Unprecedented gathering of Canadian sports leaders aims to 'chart new path'

The seeds of the next big ideas in the reimagining of the Canadian sport system could be planted Monday and Tuesday in Ottawa.

Around 350 to 400 leaders from across the sector — spanning national sport organizations (NSOs), professional sports figures, corporate investors, athletes, philanthropists and more — will gather at the National Arts Centre in the country’s capital to chart a path forward for an industry on the precipice of massive change.

“The Playground to Podium Summit represents a new era in Canadian sport,” said Canada's Secretary of State for Sport, Adam van Koeverden. In April, the federal government pledged nearly $1 billion in sports funding over the next five years, and in Thursday's budget announcement, an additional $1.5 billion dedicated to improving the country's sports infrastructure.

“We are not just investing more money into sport," van Koeverden said. "We're also charting a new path forward for sport, for play, for recreation, for high performance and every aspect of Canadian sport and the opportunity to discuss that in great detail with all of the leaders in Canadian sport, with some incredible leaders, entrepreneurs, business folks, Olympic champions, Paralympic champions,  Stanley Cup champions, board members from international sport federations, as well as Canadian pillars of sport.”

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