Fact Sheet

Healthy Living: Public - Private Partnerships for Healthier Living

Promoting physical activity for Canadian children and families

News Release: Harper Government Partners with AIR MILES Reward Program and YMCAs in Canada to Promote Healthy Living

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle, including regular physical activity and healthy eating, play an important role in the health, well-being and quality of life of Canadian children, youth and families, and help to prevent chronic diseases like cancer, Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

The Government of Canada is advancing innovative, partnerships, particularly with the private sector, to create the conditions that will help children, youth and their families achieve and maintain healthy weights. In collaboration with the YMCA and the Air Miles Reward Program via its AIR MILES for Social Change activities, it will engage Canadian children, youth and families in activities and programs that address healthy living, physical activity and chronic disease prevention.

The Public Health Agency of Canada will make up to $750,000 available over 18 months to support overall program design, the development of training plans, support materials, technology requirements, performance measurement and program evaluation, and marketing and implementation activities for use by the 15 participating YMCA locations in Alberta, Ontario and New Brunswick. Once it is in place, the project will:

• Encourage children, youth and their families to achieve health benefits through physical activity.
• Allow families to earn Air Miles reward miles in a variety of ways that encourage physical activity, such as registering their children for day camps, using participating fitness facilities or buying YMCA memberships.

The 15 participating YMCAs are the Calgary-based South Health Campus, Eau Claire, Crowfoot, Saddletowne and Shawnessy locations; the Ontario-based chapters in Oakville (Peter Gilgan Family YMCA), Brampton, Central, Markham (Rudy Bratty Centre), Mississauga, North York, Scarborough, West End, and Durham; and, in New Brunswick, the Moncton YMCA.