Introducing Major Games Canada to the Canadian sport community

MONTREAL – As part of an ongoing strategic alignment and stakeholder engagement initiative, we are pleased to introduce the newly re-branded Major Games Canada (MGC), formerly known as the Franchise Holders Working Group, to the Canadian Sport Community. The group was founded over 20 years ago as a platform for alignment, engagement, and finding efficiencies for Team Canada’s participation in multi-sport Games. Its mandate is to develop an optimal sport delivery model, providing athletes, coaches, health service practitioners and other support team members with the greatest opportunity to perform at their optimal level, at multi-sport games.

MGC works collaboratively in a consolidated and integrated approach to develop strategic partnerships to best serve the Canadian Sport System.  This collective is responsible for assisting with the management and coordination of Health Services as a primary priority as well as other common projects as identified by the group across all Major Games. These projects have been identified because they share many areas of similarity and have potential for economies of scale.

The success of the group is due to the wealth of expertise from the composition and commitment of its representatives which reduces areas of duplication in the planning and delivery of Team Canada’s participation in Major Games. MGC has been chaired by the Canadian Paralympic Committee since 2014 and has representatives from the Canadian Olympic Committee, Commonwealth Games Canada, U SPORTS, Canadian Heritage (for the Games of La Francophonie) and the Canada Games Council. Collectively, these Games Franchise Holders represent organisations who are responsible for the management and coordination of Team Canada’s participation in 15 Major Games in Canada and internationally.  

MGC also works closely with National Sport Organisations (NSO) and other Multi-Sport Organisations by sharing a common goal of providing streamlined services and consistent service process to NSOs and to better align systems from the daily training environment to the Games environment.  MGC receives funding from the Government of Canada through Sport Canada.

MGC is comprised of two full time staff working out of the out of the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Montreal offices. Antoine Atallah, as the General Manager, Major Games Integration, started working for the collective in 2000 and has since been part of 27 Mission Teams. Laurence Lafrenière was recently hired as the Coordinator, Major Games Integration. Both report to the representatives of the Games Franchise Holders.

For more information please contact Antoine Atallah at: aatallah@majorgames.ca.