About ten days ago, *La Presse* published a series of articles posing the following question: Is Montreal still a major sports city? In response to these articles, the president of the Montreal Sports Council, Danièle Sauvageau, and the vice president, Richard Legendre, address the question.
On May 29 and 30, the sports community gathered for the fourth edition of the Montreal Sports Summit. The event featured 7 panel discussions, 9 lectures, and 2 workshops on the themes of accessibility, professionalization, sports events, and the promotion of an ethical and caring culture in sports. Just over 250 people came to the Claude-Robillard Sports Complex to discuss the issues and solutions needed to address the challenges facing the sports community.
After these two days, there’s no doubt that Montreal is a sports-loving city. The question we must now ask ourselves is: Is Montreal a major sports city? In our view, the answer isn’t quite so clear-cut.
The city’s sports events scene is thriving after two difficult years; in fact, Montreal has been named Canada’s top city in this category for the first three years of the Sport Tourism Canada Index. Building on its Olympic legacy, Montreal has successfully established itself as a leading sports hub across Canada. Today, professional sports in the city, whatever people may say, are in no way inferior to those in many other North American cities. Are there challenges in this regard? Certainly.
However, when we talk about a major sports city, we need to stop focusing solely on these aspects and start with the basics. The Island of Montreal is home to more than 350 sports clubs, allowing tens of thousands of people of all ages to participate in a wide variety of sports. Above all, that is what sports are all about: physical activities that enable citizens to be healthier, build social connections, and foster a more supportive community.
In fact, the City of Montreal implemented a policy to recognize and provide financial support for regional sports at the end of 2022. While generally well-received by the community, Montreal’s sports ecosystem is currently concerned about the lack of an announcement regarding the budget allocated to this new policy.
It is important to note that the budget allocated to support these regional sports organizations has not been increased or even adjusted for inflation in 27 years. Consequently, to support these organizations, the Montreal Sports Council has submitted a formal request to increase this financial support budget by $2.3 million annually. Without being cynical, this request from the sports community seems reasonable to us given the City of Montreal’s annual budget of $6.7 billion.
If we want to pride ourselves on being a major sports city, if we want to host major multi-sport events again, it is time for decision-makers to stop paying lip service to sports and start funding them. Montreal’s sports community is in dire need of a major catch-up, and the current administration has a historic opportunity to take action.
This additional financial support will help sustain regional organizations and the athletes they serve. It can take various forms, including: maintaining access to sports in the region, retaining and training coaches and officials, and professionalizing organizational structures, among others. For the Montreal Sports Council, this funding will enable the organization to fully fulfill its leadership role and provide the necessary support to the organizations it represents. Of course, the Montreal Sports Council will ensure that this support is provided in the form of services and programs that complement those of the City of Montreal and other multi-service organizations in Montreal.
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Danièle Sauvageau, President of the Montreal Sports Council, Associate Director at the HEC Sports Hub, CEO and Head Coach at the 21.02 High-Performance Hockey Centre, and Olympic coach who won the Canadian women’s hockey team’s first gold medal.
Richard Legendre, Vice-President of the Montreal Sports Council, Associate Director at the HEC Montréal Sports Hub, former Executive Vice-President of the Montreal Impact, and former Minister responsible for sports.
