Sport Policy in Canada

Sport Policy in Canada provides the first ever and most comprehensive analysis of the new Canadian Sport Policy adopted in 2012. The authors, top academics in the field, provide detailed accounts of the most salient Canadian sport policies and programs, while also discussing the most pertinent issues and challenges facing sport policy makers in light of this new policy. In Canada and around the globe, the last decades have been marked by a sharp increase of state intervention and public funds in this sector, in support of the pursuit of medals on the international stage; of the general population's practice of sports as part of an active lifestyle; and of recreational sports activities. Nations and major cities have been investing massive funds in the hopes of hosting major sporting events, in order to benefit not only from the economic impact of these events, but also from the international prestige they bring to host cities and countries. Politicians wishing to gain political capital have begun associating themselves with host cities and athletes winning medals "for the country." Often neglected in the past by political scientists and public administration scholars, the study of national and international sport policies is becoming an increasingly important research topic. Sport Policy in Canada seeks to fill this void and make an important contribution to Canada's involvement in sport policy by offering the most comprehensive analysis of sport policy since Macintosh, Bedecki, and Franks' Sport and Politics in Canada (1987).