April 11, 2009 (Quebec City, QC) – At a recent press conference in Quebec City, the Canada Games Council and the Province of Quebec named the City of Sherbrooke the host of the 2013 Canada Summer Games. In just over four years, the City of Sherbrooke will welcome the country’s best young developing athletes to compete in 17 selected sports representing the best that their Province or Territory has to offer.

“What an exciting day for the community of Sherbrooke and the Province of Quebec,” said Larry Smith, Chairman of the Canada Games Council. “The expertise and passion shown by each member of the community teams was evident. The members should be proud that they made this a very competitive process. We hope that for the unsuccessful communities this is only the beginning, and that they continue to strive to accomplish their goals for their communities.”

It was January 31, 2008 that the Canada Games Council’s Bid Evaluation Committee embarked on a 15 month process to select the host of the 2013 Canada Games. After the launch, interested communities had until March 28th to submit their letter of intent to bid. Technical information was provided by the communities to the Canada Games Council in May of 2008, followed by technical site visits. After the technical phase, the bid communities of Sept-ÃŽles, the City of Sherbrooke and the community of Des Laurentides were confirmed as the final bid communities. Communities had until November 14th 2008 to submit bid proposals to the Canada Games Bid Evaluation Committee who evaluated each community independently based on the technical score, the bid material provided and the site visit in each community to produce a final score for each bid.

The bids were evaluated by the Bid Evaluation Committee using an unbiased and uniform tool for each bid. Part I measured core elements against the Canada Games hosting standards including the Games village, sport venues, revenue generation, the proposed organization and the budget as well as plans and frameworks in key areas. Part II measured the community leadership and capacity.

In the end, the Bid Evaluation Committee was unanimous in their choice. Using the evaluation tool, Sherbrooke had the highest overall score and the lowest overall risk. After approval by the Council’s Board of Directors on March 23, 2009, the decision was recommended to the Province of Quebec by Canada Games Chairman Larry Smith to the Honourable Michelle Courchesne, Minister of Education, Recreation and Sports. The Province of Quebec accepted the Council recommendation.

At the event, the province was well represented with Quebec Premier Jean Charest, Michelle Courchesne, Minister of Education, Recreation and Sports and Monique Gagnon-Tremblay, provincial Minister de Saint-François all offering congratulations.

“I am very pleased to see the efforts of the City of Sherbrooke’s representatives rewarded with success. I would also like to recognize the quality of the bids put forward by the Laurentians region and the City of Sept-ÃŽles. The Canada Games will be an opportunity to see our best young athletes at work. I call upon the region’s community to actively prepare to offer these talented and determined athletes the hospitality they deserve and that has been the hallmark of the Eastern Townships for years,” said Minister Courchesne.

The planning and preparations for the 2013 Canada Summer Games will now begin. Having hosted the first Canada Games in 1967 in Quebec City and the 1983 Games in Saguenay-Lac St. Jean the 2013 Canada Summer Games will mark the third time the Games are hosted in the Province of Quebec but the first time for Quebec to host a summer Canada Games.

“The quality of all three bids was very strong,” said Smith. “Although the Bid Evaluation Committee felt that each of these three communities could host the Games, it was the City of Sherbrooke that stood out. Infrastructure funding is in place and committed, no capital or financial conditions exist, the entire Games Village and many sport venues are ready to go, and it was the bid with the most experienced leadership in major national/international events hosting.”


The Sherbrooke bid community will begin its work to transform into a Host Society responsible to plan and stage this prestigious event. An immediate focus will be to identify representatives to attend the 2009 Canada Summer Games in Prince Edward Island, August 15 — 29, 2009, to take advantage of the mentoring program offered by the Council.

About the Canada Games

Held once every two years, alternating between summer and winter, the Canada Games represent the highest level of national competition for the next generation of national team athletes and future champions. The Games have been hosted in every province at least once since their inception in Quebec City during Canada’s Centennial in 1967. The Games are proud of their contribution to Canada’s sport development system in addition to their lasting legacy of sport facilities, community pride and national unity. Since the first Games in 1967 in Quebec City, more than 100,000 young athletes have participated in the Canada Games.

The organization of the Canada Games is made possible through the tireless dedication of the local Host Society, the contribution and support of the federal, provincial/territorial and host municipal governments and the Canada Games Council. The 2009 Canada Games will take place in Prince Edward Island and the 2011 Canada Games will be held in Halifax, Nova Scotia.