Funding for Sport and Recreation Facilities
IT IS THEREFORE RESOLVED THAT Alberta Municipalities advocate to the Government of Alberta to either (i) amend the Active Communities Initiative to make municipalities eligible and increase the budget for application or (ii) create a new annual or bi-annual funding program for municipalities, that enables them to effectively leverage their available capital reserves and local partnerships for new and existing recreation infrastructure for the benefit of their communities.
WHEREAS municipalities own and manage existing community recreation infrastructure that requires regular maintenance, repair and renewal to extend an asset’s useful life, funded by limited capital reserves and general taxation;
WHEREAS community user groups and societies often look to the capacity of municipalities to lead rather than facilitate the pursuit of funding and implementation of new recreation infrastructure projects;
WHEREAS the Province of Alberta’s Active Communities Initiative program makes municipalities ineligible for application while eligible to be an external project management resource and financial contributor;
WHEREAS federal funding programs for recreation infrastructure is irregular and frequently more focused on environmental and social factors around the infrastructure rather than the simple public good of investing in the useful life of community recreation infrastructure assets; and
WHEREAS the limited senior government funding made available under the Local Government Fiscal Framework (LGFF) Capital program and the Canada Community-Building Fund (CCBF) should not force small and medium sized municipalities to choose between critical infrastructure needs and priority community recreation infrastructure within the municipal asset portfolio.
In April 2024, the Province of Ontario created the Community Sport and Recreation Infrastructure Fund (CSRIF) providing funding to municipalities, Indigenous communities, non-profit organizations and (for new builds only) for-profit organizations through two program streams for projects over three years that:
- repair or upgrade existing sport and recreation facilities (Stream 1)
- build new and transformative sport and recreation facilities (Stream 2)
The absence of a program like this in Alberta is notable and impacting the ability of municipalities to effectively leverage cost-share opportunities to simply maintain and improve basic recreation infrastructure like swimming pools, arenas, curling rinks and baseball grounds. If a community does not presently have motivated, organized non-profit organization(s) or external donors, the community is at a disadvantage to access provincial funding and build new recreation projects.
Examples of challenges:
- In today’s money, a new outdoor swimming pool to replace an aging 1960s facility would typically cost over $5 million while a new pool liner that can extend the life of a well-maintained older pool for another 15 years is still a $200,000 to 300,000 investment. Both types of projects are equally vital.
- A modest spray park, slowly becoming a citizen expectation rather than a luxury, can run to over $500,000 for purchase and installation.
- A recreation reserve policy for a small town that sequesters $50,000 per annum would take ten years to reach $500,000 available for all recreation infrastructure. A basket of goods and services that cost $500,000 in 2015, costs $647,360 in 2025.[1] Few communities can adequately tie their reserve policies to the Consumer Price Index for asset renewal or replacement.
Funds from the LGFF Capital program are required for critical infrastructure projects around roads, water, sewer and more. Leveraging those scarce funds for recreation renewal or investment represents a challenging choice for councils.
The recent research report titled, “The Price of Inactivity: Measuring the Powerful Impact of Sport, Physical Activity, and Recreation in Canada” offers an examination of the comprehensive
impact of the same, underscoring the need for all communities, not just those in a high growth vector, to be investing responsibly in their recreation infrastructure.[2]
[1] Calculation as of June 25, 2025 using Bank of Canada’s Inflation Calculator, Statistics Canada, Consumer Price Indexes for Canada, Monthly (V41690973 series) https://www.bankofcanada.ca/rates/related/inflation-calculator/
This resolution aligns with ABmunis 2023 resolution on adequate provincial funding for community infrastructure and our current research on municipal finances, municipal property taxes, and the future of Alberta’s communities.
For example, Statistics Canada reports that in 2023, municipal governments in Alberta accounted for 82 per cent of government spending on recreation and culture compared to the Government of Alberta’s 18 per cent. In other provinces, municipalities accounted for an average of 55 per cent of government spending on recreation and culture and the provincial governments averaging about 45%