Canadian Paralympic Committee distributes $555,000 to Milano-Cortina medallists

For the first time, Canada’s winter Paralympians have been compensated equally to their Olympic counterparts for reaching the medal podium.

The Canadian Paralympic Committee on Thursday announced the distribution of $550,000 to 30 medallists from the Milano-Cortina Games in March through the Paralympic Performance Recognition program.

“This is a much-deserved recognition of Canada's Paralympians for the years of hard work and dedication that went into each of their performances. Providing this equitable reward for their accomplishments reflects the growth of Paralympic sport and is a true signal of the value of an accessible, inclusive sport system.,” CPC CEO Karen O’Neill stated in a news release.

The PPR program was announced in January 2024. For the 2024 Summer Games in Paris, Canadian Paralympians received $20,000 for winning a gold medal, $15,000 for silver and $10,000 for bronze. A total of $535,000 was awarded.

The program, funded by the Paralympic Foundation of Canada, was created with initial contributions of more than $6 million to an endowment fund made possible through generous donations of $4 million from Sanjay Malaviya on behalf of the Malaviya Foundation and $2.02 million from the Government of Canada.

Previously, Canadian Olympians had received money for medals for more than two decades through a bonus program called the Athlete Excellence Fund, which is entirely funded through the Canadian Olympic Committee.

In March 2022, Malaviya, a healthcare technology entrepreneur from Hespeler, Ont., gave 130 Olympians and 53 Paralympians $5,000 each for winning a medal at the Tokyo and Beijing Games for a total of $1.2 million.

"I had the pleasure of speaking with Mr. Malaviya in 2022 after the Beijing