Sport for Social Development in Indigenous Communities — Sport Support Program

The Sport for Social Development in Indigenous Communities (SSDIC) component of the Sport Support Program funds eligible organizations to deliver sport for social development projects in Indigenous communities in Canada.

The SSDIC component offers a flexible program that can be tailored to address the self-identified social goals of individual Indigenous communities.

Funding is delivered through three streams to expand sport programming in Indigenous communities across Canada:

• Stream One: $5.3 million is available annually to the 13 Provincial/Territorial Aboriginal Sport Bodies (PTASBs) and the Aboriginal Sport Circle (ASC) for the development of sport community projects.
• Stream Two: $3.6 million is available annually to Indigenous governments, communities, and organizations, including delivery organizations working in collaboration with Indigenous communities, for projects that promote sport in Indigenous communities.
• Stream Three: $2.5 million is available annually to ensure that Indigenous women and girls have access to meaningful sports activities through the SSDIC program component.

Sport for social development

Sport for social development is defined as the use of sport for social development for the purpose of achieving targeted social goals. The SSDIC component is a response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action, which identified 4 key social development needs of Indigenous communities.

Those needs form the specific social development goals of the SSDIC component for Streams One and Two:

• improved health, education, and employability; and
• the reduction of at-risk behaviour.

Stream Three, Reconciliation and Strength for Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People through Sport was created in response to the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls’ (MMIWG). Drawn from the MMIWG Calls for Justice, Stream Three has unique social development goals which focus on:

• physical and mental health;
• suicide prevention;
• sexual trafficking awareness and prevention;
• safe and healthy relationships; and
• sexual positivity (2SLGBTQQIA+).

Stream One

This stream is reserved for PTASBs, as well as for the ASC to provide leadership and support to the PTASBs for their delivery of the Initiative.

Read more about who can apply for funding under Stream One of the SSDIC component.

Stream Two

This stream is open to Indigenous governments, Indigenous communities and other not-for-profit Indigenous and non-Indigenous delivery organizations collaborating with an Indigenous organization(s).

Read more about who can apply for funding under Stream Two of the SSDIC component.

Stream Three

For the 2022 to 2023 fiscal year only, Stream Three was available exclusively to the PTASBs via an interim process.

Read more about who can apply for the interim process funding under Stream Three of the SSDIC component.

Next Intake

Sport Canada is currently reviewing feedback received on the program to date in order to integrate this into the next call for proposals for all three Streams, which is anticipated to open in the winter of 2022-2023 for projects covering the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 fiscal years.

Should you wish to receive the application package when the intake period is launched, please email sportcanada.ssdsca-ssdic.sportcanada@pch.gc.ca to be added to the mailing list.