23 April 2010
Montreal, Quebec
Prime Minister Stephen Harper delivered the following remarks today at the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame Gala Dinner and Induction Ceremony in Montreal:
“Mr. President Michael Chambers and Mr. President Marcel Aubut of the Canadian Olympic Committee, honoured Hall of Fame inductees, honoured athletes, coaches, organizers, sponsors, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, it is a great honour for me to be with you this evening.
“I stand before you as the Prime Minister of a very grateful and inspired country. Every Olympic and Paralympic Games have their memorable moments, including their memorable Canadian moments. But our country has never experienced anything like the 2010 Games.
“Athletes, your performance captivated and inspired our entire country like never before. Who will forget that historic moment when Alexandre Bilodeau, spurred on by his biggest fan, his brother Frédéric, captured our very first gold medal on Canadian soil? Who among us will soon forget when the incomparable Clara Hughes, the only Olympian in history to win multiple medals at both the Summer and Winter Games, capped off her remarkable career by taking the bronze in the 5,000-metre speed skating?
“When Joannie Rochette mounted the podium, mere days after her mother’s sudden death, and captured our hearts with her courageous performance? When Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir fulfilled their childhood dream by skating a near flawless performance to become Canada's first-ever Olympic ice dance champions?
“When short-track speed skater Charles Hamelin took home the gold in a breathtaking 500-metre final and received a celebratory kiss from his girlfriend and fellow medalist Marianne St-Gelais? When hometown hero Ashleigh McIvor stormed down the hill to capture the first ever gold medal in women’s ski cross? When veteran snowboarder Jasey-Jay Anderson put his retirement on hold for one last crack at Olympic glory and proceeded to win gold in a thrilling parallel giant slalom final?
“I can’t fail to mention Paralympian Lauren Woolstencroft, taking her fifth gold medal in the standing super combined, matching the most golds ever won by any performer at a single Winter Paralympic Games. And who will forget Viviane Forest, who climbed atop the podium after capturing the downhill to become Canada’s first Paralympic athlete to win gold at a Winter and Summer Games.
“There were just so many moments, too many, in fact, to recite here, but all topped off when Sidney Crosby scored the goal that set off a torrent of patriotic fervour of horn honking, flag waving and anthem singing unlike anything I’ve ever seen from Canadians in my lifetime. And there were many other performances that touched the hearts of Canadians across this land.
“Let there be no doubt: Vancouver and Whistler may have been the staging grounds for the 21st Winter Olympics, but these Games truly were Canada’s Games. And when it was all over, we had won nineteen Paralympic Medals, a record for Canada, and twenty-six Olympic medals, including fourteen gold, the most ever won by a single country at any Winter Olympics. And we accomplished this feat while the entire planet was watching. Indeed, these Winter Olympic Games were the most-watched in history, seen by three and a half billion people. As Maclean’s declared on its cover, the 21st Winter Olympics were quite simply the ‘Greatest Games Ever.’ And as Réjean Tremblay wrote in La Presse, and I quote: ‘des exploits, le Canada en aura de quoi rêver pendant des décennies!’ (‘exploits that Canadians will be talking about for decades!’). Ladies and gentlemen, I don`t know how else to say it: Canada rocks!
“But, frankly, ladies and gentlemen, if you look at the whole thing, the expectations, the setbacks, the ultimate triumph, no author could have written a better story for our Games. The 2010 Winter Olympic Games, the most important sporting event ever held on Canadian soil, were also a huge success from an organizational and logistical standpoint. I’d like to thank John Furlong and all the management and volunteers of the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee, Premier Gordon Campbell and the people of British Columbia for staging such magnificent Games.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the importance of the twenty-first Winter Olympic Games transcends the unprecedented medal haul.
“The significance of these Games goes beyond medals, goes beyond the unparalleled international exposure Canada received. It goes to the core of who we are as a people and where we’re going as a country. These Games cast a spotlight on Canada’s boundless potential and showed just what we can accomplish.
“This, of course, wasn’t the first Games Canada hosted. That honour will remain here in Montreal. Likewise my hometown, Calgary, will keep the title of the first Winter Games ever staged in our country. But what happened in Vancouver, I believe, signalled something bigger. Something much bigger. Our country is changing. Our country is growing. Canada is becoming transformed. Canada is becoming stronger, bolder and more confident as we chalk up success after success. In this time of global tumult, we’re not just surviving, we are flourishing.
“We are truly beginning to see the realization of the dream of the fathers of our Confederation: a country of quiet, yet ever more confident, patriots with the will and the capacity to achieve great things, and to be an effective force for good in our troubled world, and a people that can match this sense of extraordinary achievement with a genuine spirit of generosity. This Canada, this wonderful homeland of ours, has become the most prosperous, pluralistic and peaceful that the world has ever seen.
“In closing, ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to thank you our athletes, once again, for setting such an inspiring example not just for the next cohort of our athletes, but for all of us, and for raising the bar for the entire next generation of young Canadians. You are tremendous ambassadors for Canada on the world stage.
“And I would like to thank you, on behalf of all Canadians, for treating us to such unforgettable moments. And thank you for reminding us why our country really is quite simply the greatest in the world. Thank you very much.”
