100 days from the Olympics, federal funding question looms over Canadian #athletes.

With the federal budget to be tabled Tuesday, the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic committees have asked #Ottawa for a $144-million increase in core funding, which they say hasn’t increased in two decades.

“The impact of the lack of funding keeps mounting,” Canadian Olympic Committee chief executive officer David Shoemaker said Wednesday. “It shifts the burden increasingly to athletes.”

NSOs count on core funding to pay for operations, athletes, coaches and support staff. Freestyle Canada’s CEO Peter Judge has called it the “blood in the veins” of his organization.

Several winter-sport leaders told The Canadian Press in February they were running deficits, increasing team fees that athletes pay, or cutting back on competitions, training camps and travel because inflation has weakened their spending power.

Basketball Canada’s CEO questioned last year whether the organization could attract NBA stars to represent the country in future Olympic Games if coaching staff, training camps or pre-competition resources were compromised.

There’s been an uptick in lobbying for the increase with bus stop signs and billboards around Parliament Hill stating “We are all Team Canada. Invest in Sport. Invest in Canada.”

Olympic champion rower and Canadian senator Marnie McBean questioned Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault in the Senate chamber Sept. 25, asking if the government would increase core funding “and commit to developing a reliable long-term funding strategy for sport in Canada?”

Decorated Canadian sprinter Andre De Grasse and Shoemaker met with Prime Minister Mark Carney in Ottawa for a photo op on Oct. 9, the same day De Grasse was lauded in the Senate.

Whether that adds up to a core-funding increase on Tuesday, Secretary of Sport Adam van Koeverden was noncommittal.

“I won’t speak to a budget which has not been announced just yet,” Van Koeverden said. “I will say that I will always fight for more money for athletes and the sports system because I believe that the sports system continues to be one of Canada’s greatest nation-building projects.”

The Future of Sport in Canada Commission’s preliminary report in August stated that Canada’s sport system is severely underfunded.

“National Sport Organizations today are expected to be leaders in their sport but also to create safe sport environments, promote diversity and inclusion and strengthen their governance practices, among many other responsibilities,” the report said. “Yet, they operate with static or even diminishing funding levels that have not kept pace with inflation nor reflected increasing expectations over the past two decades.

“There is an urgent need for an injection of funds to ensure that National Sport Organizations can continue operating. This need is especially pressing for winter sports, given the upcoming Olympics and Paralympics Winter Games in 2026.”

Athletes received an increase in their monthly Athletes Assistance Program cheques, otherwise known as “carding,” in the 2024 budget.

A senior athlete saw a bump from $1,765 per month to $2,175 in their first raise since 2017. NSO leaders have said the increase is eaten up by the rise in team fees to cover costs the organization can no longer afford.

The COC and CPC initially asked for a $104-million increase in core funding in the 2024 budget. The ask increased for 2025.

“It’s hard to ballpark where my level of confidence is for next Tuesday’s announcement, but my level of confidence in this Prime Minister, in Mark Carney, my level of confidence in this Minister of Sport, Adam van Koeverden, is very high that they understand the value of sport,” Shoemaker said.

The 2026 Winter Olympics run Feb. 6-22 in Milan and Cortina, Italy, followed by the Paralympic Games there March 6-15.

Canadians won 26 medals — four gold, eight silver and 14 bronze — to rank fourth in the overall medal table in Beijing in 2022.

Canada’s Paralympians earned 25 medals, including eight gold, to rank third in Beijing.

The 2026 Olympic team’s chef de mission, Jennifer Heil, will return to Italy for the first time since winning moguls gold at the 2006 Games in Turin.

The 42-year-old from Spruce Grove, Alta., says she was a beneficiary of robust funding during her athletic career.

“Canada did a really good job of that in about 2005 to 2016,” she said. “Then costs started to get away like they do for everyone. Inflation, the lower Canadian dollar, the teams spend most of their year outside of Canada, it’s unsustainable, and yet the athletes continue to rise.

“We’re going to have one of our best teams that we’ve ever had, but the reality is that if we want to see the success, if we want to celebrate Canada in this way on the global stage, we have to invest.”

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press

Former Vancouver Canuck Ryan Kesler charged with criminal sexual conduct in Michigan.

Court records show Kesler, 41, was arraigned via Zoom on Monday in Bloomfield Hills District Court and pleaded not guilty to both misdemeanour charges.

The offences are alleged to have occurred on Jan. 1 in Orchard Lake, Mich.

Bond was set at US$50,000, with a 10 per cent deposit, and Kesler was ordered not to leave Michigan without court permission. He must also appear for all scheduled hearings.

A probable-cause conference is set for Nov. 6, followed by a preliminary examination Nov. 13.

The Livonia, Mich., native played for the Vancouver Canucks from 2003 to 2014 before being traded to the Anaheim Ducks, where he played until his retirement in 2019.

He was also a member of the United States Olympic teams in 2010 and 2014 and won the Frank J. Selke Trophy in 2011 as the NHL’s top defensive forward and was part of Vancouver’s run to the Stanley Cup final that year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 27, 2025.

Kaizer Chiefs licked their scoring wounds, which have been affecting them at the wrong times this season, with an anecdote that works for a team struggling in front of the posts: putting the ball into the back of the net.

O’Callaghan lowers 200 metre free short course mark at #Toronto World Cup.

Australian Mollie O’Callaghan broke the short course 200 metre freestyle world record for the second time in a week on Friday, winning in 1 min 49.36sec at the World Cup stop in Toronto.

O’Callaghan sliced 41-hundredths of a second off the world record of 1:49.77 she set in Westmont, Illinois, just six days earlier -- a victory that made her the first woman to break 1:50 in the event.

Hungarian Hubert Kos and Canadian Josh Liendo followed up world record swims on Thursday with victories.

One day after posting a world record of 1:45.12 in the 200m backstroke, Kos won the 50m back in 22.67sec.

The Olympic gold medallist remained unbeaten in backstroke competition in the three-meet World Cup series and can try to complete a perfect run when he contests the 100 metre back on Saturday.

Canadian Josh Liendo continued his scintillating form in front of home fans with a 100 metre freestyle victory in 45.30sec.

Liendo, who won 100 metre butterfly silver at the Paris Olympics, had set a short course world record of 47.68 in the 100 metre fly on Thursday -- when he also won the 50 metre free.

Toews starting to feel comfortable playing with Jets

Spain’s Raul Fernandez surged to a maiden MotoGP victory in Australia on Sunday, while Alex Marquez finished fourth to shore up his bid to finish the season second in the world #championship.

Ski jumper Mackenzie Boyd-Clowes takes to the air again for Canada

#Canadian Vallieres pulls off cycling world title surprise in Kigali hills. Canada’s Magdeleine Vallieres won the women’s road race on a long, gruelling course over the hills of Kigali at the cycling world championships on Saturday.

The 24-year-old broke late on the 167km run over 11 circuits of the Rwandan city to win ahead of New Zealand’s Niamh Fisher-Black and Spain’s Mavi Garcia in third.

Vallieres got away from the pair on the last of the 15.2km laps of the circuit on a testing cobbled climb and crossed the summit finish alone completely exhausted.

“I can hardly believe it,” said Vallieres after by far her biggest career win. “I just got in the right break,” she explained.

Tour de France champion Pauline Ferrand-Prevot started as favourite but was heavily tracked by her rivals as they mistakenly allowed a small group to get over a minute ahead.

Dutch rider Anna van der Breggen dropped back with 30km to go while last week’s time-trial champion Marlen Reusser made a brave but doomed solo effort to counter-attack.

These are the first cycling worlds to be held in Africa.

The winners are awarded a rainbow jersey that they wear for the year, a much coveted prize in a race where riders represent their nation rather than a professional team.

#Canadian men’s 4x100-metre relay team takes silver at world athletics championships.

The quartet of Andre De Grasse, Brendon Rodney, Jerome Blake and Aaron Brown won silver at the world athletics championships on Sunday, with a season-best time of 37.55 seconds. The United States struck gold (37.29) to defend their world title on Sunday and the Netherlands (37.81) grabbed bronze.

“The stage was set. We had to go mano a mano, well of course we’re going against everybody but we knew the U.S., they had a grudge against us,” Brown told reporters. “I train with three of them, so, they’ve been talking a lot of smack and we were looking forward to this race.

“They got the best of us today but I still feel like if we go out there again, circumstances could be different next time. Us four, whenever we get together, anything is possible. And it doesn’t matter what we do individually, as a unit we’re a special team.”

Canada came into Sunday’s race being the Olympic champions, the first time Canada won gold in the event since the 1996 Olympics. The group ran 37.50 to win gold in Paris in 2024.

However, it’s a return to the podium for the Canadian team at worlds after not making the final in 2023. The group won gold at the 2022 world championships, when De Grasse outran American Noah Lyles to the line in a memorable finish.

De Grasse, Brown and Rodney have competed alongside each other on the relay team since 2015, with Blake joining in 2019. In the last 10 years, Canada has won Olympic gold (2024), silver (2021) and bronze (2016), in addition to world championship gold (2022), silver (2025) and bronze (2015) in the men’s 4x100 relay.

Hints of what may or may not be in the future came up after the race, however. Brown and Rodney will be 35 years old by the next worlds in 2027, with De Grasse to turn 33 later that year and Blake 32.

“One of the best teams that Canada has ever seen,” Brown said. “The consistency, the ability to rise up to the moment time and time again speaks for itself.

“I just want to say I’m so grateful to run with these guys because I never know what the team is going to look like in two years, the next world championships. Whether it’s us again or the new guys, we’re going to continue that legacy.”

Canada was running strong through the rainy conditions at Japan National Stadium, with their usual clean handoffs in play. Rodney handed the baton off to De Grasse in second place behind the Americans, with Ghana in third.

De Grasse was able to keep Dutch anchor Elvis Afrifa at bay after he had pulled the Netherlands ahead of Ghana. But De Grasse couldn’t chase down Lyles, who won bronze in the 100 and gold in the 200 earlier at the world championships.

The Americans were .13 seconds ahead of Canada by the final handoff, with Lyles running an 8.84-second split, to De Grasse’s 8.97.

“I think that was our first time actually running in the rain, so different experience than usual. But we did our thing. We had a great time,” De Grasse said.

“Almost broke the national record (of 37.48 seconds), we were so close. We run it back next time, I know we can do it. We’re looking good, we’re looking good. We’ll see what happens for the future.”

Just minutes before, Canada’s women’s 4x100 relay squad finished seventh. Sade McCreath, Jacqueline Madogo, Marie-Eloise Leclair and Audrey Leduc finished with a time of 42.82 seconds.

The U.S. (41.75), Jamaica (41.79) and Germany (41.87) finished on the podium.

The men’s relay podium finish allowed Canada to close the world championships with five medals (three gold, one silver, one bronze). Canada placed third on the medal table thanks to the three golds, with the U.S. leading the way with 16 and Kenya having won seven.

Evan Dunfee of Richmond, B.C., won gold in the men’s 35-kilometre race walk, Camryn Rogers, also from Richmond, earned gold in the women’s hammer throw, while Ethan Katzberg of Nanaimo, B.C., struck gold in the men’s hammer throw.

Edmonton’s Marco Arop took bronze in the men’s 800 on Saturday.

Rogers and Katzberg became the first Canadians to ever defend their world titles.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 21, 2025.

The Canadian Press

Max Verstappen on pole and Oscar Piastri crashes in chaotic F1 qualifying in Azerbaijan.

Red Bull’s Verstappen was fastest by .478 from Carlos Sainz, Jr. of Williams in a session that ran an hour past its scheduled time, longer than most races. Liam Lawson of Racing Bulls starts Sunday’s race a career-best third.

“You just have to send it,” Verstappen said of his final lap, trying to beat a time Sainz had set in much drier conditions.

Piastri slammed into the barrier while chasing pole position on a track left slippery by earlier rainfall. His McLaren teammate Lando Norris was only seventh after clipping the wall on his final lap and couldn’t take full advantage of Piastri’s error.

“I just braked a little bit late,” Piastri told broadcaster Sky Sports. “Disappointing way to end.”

The Australian briefly perched on a chair trackside near a drinks fridge as he took in the consequences of a rare mistake in the title race. He leads Norris by 31 points.

Piastri qualified ninth ahead of Sunday’s race after Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc also crashed earlier while seeking what would have been a fifth consecutive pole position in Azerbaijan.

Lewis Hamilton showed he had strong pace by going fastest in Friday’s second practice session, but it was yet another disappointing qualifying session for the seven-time champion as he ended up 12th.
Williams nearly makes history

For a few minutes, the Williams team dreamed of a first pole position in 11 years.

Sainz was fastest of only three drivers who’d set valid times when Leclerc crashed as the rain started to fall. If it kept raining during the red-flag stoppage, no one would be able to beat his time.

“You can start dancing to see if it rains a bit harder, no?” Sainz told Williams over the radio as the session was stopped.

Sainz’s chances went up when there was a second red flag for Piastri’s crash, just as Verstappen was poised to beat his time, but the Dutch driver — known for his skill in the rain — snatched pole with his final attempt.
Chaos on track

The first of the six red flags was for Alex Albon stopping his Williams after he clipped the wall, another came when Nico Hulkenberg slid into a barrier and left half of his Sauber’s front wing there, before a third red flag for a bizarre incident involving both Alpines.

Pierre Gasly missed a turn and stopped in an escape road. Seconds later, his teammate Franco Colapinto hit the wall nearby, seemingly in surprise at seeing Gasly stuck at the side of the track.

Alpine’s executive advisor — and de facto team head — Flavio Briatore was seen gesturing in disbelief as both of his drivers were eliminated from the session.

The fourth red flag came when Oliver Bearman stopped his damaged Haas on track, before Leclerc and Piastri’s crashes brought stoppages five and six.