November 01, 2011 (Ottawa, ON) – On behalf of the Honourable Bal Gosal, Minister of State (Sport), Kellie Leitch, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and to the Minister of Labour, and Member of Parliament (Simcoe-Grey), today reaffirmed the Government of Canada’s commitment to the 2015 Pan/Parapan Am Games to be held in the Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario.

“This is truly a monumental day, and the Government of Canada looks forward to continue working with the Pan/Parapan American Games organizing committee as we once again prepare to welcome the Americas in 2015,” said Minister of State Gosal. “Our community, our province and our country will unite with our athletes on the international stage for this exciting event.”

At a community celebration in downtown Toronto to mark the Pan American and Parapan American flags handover from Mexico to Canada, MP Leitch said, “The excitement and enthusiasm shown by the people of Toronto for the 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games is inspiring, and I am confident that this community will proudly represent all of Canada in 2015.”

The Pan American Games will take place July 10 to 26, 2015 and the Parapan American Games August 7 to 14, 2015. They will mark the third time Canada has hosted the Pan American Games – they were held in Winnipeg in 1967 and in 1999. This will be the first time that Canada will host the Parapan American Games.

The Government of Canada is a proud stakeholder in the 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games and is committed to funding of up to $500M from the Sport Canada Hosting Program. This includes up to $386.1M towards the Capital Budget, $65M towards the Toronto 2015 Legacy Fund and $48.9M in essential federal services.