Discrimination, racism and unfair treatment remain a problem in sport

Across Canada, people from all walks of life enjoy participating in sports, recreationally or competitively. According to the General Social Survey on Social Identity, participation in a sports organization is the most common form of civic engagement, and represents a key well-being indicator in the Quality of Life Framework. 

Data from the Survey Series on People and their Communities (SSPC) Wave 2 examine sports participation in Canada. In 2023, slightly more than half (55%) of people aged 15 years of age and older reported participating in sports such as soccer, ice hockey, swimming and running. Overall, men (62%) were more likely to participate in sports than women (49%).

When asked what motivates them to participate in sports, 82% of people who took part in sports cited physical health and fitness, followed by fun, recreation or relaxation (70%), mental health benefits (65%) and doing activities with friends (54%).

While all of these motivations for participating in sports are positive, not everyone who participated in community sports reported a positive experience. 

Results from the fourth wave of the SSPC, collected from November 27 to December 17, 2023, examine the prevalence of unfair treatment, racism and discrimination in community sports.

In 2023, one-quarter (25%) of Canadians felt that racism and discrimination were problems in community sports in Canada.

Among Canadians who participated in a sport in the five years preceding the survey, 18% said they had experienced or witnessed unfair treatment, racism or discrimination in sport.

These behaviours can take many forms and represent a barrier to participation in sports for certain groups, such as racialized people and those from the 2SLGBTQI+ community.

For example, racialized people (26%) were more likely than their non-racialized counterparts (15%) to have experienced or witnessed unfair treatment, racism or discrimination while playing a sport. Lesbian and gay Canadians (42%) were also more than twice as likely as heterosexuals (17%) to report having witnessed or experienced such behaviours. 

Continue reading about the different types of discriminatory behaviours and the reasons reported by victims and witnesses for unfair treatment, racism or discrimination in sports in the full release, Discrimination and racism in sports in Canada. 

Stay tuned: Further analysis on unfair treatment, racism and discrimination in community sports in Canada will be releasing in The Daily on March 10, 2025.