvers and a bronze in his collection.

“I’ll be the first to suggest that investing in sport is a great way to invest in young Canadians, a great way to invest in national unity and pride in our country. It’s also preventative health care, good for community connectedness and public safety.”

Van Koeverden said a coordinated approach is required if Canada wants to become a true international sporting power, with provinces, municipalities and even the private sector playing larger roles alongside Ottawa.

“And yes, the federal government can do more as well. We’re going to do it as a team,” he said.

While acknowledging that core funding has not increased in roughly two decades, van Koeverden stressed that this stream represents only about 15 per cent of overall funding to national sport organizations.

“There’s been a whole bunch of new streams added,” he said.

Among them: an athlete assistance program, community sport for all initiative, improvements in mental health, safe sport and sport integrity programs

“The COC is doing its job advocating for high performance core funding and I totally understand where they’re coming from,” he said.

“I’ll be the first person to advocate for more funding for sports. That’s actually one of the reasons I decided to get involved in politics (as an MP starting in 2019). I thought hey, maybe I can contribute to Team Canada in a different way from a governance and leadership perspective.”

Van Koeverden suggested Canada could learn from Norway, a nation with a fraction of Canada’s population that routinely dominates the Winter Olympics. He trained there and studied its sport policies while attending university, noting its emphasis on a “right to sport” model that prioritizes affordability and accessibility for children.

“Norway is a very human rights based nation and they’ve done an amazing job organizing that direct access,” he said. “I’m a big fan of what they do, and there are aspects of it we can emulate in Canada. We’ve got some things to consider, for sure.”

And the investment, he emphasized, goes far beyond medal counts.

“The purpose and the reason in this investment is to have a healthy population,” he said. “Mental health continues to be a challenge, and the connectedness of our communities. Physical health is directly related to how much we use our bodies. There are so many good reasons to invest in sport.”

Van Koeverden would also love to see the groundswell of public support that surfaces every two years for the Olympics continue well past the torch going dark.

“We get this little influx, this little inspirational thing every two years,” he said.

Could hosting another Olympics help sustain that momentum? COC CEO David Shoemaker raised eyebrows last week when he suggested the idea is very much alive.

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“The importance of hosting the Olympic Games in Canada is not lost on us. We very much want to,” said Shoemaker.

“We see it as helping us with several objectives – boosting infrastructure, creating inspiration for young people to participate in sport, boosting private investment and uniting a country. Hosting a Games, there’s nothing quite like that. If not 2038, then beyond.”

Van Koeverden, who has spent the past several days attending events in Milan and visiting with Canadian athletes, said his government is open to those conversations. He pointed to the lasting legacy projects left behind by previous Games in Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver.

“I think Canada is the best sport hosting nation in the world,” he said. “We’re an ambitious nation, a G7 country, and as Mark Carney has said, we’ve got a lot of building to do in Canada.”

www.winnipegfreepress.com/mikemcintyre

Mike McIntyre
Sports columnist

Mike McIntyre grew up wanting to be a professional wrestler. But when that dream fizzled, he put all his brawn into becoming a professional writer.

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