SSC enabling connection around the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games

Athletes from Team Canada have been preparing for the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in the mountains of Milano Cortina—but they haven’t been the only ones gearing up for high performance. Our teams at Shared Services Canada (SSC) have also been preparing their own Olympian/Paralympian-level efforts. We have been working behind the scenes to keep Sport Canada securely connected and ready for anything, while ensuring Canadian Heritage’s online resources remain available for Canadians to show their support.

Connecting Milano Cortina to Canada

Just like a well-built ski jump depends on the snow crew—delegates from Sport Canada, on-site in Italy to support the federal dignitaries and Team Canada—rely on SSC’s expertise. While fans across the country cheer for medals, we are focused on something far less flashy but just as important: keeping Sport Canada’s technology running smoothly while abroad.

To make sure no one is ever out of reach, we helped coordinate secure connectivity for travelling employees, including:

• enabling secure remote access to the Government of Canada (GC) network
• activating satellite phones, previously supplied through us, as a backup to mobile devices

Whether it’s answering urgent calls, joining briefings or sharing information back to their head office in Ottawa, secure and reliable connectivity is key.

John Dullaert leads the work supporting Secure Remote Access for the GC.

“Secure remote access enables GC employees to remotely connect their GC device to the GC network, both securely and reliably so they can access internal systems and applications from anywhere,” says John. “And when their work takes them abroad, this includes any time zone and any country. So whether a secure connection is needed within Canada or in Italy during the Games, our role is to make that feel effortless.”

Enabling messages of support

We also play a role in the systems that support Canadian Heritage’s Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic website. The site is for sharing announcements, offering Canadians tools and resources to show their support, and provides a platform from which to cheer on Team Canada. The website depends on data stored on Canadian Heritage servers, which we support.

Always on, always alert

Before the Games, we activated a Heightened Awareness Window for the applications that Canadian Heritage deemed critical to ensure service availability. This proactive measure prepares us to respond immediately to incidents and maintain seamless operations leading up to and throughout this globally significant event.

Small details, big impact

Behind every website update and every secure connection is a dedicated team ensuring everything just…works. It’s what we do!

It may not come with a podium but, for our teams, success looks like stable systems, easy access and zero disruptions from start to finish. Whether it’s enabling connection for the Winter Games or supporting the smooth operation of the GC’s digital services, our job is the same: make the technology seamless so that the spotlight stays exactly where it belongs—on our incredible athletes. Go, Canada, Go!

You can show your support for Team Canada on Support Canadian athletes until February 22 for the Olympics and March 15 for the Paralympics.