Canada Games confirms country’s national summer sport is officially back, again
Team Ontario, Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games (Photo: Ryan McCullough)
Several weeks after others declared lacrosse being back, again, at the Canada Games, the Canada Games Council (CGC) has now confirmed the same, last week announcing, “…that box lacrosse has been added to the sport program for the 2025 Canada Summer Games in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, and furthermore, that the sport will become a fixture at the Canada Summer Games starting in 2029 as per the approved Sport Selection Policy.
“The sport most recently starred at the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games after it was added as a pilot program with a vision to increase Indigenous participation in the Games.”
Why was Canada’s national summer sport welcomed back to the Games after a 37-year hiatus, then soon after subtracted from their summer schedule, but months later again approved for inclusion, forever this time?
That previously quoted pilot program during last year’s Games was the first time men’s box lacrosse was played at the event since 1985, and the first time ever women competed. By all accounts, lacrosse’s return was extremely well received, and also checked off some significant boxes for the Games themselves, who had tweeted, “This is a meaningful step forward in Canada's reconciliation efforts,” when celebrating the sport’s highly anticipated return and what they felt it meant past three periods of play.
Last October, lacrosse did not appear on a confirmed final list of sports that had been selected for the 2025 Summer Games. CGC CEO Kelly-Ann Paul told the CBC last year, “Our reality is that there's a greater number of sports and disciplines that apply for selection for each Canada Games than we actually have participant quota to follow.”
When lacrosse, specifically box lacrosse, was nixed from the next edition of the Games’ summer edition in St. John’s, the CGC did provide some explanation regarding their Sport Selection Policy and process, essentially, why lacrosse was officially out after being back for just a single summer.
With the initial 90% of the sport program and the Host Society’s choice sport previously selected, women’s baseball and golf will round out the sports featured at the Canada Summer Games from August 8-24, 2025.
The CGC’s Sport & Games Committee adhered to a transparent and objective sport selection process in which it analyzed all sports and disciplines that wished to be included in the 2025 Canada Summer Games. The total number of sports/disciplines selected for the Games are based on a participant quota that each Games must follow.
The group held a core sport review and assessment sport selection process in order to determine 2025’s approved sports to be played in St. John’s.
The core sport review is designed to ensure that the core sports remain aligned with the mission, vision and values of the Canada Games and the Canadian sport system. Core sports generally meet all of the goals of the Canada Games sport program and provide the Canada Games and the Provincial/Territorial Governments with a stable sport program. The core sport program accounts for up to 70% of the overall Games quota.
The assessment sport selection process is designed to identify sports that generally meet most of the goals of the Canada Games sport program, but that lack alignment in a minority of areas that don’t allow it to achieve core status. The assessment process provides sports not previously on the Canada Games sport program the opportunity to be selected for the program through an objective evaluation.
The assessment sport selection process is used to select the remaining 30% of the Games quota.
In what was confirmed as a final list of included sports, lacrosse was lost, clearly not meeting the CGC’s requirements, nor a 2025 Canada Games Host Society choice either. As Paul pointed out to the CBC, “The one province that didn't send a team (to Niagara) was Newfoundland and Labrador.
“The next games after that are in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory and the territories didn't send a team either, so we do have to look at what meaningful inclusion looks like in those jurisdictions too.”
Days after lacrosse supporters shared their very visible & vocal displeasure of Canada’s national sport being buried, again, the CGC’s list was not as final as first - well - finalized, a follow-up Canada Games’ statement explaining:
Lacrosse was added to the 2022 Games as a pilot program with a vision to increase Indigenous participation in the Games, thanks to leadership from the Six Nations of the Grand River, together with the CGC, 2022 Host Society, and Canadian Lacrosse Association. The addition of this sport was made possible with additional funding support.
The pilot project is currently being formally evaluated against core objectives by Canada Games stakeholders. This evaluation is taking place independent of the standard sport selection process. Following this review, recommendations will be considered for future Canada Games, including 2025.
Well, although it felt a bit premature and unofficial since the Canada Games only last week confirmed the same, on February 18, 2023, Pascale St-Onge, Minister of Sport Canada, tweeted, “Lacrosse, our national summer sport, will be part of the 2025 Canada Games and all future games starting in 2029.
“This is another step towards reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. We can't wait to see the teams form and inspire us.”
In last week’s CGC announcement, St-Onge added, “The addition of this sport is a major milestone for Indigenous sport development and for our cultural heritage.
“It is also an important step towards reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. Increased Indigenous participation at the most recent summer Games shows the power that sport has in supporting inclusion and cultural vitality.”
Paul shared similar, saying, “As Canada’s national summer sport and a game with strong Indigenous roots, we are thrilled to officially add lacrosse to the Canada Games as we strive to reflect Canada’s diversity through the power of sport.”
From scanning various lacrosse rosters that competed at last year’s Canada Games in the Niagara region, Indigenous athlete participation appeared to be relatively low, although St-Onge did confirm there was an increase versus past years.
Unlike at the World Lacrosse level, where North American Indigenous athletes represent the Haudenosaunee Nationals (not Team Canada or Team USA), Indigenous lacrosse players are selected for provincial teams in the Canada Games. The Haudenosaunee Nationals are sanctioned by the sovereign Haudenosaunee Grand Council and are governed by the Haudenosaunee Nationals Board of Directors.
“By including this traditional Indigenous game, the Canada Games represented a fuller range of sports played in the country,” said Matt Tapper, CEO of the Aboriginal Sport Circle, in last week’s CGC release. “Lacrosse is more than a ‘sport’ to Indigenous people, not only was it a means of entertainment but traditionally a form of conflict resolution and healing.”
In recent years, the Haudenosaunee Nationals had to first fight for inclusion in last summer’s World Games, “…because of some apparent confusion between World Lacrosse, the sport’s global governing body, and the International World Games Association about the team’s eligibility.” (The New York Times)
They got in, but now face a similar fight at the Olympic level, where lacrosse (specifically sixes lacrosse) is hopeful to be making its return in 2028 when the Games are held in Los Angeles, California. Currently, the Haudenosaunee do not meet the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) requirements for inclusion. We may find out lacrosse’s Olympic fate when the IOC meets in Mumbai, India from October 15-17, 2023.
Although inclusion in these two international tournaments are the Nationals most recent struggles, their teams have faced many off-field hurdles before - a highly publicized passport dispute ahead of the 2010 World Lacrosse Championships in England likely their most notable.
“One thing that I have come to realize is that lacrosse makes us relevant in terms of our place within the world,” Georgia Swarm (NLL) & Haudenosaunee Nationals player Brendan Bomberry told The New York Times last year. “Sports may not be political, but for our people, they are.”