Olympic bobsledder Cynthia Appiah is thousands of dollars in debt for her sled's runners and for travel to competition.
Her Canadian teammate Melissa Lotholz recently sought free accommodation in a church while competing in Lake Placid, N.Y.
Olympic rowing champion Andrea Proske says she's still paying off debt, and that her mother planted an extra garden to grow fruits and vegetables to meet her caloric needs when Proske trained and raced on a tight budget.
With the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris on the horizon, Canada's athletes are asking for a $6.3-million raise to the Athletes Assistance Program (AAP), which is informally known as βcardingβ money, in the federal government's April 16 budget.
A monthly cheque of $1,765 - $1,060 for a development-level athlete - is for living expenses and competition costs their sport's governing body doesn't cover.
βCarding is my main source of income,β Appiah said. βIt's pretty much the only thing that I know will be sustainable through a whole year both in and outside of competition.β
Over 1,900 athletes across 90 sports are eligible for AAP, which offers other financial supports such as tuition and child care.
Athletes saw their AAP increase in 2017 by $265 a month, or 18 per cent, in the first raise since 2004.
The latest ask, which would be an increase of 18.8 per cent, is independent of a joint demand by the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic committees for a injection of $104 million into the sport system.
One goes hand in hand with the other, however, as athletes cover costs their national federations can't. Appiah is paying off $10,000 runners for her sled and still has $6,000 on her credit card from travelling to World Cups in Latvia and Austria last year.
The 33-year-old lives with her sister in Toronto βbecause I can't afford to live on my own in a city like Toronto.β
When Appiah heads to the bob team's training centre in Calgary, she says she βcouch surfsβ and drives a 2007 car with rusty wheel wells and 360,000 kilometres on it.
The AAP, worth $21,000 annually, is the primary source of income in many athletes' financial traplines that can also include provincial grants, prize money or sponsorships.
Appiah says income from Ontario's Quest For Gold program, her status as an RBC Olympian and sponsorships that come and go year to year gets her to about $28,000 annually.
βA lot of people that I've had this conversation with in terms of funding, seem to have this idea that Canadian Olympians are very much living in the lap of luxury. There's this illusion that we get high top-dollar sponsors,β Appiah said.
βAndre De Grasse, Christine Sinclair, those are the few and far between that have those million-dollar contracts.β
Her teammate Lotholz wants her World Cup status back after taking a year off of racing to complete her University of Alberta degree.
That's meant competing on the North American Cup circuit this past winter and βpaying out of pocket for pretty much everything minus coaching,β she said.
The two-time Olympian says she stayed for free in a Lake Placid church while competing in her final event of the season. Lotholz embraces athletes' additional request to index the AAP to the inflation rate.
βLiterally every penny helps. It does all make a difference for sure,β said the 31-year-old from Barrhead, Alta. β I really appreciate too in this ask, that they're also asking that it be variable so that it increases with inflation.β
But there is no indication an AAP increase is forthcoming in the federal budget.
βWhile Budget 2023 announced refocusing of government spending, in its continued commitment to athletes, this government has strategically reallocated resources within the Sport Support Program to ensure that direct funding to athletes through the Athlete Assistance Program is not affected,β said a statement from the office of Canadian sports minister Carla Qualtrough.
Proske was a member of the women's eights that captured Olympic rowing gold in Tokyo. The 37-year-old from Langley, B.C., is now vice-president of AthletesCan, which is an association representing national athletes.
βIn women's rowing, especially as a top-tier gold medallist, I put myself into debt and my husband into debt trying to stand in the middle of the podium with the Maple Leaf on my chest,β Proske said.
βWe are not professional athletes. We're amateur athletes. Many of our sports do not pair very well with sponsorships. Using rowing as example, I can't sell any sponsorship space on my boat, I can't put a logo on my visor, I am limited in how many logos I have.β
Athletes know how to stretch a dollar, Proske said, but there's a breaking point.
βWe don't always have control over where we're training. A lot of these training centres are in very expensive cities,β she said. βIt also is really expensive to be an athlete versus a normal human. I ate 4,000 calories a day. Many of the men ate 10,000 calories a day.β
Canada has a network of seven sport institutes. CSI Pacific's campuses are in Vancouver, Victoria and Whistler, B.C.
CSI Ontario is headquartered in Toronto's Pan Am Sports Centre. CSI Calgary caters to many winter-sport athletes.
Vancouver averages $2,181 a month for a two-bedroom apartment, Victoria $1,839, Toronto $1,961 and Calgary $1,695, according to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation's January 2024 rental report.
In the ski resort town of Whistler, which has Canada's only luge, bobsleigh and skeleton track since Calgary's closed, a one-bedroom apartment runs north of $3,000 a month.
Resource scarcity contributes to a sport system that is less safe, Appiah said.
βIn that conversation of safe sport, a lot of the times athletes will put themselves into vulnerable positions because it's the only option they have, and finances play a big part of that,β she said. βThe AAP is, for most people, is their only source of income, so you make decisions that no sane person would actually make.
βIf we had that increase of 18 per cent and then also tied to inflation, we can live like normal human beings for the most part.β
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 27, 2024.
Procurement Minister and newly appointed Quebec lieutenant Jean-Yves Duclos is warning the NDP that the dental care program it helped put into place will be in jeopardy if it pulls its support from the governing Liberals.
In less than two months, Americans will go to the polls to choose their next president. But the process that translates those millions of votes into one seat in the Oval Office is much more complicated than a straight tally.
Kate, the Princess of Wales, made her first public appearance Sunday since she announced she had completed chemotherapy and would return to some public duties.
A morning cup of coffee may do more than just perk you up, according to new research.
Donald Trump has long pledged to deport millions of people, but he's bringing more specifics to his current bid for the White House: invoking wartime powers, relying on like-minded governors and using the military.
Pasquale Monaco says heβs debating whether to keep renting out the two-bedroom basement apartment of the Montreal building he owns after it was flooded β again β in August, when the remnants of tropical storm Debby sent four feet of water rushing into the space.
If your child sometimes has trouble sleeping, it may be easy to chalk it up to a phase they will grow out of one day. But a new study suggests possible serious consequences for this line of thought β such as a higher risk for suicidal ideation or attempts when they are older.
Hezbollah launched more than 100 rockets early Sunday across a wider and deeper area of northern Israel, with some landing near the city of Haifa, as Israel launched hundreds of strikes on Lebanon. The sides appeared to be spiraling toward all-out war following months of escalating tensions.
Twenty-seven year ΒιΆΉΣ°ΚΣ reporter and anchor John Vennavally-Rao shares his story of what it was like to have an ostomy bag as part of his health-care battle. 'Iβm grateful for what it did to extend my life,' he writes in a personal column for CTVNews.ca.
The British Columbia election campaign is set to officially start today, with Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin issuing the writ for the Oct. 19 vote.
A man is facing numerous drug trafficking charges after Dufferin OPP seized a large assortment of drugs and weapons in Orangeville earlier this week.
Pasquale Monaco says heβs debating whether to keep renting out the two-bedroom basement apartment of the Montreal building he owns after it was flooded β again β in August, when the remnants of tropical storm Debby sent four feet of water rushing into the space.
The London Police Service (LPS) is currently investigating a suspicious death in the east end.
One person has died following a shooting in Scarborough late last night.
Newfoundland and Labrador sponsored a minor football team in England, now theyβre about to play one of the biggest clubs in European soccer.
Donald Trump has long pledged to deport millions of people, but he's bringing more specifics to his current bid for the White House: invoking wartime powers, relying on like-minded governors and using the military.
An explosion in a coal mine in eastern Iran killed at least 33 workers and injured 17 others, officials said Sunday, marking one of the worst mining disasters in the country's history as others remained missing hours after the blast.
In less than two months, Americans will go to the polls to choose their next president. But the process that translates those millions of votes into one seat in the Oval Office is much more complicated than a straight tally.
A two-story building collapsed in the southern Italian province of Naples early Sunday, killing two young siblings and leaving their mother and an older woman trapped, firefighters said.
Kate, the Princess of Wales, made her first public appearance Sunday since she announced she had completed chemotherapy and would return to some public duties.
Multiple victims in a mass killing in Alabama were caught in the crossfire during a shooting in a popular entertainment district late Saturday, police said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to be in New York this week for the 78th meeting of the United Nations General Assembly and the Summit of the Future amid increasing geopolitical instability around the world.
A $2.14-billion federal loan for an Ottawa-based satellite operator has Canadian politicians arguing about whether American billionaire Elon Musk poses a national security risk.
Procurement Minister and newly appointed Quebec lieutenant Jean-Yves Duclos is warning the NDP that the dental care program it helped put into place will be in jeopardy if it pulls its support from the governing Liberals.
A morning cup of coffee may do more than just perk you up, according to new research.
If your child sometimes has trouble sleeping, it may be easy to chalk it up to a phase they will grow out of one day. But a new study suggests possible serious consequences for this line of thought β such as a higher risk for suicidal ideation or attempts when they are older.
A new study has found that for every 10 per cent increase in the amount of a person's diet made up of ultraprocessed foods there was a 17 per cent increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes.
If something looks too good to be true, it might be. That's the message from Saskatchewan horticulturists after customers have come into their stores hoping to buy purple apple trees this month.
The owner of the shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear power plant said Friday that it plans to restart the reactor under a 20-year agreement that calls for tech giant Microsoft to buy the power to supply its data centers with carbon-free energy.
Lebanese authorities on Thursday banned walkie-talkies and pagers from being taken on flights from Beirut airport, the National News Agency reported, after thousands of such devices exploded during a deadly attack on Hezbollah this week.
A Nova Scotian YouTuber has launched a mini-truck bookmobile.
Kathryn Crosby, who appeared in such movies as 'The 7th Voyage of Sinbad', 'Anatomy of a Murder,' and 'Operation Mad Ball' before marrying famed singer and Oscar-winning actor Bing Crosby, has died. She was 90.fff
'Saturday Night Live' will have a slew of famous faces to help kick off its historic 50th season when the show returns later this month.
Itβs not easy going up against Canadaβs banking oligopoly, but some are trying.
It is not a great time to be a coffee drinker. In general, coffee bean prices are the highest they've been in more than a decade.
The maker of the popular party game Cards Against Humanity is accusing Elon Musk's SpaceX of trespassing on and damaging a plot of vacant land the company owns in Texas.
More than 2,200 zoo professionals from 23 different countries have gathered in Calgary for the annual Association of Zoos and Aquariums conference.
Tattoos are becoming more common in today's society and, as a result, appear to be more acceptable in the workplace than they used to be.
The end of the day β when school, extracurricular activities and homework are (hopefully) finally done β is the window that many kids have for downtime. It can be a struggle to convince them not to go on their phones.
Jonathan Aranda homered for the second consecutive game, helping Taj Bradley and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2 on Saturday.
Kiefer Sherwood spent several nights last spring chasing Quinn Hughes around the ice and generally pestering the Vancouver Canucks.
Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.
General Motors (GM) has issued a recall for 38,000 vehicles for safety risks related to a software glitch, Transport Canada reported in a notice on Wednesday.
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has accused Tesla CEO Elon Musk of 'remotely disabling' his Cybertruck, which had been sent to the frontline of Russia's war in Ukraine.
An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.
Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.
Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.
An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.
They say a dog is a manβs best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.
A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.
Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.
The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.
It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.
A six-year-old girl who was reported missing in northern B.C. earlier this week remains unaccounted for, and "significant resources from across the province" have joined in the search, police said Saturday.
Volunteers and staff members gathered along Vancouverβs Stanley Park Seawall Saturday to pick up litter as part of International Coastal Cleanup Day.
A heritage home in Vancouver suffered "extensive damage" in a fire that broke out late Saturday morning, according to firefighters.
One person has died following a shooting in Scarborough late last night.
A man who was critically injured in an eight-vehicle pileup in Milton Friday has died of his injuries in hospital.
Police are looking for witnesses after one man was injured in a shooting outside of a sports bar in Hamilton Saturday night.
Milla White from Cochrane literally drew her way into a meeting with former boxer and actor Mickey Rourke.
The water coming from your taps might be a bit murky Saturday, but Calgary remains on schedule to end all water restrictions on Sunday.
For 12 hours Saturday Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPCK) employees, service personnel and corporate teams rode spin bikes to raise funds and awareness for charities focusing on housing homeless veterans in Canada and the U.S.
A potential move to LeBreton Flats for the Ottawa Senators is still years away, but questions and concerns are already being raised about what to do with the Canadian Tire Centre.
The Taste of Wellington 2024 wraps up Saturday in Ottawa.
A body has been found in the vicinity where a woman went missing on the Ottawa River near Pembroke, Ont. while kayaking Tuesday night, according to the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).
Pasquale Monaco says heβs debating whether to keep renting out the two-bedroom basement apartment of the Montreal building he owns after it was flooded β again β in August, when the remnants of tropical storm Debby sent four feet of water rushing into the space.
A 19-year-old man is in critical condition after being stabbed in Montreal on Saturday.
A cyclist died after being hit by a van in Val-d'Or, Abitibi-TΓ©miscamingue, on Saturday.
The Edmonton Police Service is looking for a person of interest in connection with a suspicious fire that destroyed a multi-unit building and damaged several townhomes earlier this week.
Tattoos are becoming more common in today's society and, as a result, appear to be more acceptable in the workplace than they used to be.
Two people have been charged after a daylight shooting in Red Deer earlier this week.
A proposal for additional parking to accommodate upgrades at the Irving Pulp & Paper Mill in Saint John, N.B., would add an estimated 500 parking spots at Wolastoq Park.
A Nova Scotian YouTuber has launched a mini-truck bookmobile.
If your child sometimes has trouble sleeping, it may be easy to chalk it up to a phase they will grow out of one day. But a new study suggests possible serious consequences for this line of thought β such as a higher risk for suicidal ideation or attempts when they are older.
The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.
A herd of dogs paid visit to patients and residents at Riverview Health Centre during an annual event that lifts spirits and wags tails.
While slang may come and go, experts say the phenomenon behind them, which constantly churns out brand-new bon mots, is as old as language itself.
Fire officials are investigating after a fire completely destroyed the community fridge in the Cathedral neighborhood.
The last two months after losing her daughter Bella have been extremely difficult for Kyla Thomson.
Regina police arrested three youths in connection to a bear mace incident at a Regina high school on Friday.
The Cambridge Professional Fire Fightersβ Association held their annual Muscular Dystrophy Boot Drive on Saturday.
Protests were held in front of Kitchener City Hall on Friday, both for and against LGBTQ2S+ inclusive education and queer rights in schools.
Police said the pedestrian, a 52-year-old man, was taken to an out-of-region hospital with life-threatening injuries and the driver of the vehicle failed to remain at the scene.
The 75-year-old building, formerly the Waskesiu Chamber of Commerce building, was relocated to the Parks Canada compound on the edge of the townsite.
Saskatchewan RCMP major crimes unit is investigating after a manβs body was found on Sweetgrass First Nation.
Motors were roaring, and tires were spinning as Saskatoon's biggest names in motocross gathered together for the 50-year anniversary of the club's founding on Saturday.
Ontarioβs police watchdog is investigating after an Ontario Provincial Police officer discharged his firearm at a 36-year-old man in near Moonbeam, Ont., on Friday night.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to be in New York this week for the 78th meeting of the United Nations General Assembly and the Summit of the Future amid increasing geopolitical instability around the world.
For some young people, a popular method for getting a quick high is by misusing laughing gas β and lately, thatβs in the form of nitrous oxide from products sold by the company Galaxy Gas.
The identity of a motorcyclist has been revealed by loved ones on social media following Fridayβs fatal south end collision in London. The London Police Service has not released anything regarding the driverβs identity.
Huron County OPP are investigating a serious single vehicle collision that took place west of Seaforth.
A motorcyclist has died following a serious collision that took place in Londonβs south end on Friday afternoon.
The Barrie Skateboard Association (BSA) hosted a unique competition at the City's Skate Park on Saturday to celebrate its 25th anniversary, which showcased the park's importance and the growth of skateboarding in the region.
A man is facing numerous drug trafficking charges after Dufferin OPP seized a large assortment of drugs and weapons in Orangeville earlier this week.
One person is in hospital after an e-bike crash in Orillia on Thursday.
The Amherstburg Uncommon Festival is living up to its name with the addition of a drone light show β a first for Essex County.
The Amherstburg Freedom Museum is celebrating a year of festivities in anticipation of its 50th anniversary in 2025.
The St. Clair College golf teams were successful at the Niagara Knights Invitational tournament on Friday.
A man who was found dead behind a curling rink in Nanaimo, B.C., earlier this month was the victim of a homicide, police confirmed.
A sea lion swam free after a rescue team disentangled it near Vancouver Island earlier this week.
A six-year-old girl who was reported missing in northern B.C. earlier this week remains unaccounted for, and "significant resources from across the province" have joined in the search, police said Saturday.
A pair of runaway pigs are in the custody of an animal sanctuary in the Okanagan after evading police and volunteers for hours earlier this week.
The Red Bridge, a historic landmark in Kamloops, B.C., was completely destroyed by fire early Thursday morning.
Animal protection officers in British Columbia have rescued three pit bulls β including one that gave birth to 10 puppies β from a rat-infested home in Kelowna.
Despite the heavy rain, plenty of muscle turned up for United Wayβs annual Pull the Bus fundraiser in Lethbridge Friday.
Lethbridge County has rescinded its fire restriction as a result of the recent cool, wet weathr.
The Lethbridge Hurricanes kicked off the 2024-25 season on a winning note Friday night, defeating the Edmonton Oil Kings 3-1 in a game played at VisitLethbridge.com Arena.
A northern Ontario man is facing a $12,000 fine after illegally shooting a moose near the Batchawan River.
Following an outbreak of COVID-19 on its continuing care floor and just ahead of the flu season, St. Josephβs General Hospital in Elliot Lake has opted to re-introduce a universal masking policy until further notice.
A 26-year-old driver from Surrey, B.C., has been charged with three counts of criminal negligence causing death and bodily harm in a crash that killed two youths in northern Ontario last year.
Newfoundland and Labrador sponsored a minor football team in England, now theyβre about to play one of the biggest clubs in European soccer.
Newfoundland and Labrador's chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
A 16-year-old biennial event aimed at fostering business in the country's eastern Arctic and northern regions has been cancelled indefinitely as a dispute unfolds between Inuit in Canada and a Labrador group claiming to share their heritage.
The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at ΒιΆΉΣ°ΚΣ. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop.Β Read about us.
