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Canada – an active nation

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Background• 1959 Prince of Wales – Canadians ‘not as fit as they

might be’• 1961 Fitness and Amateur Sport Act – Federal and

Provincial government start to jointly fund voluntary sports organisations

• Late 1960s – first Canada Games under ‘Unity through Sport’ banner and first national TV broadcasts about activity – forerunner to national social marketing campaign

• Early 1970s - national task force led to Participation Canada (public campaign) and Sport Canada (high performance sport remit)

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Background

• 1972 – first national survey identified high levels of inactivity

• 1974 – Lalonde report called for health policy beyond health care

• 1976 Olympics and 1978 Commonwealth Games – six-fold increase in Federal grants

• 1988 Calgary Olympics and 1994 Commonwealth Games

• 1986 Ottawa Charter – international framework for health promotion

• 1986-7 – Summit on Fitness led to move from ‘fitness’ to ‘active living’

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Background

• Early 1990s – severe cuts in programmes and increases in activity levels begin to stall

• 2001 – ParticipACTION closes after 30 years due to funding cuts by Health Canada

• 2003 – Sport Canada funds sports participation for first time

• 2004 – Pan-Canadian Physical Activity Strategy – cross-governmental target agreed to increase activity by 10% by 2010

• March 2005 – final report on re-launching national social marketing campaign

• 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver – ‘Legacy Now’

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Social marketing campaign

• Should be assessed against impact on awareness, recall and understanding

• Achieved 75% unprompted recall (89% prompted)• 65% said that campaign had helped them to

become more active• Unrivalled longevity within public health (1971-

2001)• Impossible to prove causal link with participation,

but clear contributory factor – Canada achieved unprecedented activity increases during campaign period

• Run by ‘not-for-profit’ agency outside government

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Social marketing campaign• Core funding from Health Canada @ $1M per year• Attracted around $2M per year from non-

governmental sources plus almost $300M (over life of campaign) from in free mass media coverage

• Overall leverage of 1:15 public v non-public funding• Avoided ‘sport’ and ‘exercise’ messages and didn’t

medicalise the message• Focused on fun, employed humour and linked to

everyday activities – ‘walk a block a day’, gardening, cycling, swimming etc

• Combined with participation events, information strategy and ‘influencing’ work with decision makers

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Supply side• Distinction between sport and physical activity

under the banner of ‘active living’ and clarity of roles at Federal government level

• ‘Great Outdoors’ but major weather extremes!• Very strong focus on ‘everyone plays’ and

‘participation’ e.g. Vancouver’s mission for 2010 Winter Olympics - to be ‘most active host nation ever’

• Long-termism e.g. social marketing campaign• Strong focus on supporting voluntary sector –

grassroots approach e.g voluntary sector lead in BC• Low cost access – see slide on swimming• Availability e.g. Ottawa has 220 outdoor skate rinks

and 25 pools (750,000 people)

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Supply side• Participation events – national (SummerActive) and

local events• Environmental interventions - extensive pathways

and cycle paths – e.g. Montreal voted ‘best cycling city on the continent’ and CPD module on ‘active transportation’ for planners and engineers

• Target group strategies for women/girls, older people, people with disabilities etc

• Innovation – buses with bike racks, cycle shuttle buses in Vancouver, 1M free pedometers (coupled with 3 million messages), pedometer loans in libraries

• Strong lobby – ‘Coalition for Active Living’ embraces over 60 key agencies

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Supply side• Municipal government leads on facility provision and

community sport and activity programmes• Strong involvement of Provincial Health Depts. and

local ‘health boards’ in promoting ‘active living’ e.g. BC Ministry of Health funding Active Schools and Active Community Programmes

• Strong culture of volunteerism – 56% volunteer in some manner each year

• Revenue investment in supporting community use of schools e.g. $20M in Ontario from Education Ministry

• Strong on public information e.g. Saskatoon in Motion website – where to be active, tips, workouts, routes, advice and contacts

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Supply-side illustration - swimming

  Pay and play price

Leisure Card

Membership/passes

Vancouver £2.25 Free access £150 for swim and fitness centres

Ottawa £1.80 £75 per head annual credits

£210 for swim/fitness£120 for swim only

Montreal £1.50 Free or half price access

Example - £50 fitness membership at National Sports Centre

Sheffield £3.00 -3.90 30% discount £324 for swim/fitnessNo ‘swim-only’ membership

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InvestmentGovernment spend £ per person per year

England 21

Germany 30

Australia 51

Canada 76

France 112

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Outputs and outcomes

• 1% annual increase every year in % regularly active from 1981 to 2000 – despite fall-off in ‘sports’ participation (CFLRI)

• 44% of adults active in leisure time – achieving equivalent of walking an average of at least 30 minutes daily (CFLRI)

• 55% are active (leisure time) in British Columbia! (CFLRI)

• 1995-2000 sufficiently active men increased but unchanged for women (CFLRI)

• By 2000 shifts occurred across all activity levels i.e. the median level of activity increased and sedentary numbers had fallen (CRLRI)

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Outputs and outcomes

• Widening differentials by income group• Amongst 20 countries with lowest mortality

rates from cardiovascular disease, Canada ranked 4th lowest for men and 3rd lowest for women

• Rate of heart attack in Canada 2.26 compared with 3.65 in England (per 1000 population)

• 85% of Canadians regard physical activity as important

• Medals – Canada 1.71 and England 1.06 (per M population)

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Outputs and outcomes

• Adult obesity levels have been static at 15% since 1994

• % adults overweight has reduced from 49% to 47% (1994 to 2000)

• Major participation at events – 60,000 at Montreal Cycle Festival and 40,000 at Vancouver 10K fun run

• Re-investment – major increases in Provincial funding in last 3 years on back of ‘health case’

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Summary points

• ‘Active living’ philosophy embracing sport, physical activity, everyday routines

• Long term commitment to social marketing • Investment – facilities and environment• Support for voluntary sector• Engagement of health and sports sectors• Culture of ‘everyone plays’• Physical activity at the core of the health

policy debate• Long-term monitoring of physical activity

levels

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However

• Childhood obesity is increasing – 25% are either overweight or obese

• PE under pressure in schools• Facility stock needs investment• Battling with the ‘car culture’• Already had the ‘easy wins’ on activity levels?• Widening income differentials in activity levels• Need to regain social marketing momentum