Montreal's sports ecosystem

A sports club offering services in the borough or city where it is located. The club is usually open to everyone and has active members who are mainly from its borough or city. This organization's mission is to develop its sport in its territory and is recognized as such by its sports federation.

A structured, federated organization that oversees the development of athletes in a sport with a focus on performance within regional, provincial, national, and international networks. A sports club is a single-sport or multi-sport organization whose members share a common interest in practicing their sport. Its clientele comes from several boroughs or related cities.

An organization whose members share a common interest in the regional development of one or more sports recognized by a provincial or national sports federation or by an official body. It promotes and supports the healthy development of athletes and their sport, at both the recreational and competitive levels:

• by extending the mission of its sports federation to the region, where applicable;
• by supervising, and sometimes directing, competitions in his sport within the territory;
• by supporting the organization and staging of events at various levels, such as the regional finals of the Jeux du Québec and the Jeux de Montréal;
• by offering services to its members, such as training for coaches, officials, or other types of services;
• by promoting the development and supervision of local clubs and athletes under its responsibility;
• by promoting consultation and collaboration among its members and consultation with partner organizations;
• by ensuring compliance with the rules of the sports federation, both in terms of technical aspects and in terms of safety and ethical practices;
• by establishing democratic and transparent regional consultation structures;
• by recruiting and training competent volunteers to ensure the sound management and optimal development of its sport

Montreal Sports Council : The Montreal Sports Council is a non-profit organization whose vision is to be the leader of the city's sports community.
For more information, visit the About Us page.

Sport et loisir de l’île de Montréal : Sport et Loisir de l’île de Montréal is a regional, independent, non-profit organization that contributes to the development and promotion of recreation, sports, physical activity, and the outdoors on the Island of Montreal by supporting communities and stakeholders and creating synergy between them through consulting services, networking, promotion, and training.

Montreal – Healthy Metropolis and its mobilization Physically Active Montreal : As a member of the TIR-SHV Collective, Montréal-Métropole en santé has a mandate to act as a regional intersectoral forum for healthy lifestyles.
Montréal — Healthy Metropolis supports networks of stakeholders who join forces to promote healthy lifestyles for all Montrealers.
Montréal Physiquement Active supports networks of stakeholders who join forces to promote physically active lifestyles for all Montrealers.

Sports Montréal: Sports Montréal's mission is to inspire a passion for physical activity from an early age by creating positive, educational, and accessible sports experiences. Sports Montréal is the organization that runs the Montréal Games, owned by the City of Montréal.

RSEQ Montreal: RSEQ Montreal is a non-profit organization that brings together all schools in the Pointe-de-l'Île School Service Center, the Montreal School Service Center, and 31 French-language private colleges in Montreal.
RSEQ Montreal's mission is to contribute to educational perseverance and success, as well as personal development, by promoting health, sports, and physical activity among students.

RSEQ Lac-Saint-Louis: A key partner in promoting educational success through sports, physical activity, and healthy lifestyles, RSEQ Lac-Saint-Louis is a service organization that supports school service centers and private institutions within its territory.
The RSEQ Lac-Saint-Louis territory comprises the elementary and secondary schools of the Marguerite-Bourgeoys School Service Center (CSSMB), the Trois-Lacs School Service Center (CSSTL), and private educational institutions (FEEP) located within the territory (as defined by the two school service centers).

RSEQ GMAA: The Greater Montreal Athletic Association (GMAA) is a school sports organization devoted to the promotion of athletics in the English schools of the greater Montreal region.

Quebec federations recognized by the ministry responsible for sports or Canadian federations recognized by Sport Canada. A sports federation has the following responsibilities:

• develop and implement a plan to promote excellence in sports;
• to implement training and development programs for sports managers;
• to collaborate in the development and management of a network of competitions in its territory in its discipline(s);
• to govern the discipline(s) within its field of activity;
• to represent the structure of its sport(s) to other institutions (national or international federations).

Sports Quebec : In order to fulfill its mission and promote the interests of the Quebec sports system, SPORTSQUÉBEC oversees and coordinates numerous programs aimed at developing sport in Quebec.

Sports and Studies Alliance : Recognized and subsidized by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education, the Alliance Sport-Études brings together 46 colleges, Cégep à distance, and eleven universities. Their mission is to support the perseverance and success, both academically and athletically, of high-level Quebec athletes pursuing higher education.

RSEQ : The Quebec Student Sports Network is a sports federation responsible for the development of sports within Quebec educational institutions.

Aléo Foundation : The Aléo Foundation offers scholarships to promising student-athletes to ease their financial burden and encourage them to balance sports and their studies. It provides support services to its scholarship recipients to promote their overall development and encourage them to pursue their studies and sports.

Sport’Aide : Sport’Aide’s mission is to provide leadership in implementing initiatives that promote a healthy, safe, and harmonious sporting environment for young athletes and to provide support services to various stakeholders in the sporting community, at both the elite and recreational levels.

Canadian federations: National Sport Organizations (NSOs), sometimes referred to as National Sport Federations (NSFs), are the national governing bodies for their sport in Canada. They perform many important functions, including:

• • govern all aspects of a sport in Canada;
  • manage their high-performance sports programs;
  • select and manage their national team;
  • implement initiatives aimed at developing and promoting their sport;
  • approve national competitions and tournaments;
  • provide professional development for coaches and officials in their sports;
  • submit and support bids to host international competitions in Canada.

Canadian Olympic Committee: The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) is the private, non-profit organization that represents Canada on the International Olympic Committee. The COC is also a member of the Pan American Sports Organization.

Canadian Paralympic Committee: The Canadian Paralympic Committee is a private, non-profit organization with 25 member sports organizations dedicated to strengthening the Paralympic movement. The Canadian Paralympic Committee's vision is to be the best Paralympic nation in the world. Its mission is to lead the development of a sustainable Paralympic sport system in Canada to enable athletes to reach the podium at the Paralympic Games.

Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada (SDRCC): The SDRCC's objectives are education and prevention. Its role is to provide tools and advice to enable minor disputes to be resolved quickly and informally.

Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport : The CCES is an independent, non-profit multisport organization. Their vision is fair, safe, accessible, and inclusive sport. The organization believes that the purpose of sport is to contribute to society, and that ethics in sport is the best way to achieve this. The organization believes that by working to activate True Sport, promoting ethical sport, and protecting the integrity of sport, they will fulfill their mission and make their vision a reality. 

U Sports : U Sports is the governing body for intercollegiate athletics in Canada. The organization coordinates the Canadian university championships, ensures the dissemination of various collective and annual honors, and promotes athletics at the university level.

City of Montreal: The City of Montreal is the metropolis of Quebec and the second most populous city in Canada. 

In terms of sports, following a review of municipal responsibilities and consultations on regional sports, the Sports Department of the Service des grands parcs, du Mont-Royal et des sports (SGPMRS) has been entrusted with coordinating regional sports mandates, effective January 1, 2021. These mandates consist of managing partnership agreements related to the Regional Sports Association Support Program, as well as managing reservations for outdoor sports fields in the Montréal-Concordia area.

In order for the SGPMRS to be responsible for organizing regional sports and managing the Recognition and Support Policy, the boroughs of the City of Montreal have delegated regional sports authority to it, pursuant to section 85 of the Charter of the City of Montreal.

Montreal boroughs: The City of Montreal is divided into 19 boroughs. Each borough is governed by a borough council that has powers, responsibilities, and obligations relating to urban planning, fire and civil security, the environment, local, community, cultural, and social economic development, culture, recreation (sports), parks, and local roads. Here is the list of Montreal boroughs:

• •  Ahuntsic-Cartierville
  • Anjou
  • Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce
  • Lachine
  • LaSalle
  • The Plateau-Mont-Royal
  • The Southwest
  • Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève
  • Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve
  • Montreal North
  • Outremont
  • Pierrefonds-Roxboro
  • Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles
  • Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie
  • Saint-Laurent
  • Saint-Leonard
  • Verdun
  • Ville-Marie
  • Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension

Related cities: The Montreal metropolitan area comprises 16 cities. In addition to the city of Montreal, here are the 15 related cities located on the island of Montreal: 

• • Baie-D’Urfé
  • Beaconsfield
  • Côte-Saint-Luc
  • Dollard-Des Ormeaux
  • Dorval
  • Hampstead
  • Kirkland
  • Montreal East
  • Montreal West
  • Mount Royal
  • Pointe-Claire
  • Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue
  • Senneville
  • Westmount

Montreal metropolitan area: The agglomeration includes the entire island of Montreal, Île Bizard, and a few other small islands. The agglomeration therefore covers the same territory as the administrative region of Montreal. The agglomeration should not be confused with the Montreal Metropolitan Community, which includes the Montreal agglomeration and all other municipalities and RCMs in the Montreal metropolitan area (the city of Laval, the North Shore, and the South Shore). The Montreal Agglomeration Council has several responsibilities, including public transportation, police and fire services, water supply, support for elite athletes, and national and international sporting events, to name a few.

INS Quebec: The Institut national du sport du Québec is a non-profit organization that supports all athletes involved in Olympic or Paralympic sports, as well as high-performance coaches in Quebec.
The Institute offers scientific, medical, and professional services. A member of the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Sports Institutes Network and the Francophone Olympic Network for Research in Sports Medicine, the Institute operates throughout Quebec through its network of eight regional multisport training centers, 22 single-sport training centers, and its Olympic Park Complex.
In addition, through a partnership with Canadian associations and provincial sports federations, INS Québec hosts 10 resident sports at its Olympic Park Complex.

• Boccia
• Boxing
• Fencing
• Gymnastics
• Judo
• Swimming
• Artistic swimming
• Short track speed skating
• Diving
• Water polo

Unisports training centers: Unisports training centers offer coaching and facilities specific to a particular sport and are designed for both current high-performance athletes and the next generation of athletes. The unisports training centers currently located on the island of Montreal are:

• Center 21.02 (women's hockey)
• Quebec Karate Center of Excellence
• Olympic Basin Excellence Development Center (rowing)
• Montreal National Performance Center (figure skating)
• Montreal National Short Track Center (speed skating)
• National Tennis Center
• National Athletics Development Center

Other organizations are part of Montreal's sports ecosystem by operating in Montreal or having activities that affect the city. These include Alliance Montréal (basketball), the Montreal Canadiens (hockey), CF Montréal (soccer), the Montreal Alouettes (football), the World Anti-Doping Agency, La Force de Montréal (hockey), La Toundra (basketball), Le Royal de Montréal (Ultimate), and others.