e-4283 (Culture and heritage)

Petition to the Government of Canada

• The Government of Canada does not recognize chess as a sport, despite the fact that chess is considered a sport on a global scale by a) the International Olympic Committee; b) 24 out of 28 member states of the European Union (such as France, Italy, Spain); and c) many other countries which provide public funding for chess;
• The Government of Canada excludes chess from sports funding programs, while in 2022, millions of dollars were spent on funding for hockey ($7M), curling ($5.2M), cricket ($1M), ringette ($0.7M), archery ($0.5 M), bowling ($0.3M), skateboarding ($0.25M) and surfing ($0.2M);
• Chess is played nationally by millions of Canadians, and globally by hundreds of millions of people, but received $0 support from the Government of Canada; and
• Chess has all the attributes of a sport, including a) a competitive struggle of high intensity for a sustained period of time; b) like any sport, chess requires top physical fitness, as the mental concentration and tension of tournament games are physically draining; c) in large tournaments, players are required to engage in intense struggle for up to 7 hours a day, sometimes 3-5 days in a row; d) there are rules, trained arbiters to oversee games, rating systems, and a behaviour code.