Sports Québec is a non-profit corporation that serves as the cornerstone of Quebec’s sports system. Its roots date back to the establishment of the Quebec Games Corporation in 1970, and it took its current form in 1988 with the merger of the Quebec Games Society and the Quebec Sports Society. With over five decades of involvement in sport development, Sports Québec today unites 67 provincial sport federations and 17 Regional Leisure and Sport Units (URLS), encompassing nearly 900,000 participants across more than 90 different sports. Its mission is to provide leadership in developing sports in Quebec – promoting participation from introductory levels to high-performance excellence – and to support the training of coaches, officials and other sport stakeholders. As the umbrella organization for Quebec’s federated sports, Sports Québec works in close partnership with provincial and national bodies to advance sport throughout the province, ensuring a coordinated approach to athlete and sport development.
Sports Québec plays a central role in major sport events, most notably by overseeing the Quebec Games program since its inception. The Quebec Games, first held in 1971, represent the largest multisport gathering in the province and a critical stepping stone in the development of Quebec’s athletes. Focused on youth under 18 years of age, the annual Quebec Games Finals bring together the top young athletes from every region in a multi-sport event that combines high-level competition with a friendly, educational atmosphere. Since their creation, the Games have involved over five million participants across Quebec. Sports Québec ensures the ongoing development, direction and management of this program in collaboration with key partners – including provincial sport federations, the regional sport and recreation units, host communities, national sponsors, and the Government of Quebec. In addition, Sports Québec highlights and rewards sporting excellence through events such as the annual Gala Sports Québec, which celebrates the province’s outstanding athletes and sport builders.
Moreover, Sports Québec is mandated to administer several sport funding programs on behalf of public authorities. One flagship initiative focuses on youth and was introduced in 2003 to encourage the next generation of athletes by exposing children to organized sports. The aim of this youth initiative is to introduce boys and girls aged 6 to 12 to the fun of sport and give them a first taste of competition in a safe, inclusive environment. It offers young newcomers an opportunity to try different disciplines under the guidance of qualified instructors, who teach basic techniques and game rules in a playful context. The program targets children in the 6–12 age group with little or no prior competitive sport experience, and it supports the hosting of introductory sports events (such as open houses and “try-out” days) by local clubs and associations. Sports Québec provides financial assistance for these activities – helping cover costs like equipment rentals or promotional materials – in partnership with the regional sport and recreation units. Crucially, the success of this initiative relies on broad partnerships: it is carried out jointly with community sports organizations and regional bodies, and is backed by funding from the Governments of Quebec and Canada. Through this collaborative approach, the program seeks to increase youth sports participation, foster healthy lifestyles, and expand the pool of young athletes who may go on to higher levels of competition.
In addition to youth-oriented efforts, Sports Québec oversees other financial support measures for the sport community. Notably, it administers a scholarship program dedicated to assisting high-potential student-athletes (from emerging prospects to elite levels) in pursuing both their education and athletic goals. This athlete assistance program, funded by the provincial sports ministry, is managed by Sports Québec in conjunction with its member federations and partner sport foundations. Quebec’s sport federations identify eligible athletes based on criteria approved by the Ministry, and Sports Québec coordinates the overall process, providing a centralized platform to streamline applications. By offering these bursaries, Sports Québec helps ease the financial burden on promising talent, thereby nurturing sporting excellence. Furthermore, the organization contributes to initiatives aimed at strengthening the financial capacity of the federated sport system – for example, by facilitating a donation-matching scheme that encourages private donations to sport federations with additional government matching funds. Through its role as a funding program agent, in concert with public and private partners, Sports Québec supports both grassroot sport development and the pursuit of athletic excellence, thereby bolstering the entire sports ecosystem in Quebec.
