Federal, provincial governments pledge $15M each for 2025 Invictus Games in B.C.
The federal and British Columbia governments are each committing $15 million in support of the 2025 Invictus Games in Vancouver and Whistler.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier John Horgan made the announcement at Rogers Arena in Vancouver.
Trudeau said that as the first Invictus Games to feature adaptive winter sports, the event will be “uniquely Canadian.” An additional $1 million in federal funds will be provided to the Soldier On program to support the participation of Canadian veterans in the games.
“For the first time ever, and classically Canadian, these games will include winter sports,” he told a cheering audience at the announcement Tuesday.
“We all know that when it comes to winter sports, our Canadian competitors will show them how it's done.”
The games will feature alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, skeleton and wheelchair curling as well as swimming, indoor rowing, sitting volleyball, wheelchair rugby and wheelchair basketball.
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, announced in April that Vancouver and Whistler won the bid to host the eight-day international sports competition for wounded and ill military veterans in February 2025.
Over 500 athletes from more than 20 nations are expected to compete in 2025.
Horgan called the announcement the “best possible news” for British Columbia.
“We will have, as the prime minister said, in a quintessentially Canadian way, the first hybrid and the first winter games, including sliding events, skiing events at Whistler,” he said. “World-class events are going to be taking place here.”
Nick Booth, chief executive officer of True Patriot Love, said the games are named after Victorian era British poet William Ernest Henley who wrote the poem, Invictus. True Patriot Love is a charity that supports Canadian Armed Forces members, veterans, and their families.
A senior British general who knew the poem decided to call the games Invictus because they spoke to the mission of using sport for recovery, he said. The poem was written in 1875.
“The lyrics behind the poem are that sort of dark journey that people go on, and come out the other end still being the person that you were before injury,” Booth said.
Trudeau said he talked with former athletes before the announcement about how sports help with recovery and healing, and the “profound impact” the games had on helping the former service members get better.
The games help injured veterans learn that while they are not the same as they were before, it doesn't mean they “can't be a world-class competitor,” he said.
“You can have every bit of that drive and that push and that quest to give all you are to your teammates, to your service, to your country,” he said.
“That's what Invictus allows. Not just competitors but the comrades, the families and all of us to live, to experience, to celebrate.”
Natacha Dupuis, a retired master corporal who co-captained Team Canada during the 2017 Invictus Games in Toronto, became emotional as she spoke about how sports helped her get her life back.
She was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after her second tour of Afghanistan where two of her comrades were killed and three others were injured, she said.
While therapy helped her a bit, she said it was training as a sprinter for the games that helped her get control of her life.
“The Invictus Games are not about medals or about winning,” she said.
“They're about progressing in your recovery as part of a community who understands and supports you. They are also about building lifelong friendships and support systems amongst peers. I hope the city is ready to be inspired and touched by the incredible spirit and resiliency of the Invictus Games athletes. I promise that you won't be disappointed. It will blow your mind.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 24, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
How quietly promised law changes in the 2024 federal budget could impact your day-to-day life
The 2024 federal budget released last week includes numerous big spending promises that have garnered headlines. But, tucked into the 416-page document are also series of smaller items, such as promising to amend the law regarding infant formula and to force banks to label government rebates, that you may have missed.
Which foods have the most plastics? You may be surprised
'How much plastic will you have for dinner, sir? And you, ma'am?' While that may seem like a line from a satirical skit on Saturday Night Live, research is showing it's much too close to reality.
opinion I've been a criminal attorney for decades. Here's what I think about the case against Trump
Joey Jackson, a criminal defence attorney and a legal analyst for CNN, outlines what he thinks about the criminal case against Donald Trump in the 'hush money trial.'
$3.8M home in B.C.'s Okanagan has steel shell for extra wildfire protection
A home in B.C.'s Okanagan that features a weathering steel shell designed to provide some protection against wildfires has been listed for sale at $3.8 million.
Diver pinned under water by an alligator figured he had choice. Lose his arm or lose his life
An alligator attacked a diver on April 15 as he surfaced from his dive, nearly out of air. His tank emptied with the gator's jaws crushing the arm he put up in defence.
Psychologist becomes first person in Peru to die by euthanasia after fighting in court for years
A Peruvian psychologist who suffered from an incurable disease that weakened her muscles and had her confined to her bed for several years, died by euthanasia, her lawyer said Monday, becoming the first person in the country to obtain the right to die with medical assistance.
Mystery surrounds giant custom Canucks jerseys worn by Lions Gate Bridge statues
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
Celebrity designer sentenced to 18 months in prison for smuggling crocodile handbags
A leading fashion designer whose accessories were used by celebrities from Britney Spears to the cast of the 'Sex and the City' TV series was sentenced Monday to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty in Miami federal court on charges of smuggling crocodile handbags from her native Colombia.
Wildfire leads to evacuation order issued for northeast Alberta community
An evacuation order was issued on Monday afternoon for homes in the area of Cold Lake First Nation.