Montreal | What place for sports practice after the elections?

For the past few weeks, the candidates have been asking for the support of the population in order to be elected in the framework of the municipal elections which will be concluded in a few days. As the privileged interlocutor of the agglomeration of Montreal for regional sports development, the Montreal Sports Council wishes to recall the importance that this sector of activity occupies in the daily lives of Montrealers.

Daniele Sauvageau
President of the Montreal Sports Council

The pandemic has been difficult for many sectors of the economy and sport has been hit hard. Despite financial assistance from Quebec and Ottawa, several sports organizations are struggling to get through this period and currently find themselves with a heavy task to regain pre-pandemic participation. With the relaunch of several sectors, the sports community wishes to be recognized rightly for the benefits it brings to the population.

Beyond one-off financial assistance, which was essential to its survival, the sports community on the Island of Montreal suffers from a systemic problem: the underfunding of service provider organizations.

We don’t have to go very far to see the disparity between two sectors that are often compared: culture and sport. Although no comparison is perfect, let’s take the example of funding from the Conseil des arts de Montréal and the Conseil du sport de Montréal. For the first organization, the agglomeration of Montreal contributed $ 20,235,000 in 2020¹. During the same period, the Montreal Sports Council received about 62 times less, that is to say a meager $ 325,000.

Despite this underfunding, multisport organizations, sports associations and sports clubs hold the ecosystem at arm’s length. The question to ask: for how long will they do it? The next mayor or the next mayor in place could quickly show her support for the sports community by being present at the 35^e Montreal Laureates Evening, which will take place on November 19. The recognition event for sport on the Island of Montreal will honor, once again this year, the main athletes, coaches and organizations that stand out for their excellence.

The societal impacts of a less athletic population

Several recent studies have shown the urgency to act for the good of the population and particularly the good of the young people of the territory. The GO project – The secondary is active! clearly demonstrated the level of sedentary lifestyle of young people in recent months. In addition, the School of Kinesiology and Physical Activity Sciences at the University of Montreal has identified the lack of funding for organizations as an obstacle to the practice of physical and sports activities. In addition, the Pôle sports HEC Montréal carried out an investigation into the impacts of COVID-19 on the Quebec sports community. Among the many observations, professors Richard Legendre and Eric Brunelle present a 5 to 10 year perspective for the sports world.

An event-driven sports metropolis

On the sporting events scene, Montreal was named the city of excellence in Canada from 2018 to 2020 for hosting sporting events. The pandemic has however come to throw an icy shower on this important economic sector directly linked to sports tourism. The various promoters and organizers of events anticipate a very slow return to activity and need more than ever adequate support.

Although this revival of the events sector is a challenge, it is above all a unique opportunity to strengthen Montreal’s sporting event positioning so that the city is more internationally recognized and that it can benefit from the multiple spinoffs of the holding of major competitions. With this letter, I wish to reiterate the importance of recognizing, promoting and supporting organized sport throughout the Island of Montreal. What place will municipal elected officials really have in sports after November 7? Will they be able to recognize the strong potential of sport as a vector of inclusion, solidarity, health and well-being? Time will tell, but I will be there to remind them.

¹ Consult the financial statements of the Conseil des arts de Montréal What do you think? Express your opinion