ParticipACTION

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

participACTION was a Canadian government program, launched in the 1970s, to promote healthy living and physical fitness.

In 1972, then-prime minster Pierre Trudeau had nationalized Canada's first and only program to battle exorbitant health care costs. This program would be known as ParticipACTION and would run for the next 30 years until succumbing to financial cutbacks in 2001.

Sport Participation Canada, which was later renamed to ParticipACTION, was a non-profit private company formed on July 12, 1971. Lester B. Pearson would chair the board while Philippe de Gaspé Beaubien functioned as president. One year later, ParticiPACTION would be selected by Trudeau to serve as his program to cut down on exorbitant health care costs.

ParticipACTION was well known for its television public service announcements during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. A 1973 commercial, comparing the health of a 30-year-old Canadian to a 60-year-old Swede, started a national discussion on the state of physical education in Canada.

[edit] External links

• The ParticipACTION archive project
• CBC Digital Archives – Getting Physical: Canada's Fitness Movement
• Legendary fitness program is back in the game