The evolution of Canadian sport policy

Epistemic Communities and Knowledge-Based Professional Networks in Sport Policy and Governance: A Case Study of the Canadian Sport for Life Leadership Team

“…From this perspective, the emergence and development of the CS4LLT should be contextualized within the broader political developments that were occurring within Canadian sport at the time. Not only has Canadian sport historically been characterized as a highly fragmented pluralist network (Barnes et al, 2007;Comeau, 2013), but CSP1 (2002 emerged, in part, to attempt to 'deal' with ongoing broader tensions regarding the role of federal-provincial/territorial governments' in sport and sport organizations and the ongoing debate regarding whether or not Canada should continue to prioritize high performance sport over other social objectives (Green & Houlihan, 2005;Thibault & Harvey, 2013). These broader tensions would have been brought into focus during the CSP1 policy process and given further impetus as a result of Canada's successful bid to host for the XXI Olympic Winter…”

“…This study consequently makes the following threefold contributions to the sport management/policy literature. First, we extend recent work that has sought to theorize the mesolevel sport policy process (e.g., Comeau, 2013;Green & Houlihan, 2005;Houlihan, 2005;Houlihan, Bloyce, & Smith, 2009) by offering the epistemic communities approach as a useful alternative theoretical approach to understand and explain sport policy change. The strength of the epistemic community perspective, we argue, is its ability to explain how knowledge can be used in order to gain power and influence over the policy process.…”

“…The framework has emerged primarily due to an increasing desire for many countries to ensure sustainable international sporting success (De Bosscher, De Knop, Van Bottenburg, & Shibli, 2006) Governments of Canada, and its successor policy, Canadian Sport Policy 2 (CSP2;-2022 (Thibault & Harvey, 2013; see also Comeau, 2013 for a specific discussion on the evolution of Canadian sport policy). In recent years, many sport organizations within Canada and other countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia have adopted the LTAD framework as the organizing framework for developing athletes to the extent that it could be described as the 'new orthodoxy' in athlete development.…”

Sport Policy in Canada

“…In addition, policy consultations during the CSP renewal process in 2011 supported the direction that is being navigated by the various stakeholders-one where excellence as measured by medal success is emphasized-and fits with the federal government's interest in "steering" the system through financial contributions (Comeau, 2013). This is seen quite directly with the commitment to support Canadian Sport Centres/Institutes in British Columbia, Calgary, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic.…”

“…(Donnelly, 1997(Donnelly, , 2000(Donnelly, , 2011 as well as numerous book chapters and articles (e.g., Cantelon, 2003;Comeau, 2013;Harvey, 1988Harvey, , 2002Harvey, , 2008Harvey, Thibault, & Rail, 1995;Semotiuk, 1994;Thibault & Babiak, 2005). These works and others have contributed to our understanding of the nature and scope of the Canadian government's involvement in amateur sport for a period of more than 50 years.…”