National Sport Minister Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Employment Randy Boissonnault, and Treasury Board President Anita Anand announced in Calgary that the funds, which were promised in April's budget, will be allocated to athletes' monthly stipends, safe sport initiatives, and efforts to remove barriers to sport participation.

"I'm squarely focused on a new vision for sport in Canada with a sport system that looks like Canada," Qualtrough stated. "A system that invests in athletes and organisations who are working hard to represent Canada internationally, and invests in grassroots organisations that enable more Canadians to participate in sport and live more active lives."

The most significant portion of the investment is allocated to the Athletes Assistance Program (AAP), commonly known as carding money. Top athletes received €1,620 per month, while development-level athletes received €970 ($1051) to help cover their living, training, and competition expenses not covered by their national sports organisations.

The federal government will invest €32 million ($34 million) in the Athletes Assistance Program (AAP) over the next five years and €6.4 million ($6.9 million) annually thereafter, marking a 25 percent increase.

This funding boost exceeds the 18.8 percent increase requested by AthletesCAN, the Canadian Olympic Committee Athletes' Commission, and the Canadian Paralympic Committee Athletes' Council before the federal budget.

Approximately 1,900 athletes across 90 sports receive monthly stipends. "This increase in AAP funding, also known as carding among the athletes, is vital," said bobsled pilot Cynthia Appiah. "The funding hasn't changed in seven, eight years.

"It can be the difference between being able to go to that last competition that will help you qualify for the Olympics or not, or Commonwealth Games or not.

"Right now, we're in a bit of a flux. The sport system is struggling to be able to maintain and continue the high level of success this country expects us to get when we go to these high-level competitions." Athletes saw their AAP increase in 2017 by €240 ($260) a month, or 18 percent, in the first raise since 2004.

The 2024 Olympic Games will take place from 26 July to 11 August, followed by the Paralympic Games from August 28 to 8 September. The federal government will invest €14.6 million ($15.8 million) over the next two years into safe sport initiatives and €14.7 million ($15.9 million) into removing barriers to community sport programs.

The Canadian Olympic Committee and Canadian Paralympic Committee had requested €95 million in this year's federal budget for 61 national sports organisations, which COC president David Shoemaker described as "on the brink of crisis." That request was not fulfilled, and Qualtrough acknowledged this shortfall on Thursday.

"Those conversations are ongoing," she said. "I would expect in the future as we continue to get our own house in order at the Government of Canada and across the sport system, that I'm extremely hopeful we will continue to make investments in the sport system."