National sport National sport A national sport is considered to be an intrinsic part of the culture of a nation. Some sports are "de facto" (not established by law) national sports, as baseball is in the United States and Gaelic games are in the Ireland, while others are "de jure" (established by law) national sports, as lacrosse and ice hockey are in Canada. These sports do not have to be necessarily the most played or most followed, which would be either association football or cricket in all but a few countries are widely considered to be important to the significant for its
Sport Canada projects include research projects; projects aimed at increasing participation in sport; the Long-Term Athlete Development Model; and Podium Canada, consisting of the Own the Podium and Road to Excellence programs, aimed at improving Canada's performance at the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. For much of its existence, responsibility for Sport Canada was given to a junior Cabinet Minister reporting to the Minister of Canadian Heritage. In 2015, Sport Canada became the responsibility of the Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities, a full Cabinet position. The current minister is Kirsty Duncan. There are three major sport funding programs that are