Finance minister Jim Flaherty promised $49 million in support for Olympic and Paralympic athletes in Tuesday's federal budget.

Flaherty, in his third budget, approved $24 million over the two next years to summer Olympians, then $24 million annually on an ongoing basis.

Jim Flaherty gives a thumbs up as he delivers Tuesday's budget speech.
(Fred Chartrand/Canadian Press)

Although the commitment fell short of the $30 million over five years sought for the Road to Excellence Program, the Canadian Paralympic Committee was grateful.

"This is a significant step in the right direction," said Brian MacPherson, the CPC's chief operating officer. "Canada's Paralympic summer athletes have the support to achieve success, be role models for Canadians with disabilities, and help change the minds of all Canadians of how they perceive disabilities."

"The CPC looks forward to continue working with the federal government towards securing all the support requested by the Road to Excellence program, so Canada remains in the top-five countries at the Paralympic Summer Games."

"This financial support will be used to hire more full-time coaches and additional members of performance enhancement teams, provide more opportunities for our athletes to compete, and do more research to ensure they have optimum training conditions in the lead-up to the Games," said Carla Qualtrough, president of the CPC.

The financial support for the Road to Excellence Program was recommended last month by the government's standing committee on finance, which decided an amount equivalent to $1 per Canadian would be sufficient.

The government also set aside $25 million for the torch relays for the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games.

The relays, scheduled to be run from November 2009 to February 2010, will involve 12,000 torch bearers and escorts, and about 350 communities.

With files from the Canadian Press