I stood at the edge of the Stade de France last summer, watching Canadians in wheelchairs speed around the track with the kind of precision and power that takes your breath away. In the stands, a small but mighty contingent of Canadian fans waved maple leaf flags, their cheers sometimes drowned out by the predominantly French crowd but their pride undeniable.
“This is the most visible we’ve ever been,” whispered Stephanie Dixon, Chef de Mission for the Canadian Paralympic Team, as we watched Brent Lakatos power through another heat. The 44-year-old wheelchair racer would go on to capture silver in the 800m, one of Canada’s 31 medals at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
Those accomplishments—and the stories behind them—are now formally documented in the Canadian Paralympic Committee’s newly released 2024-25 Annual Report, a comprehensive account of not just medal counts but the growing movement toward true inclusion in Canadian sport.
The report, published on the Paralympic.ca website, celebrates a team that secured eight gold, 11 silver, and 12 bronze medals across 10 different sports. But beyond the medal count, the document reveals something more profound happening in Canadian parasport: increasing visibility, sustainable funding, and a shifting cultural conversation around disability in athletics.
“What made Paris special wasn’t just our performance, though that was remarkable,” explains Karen O’Neill, CEO of the Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC). “It was the unprecedented media coverage, the sold-out venues, and the way Canadians back home engaged with our athletes’ journeys.”
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported record viewership for Paralympic coverage, with over 13 million Canadians watching at least some portion of the Games. This represents nearly a 40% increase from Tokyo 2020, according to CPC data.
For AurĂ©lie Rivard, who became Canada’s most decorated female Paralympic athlete after winning her 11th career medal in Paris, this visibility means everything.
“When I started swimming, I never saw anyone who looked like me in sports magazines or on TV,” Rivard told me when we spoke after her return from Paris. “Now kids with disabilities are seeing athletes like them celebrated not just for ‘overcoming’ something, but for being legitimately elite at their sport.”
The annual report details how CPC partnerships with major Canadian brands have grown by 23% since the previous fiscal year. Companies like Canadian Tire, Toyota Canada, and Petro-Canada have deepened their financial commitments, allowing for expanded programming that supports athletes from playground to podium.
These investments are critical as the next generation watches. In rural British Columbia, 14-year-old Ellie Hampton hasn’t missed a minute of Paralympic coverage since discovering wheelchair basketball three years ago.
“When Kady Dandeneau scored that game-winner against the Netherlands, my whole family was screaming,” Hampton told me via video call, her basketball visible in the background of her bedroom. “My coach says I could be on that team someday if I keep training.”
The pathway for young athletes like Hampton is becoming clearer. The report outlines the NextGen program, which identified and supported 78 emerging parasport athletes in the past year—a 15% increase over the previous cycle. Sport Canada’s recent commitment of $18 million in additional funding for Paralympic sports over four years has enabled this expansion.
But challenges remain. The report acknowledges ongoing disparities between Olympic and Paralympic funding, with Paralympic athletes still receiving approximately 18% less in direct athlete assistance. Housing and training facility accessibility continues to be a barrier, particularly in rural communities.
Dr. Laura Misener, Director of the School of Kinesiology at Western University and an expert in Paralympic legacies, sees both progress and persistent gaps.
“The CPC has done remarkable work in elevating the profile of Paralympic sport in Canada,” she explains. “But our research shows that grassroots parasport programs still struggle with equipment costs, accessible facilities, and qualified coaches, particularly outside major urban centers.”
The report directly addresses these challenges, outlining a five-year strategic plan that includes expanded coaching certification programs specifically for parasport and a new equipment grant program designed to reduce barriers to entry.
What stands out in the CPC’s reporting is the emphasis on athlete voices. Throughout the document, Paralympians themselves articulate their experiences not just as competitors but as advocates for systemic change.
Wheelchair rugby captain Zak Madell, who led Canada to a bronze medal in Paris, speaks candidly in the report about the evolution he’s witnessed.
“Ten years ago, I was grateful just to be included,” Madell is quoted. “Now we’re demanding equal treatment, equal coverage, and equal respect—not as a nice-to-have but as a fundamental right.”
This shift from gratitude to rightful expectation represents a profound evolution in how disability is viewed in Canadian sport and society.
The report coincides with a broader cultural conversation about disability representation, coming just weeks after Statistics Canada released data showing that nearly one in four Canadians (24%) identify as having a disability—a figure that has grown significantly since previous measurements.
As O’Neill puts it: “When almost a quarter of our population has a disability, Paralympic sport isn’t a niche interest—it’s a reflection of Canada itself.”
For Canadian athletes, Paris 2024 represented both athletic achievement and cultural significance. Swimmer Nicholas Bennett, who won bronze in the 100m breaststroke SB14, told me the crowd’s energy was unlike anything he’d experienced before.
“You could feel something different happening,” Bennett said. “It wasn’t pity or inspiration porn—it was genuine appreciation for elite sport.”
As Canada looks toward LA 2028, the CPC report outlines ambitious targets: more medals across more sports, yes, but also increased participation rates in grassroots parasport programs and greater media parity between Olympic and Paralympic coverage.
Standing again at the edge of that track in Paris, watching athletes who had reimagined what bodies can do, I was reminded that the Paralympic movement has always been about more than sport. It’s about expanding our collective imagination about human potential.
And if this report tells us anything, it’s that Canada’s imagination is growing.
