Federal government targets sport participation with $660 million pledge to sport organizations

The federal government has pledged more than $750 million toward sport in Canada in the wake of a federal commission that found a "widespread funding crisis" in a broken and often unsafe sport system.

The money was announced on Tuesday afternoon as part of the federal government's spring economic update, which painted a rosier-than-expected picture of the country's finances.

Much of the sports funding is earmarked to go directly to national sport organizations, which haven't seen an increase to core funding in more than two decades.

That includes $660 million over five years and $110 million ongoing, with the money targeted at growing participation among children and youth and improving sporting organizations' safe sport systems.

But the money also comes with a warning that national sport organizations are expected to do things differently and find new streams of revenue.

"We want national sport organizations to work with private sector partners who share the goal of getting more Canadians involved in sport," the government's economic update says. "And we expect national sport organizations to make changes to their programming to invest in sport at all levels."

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That fits with the theme of the Future of Sport in Canada Commission's final report, which was released last month with nearly 100 calls to action. The commission's work spanned two years and was prompted by calls for a public inquiry into abuse and maltreatment in sport.

Its final document calls for sweeping change in Canadian sport, from the way sport is organized, structured and governed, all the way down to how it's funded.

“A clear picture of a widespread funding crisis throughout the Canadian sport