"This continued support provides a substantial boost to New Brunswick�s top athletes who have the potential to make national senior teams and to achieve international success," said Premier of New Brunswick Honourable Shawn Graham, also Minister of Wellness, Culture and Sport. "Athletes who strive for the highest standard of excellence need our support to help cover some of the costs associated with reaching their goals."

"We welcome the continued partnership between the federal government, the provincial departments responsible for sport in Atlantic Canada, and our delivery agent, the Canadian Sport Centre Atlantic," said Honourable Elmer MacFadyen, Prince Edward Island�s Minister Responsible for Sport and Recreation. "This strategy continues to enhance development opportunities for our high-performance athletes, coaches, and officials. We hope that through such efforts, even more Atlantic Canadians will join national team programs."

"High-calibre athletes from Newfoundland and Labrador continue to feel the benefits of the Atlantic Sport Strategy," said Honourable Tom Hedderson, Newfoundland and Labrador's Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation. "This strategy also helps our promising athletes gain the skills necessary to compete on national teams and in international competitions."

"Working together with the federal government has helped us secure funding and resources necessary to support our athletes as they reach for their goals," said Honourable Barry Barnet, Nova Scotia�s Minister of Health Promotion and Protection. "Our high-performance athletes help bolster community pride and raise the profile of sport excellence in Atlantic Canada."

The key objectives of the Atlantic High-Performance Sport Strategy are to increase the number of carded athletes from the Atlantic provinces, to increase the number of top-eight performances by athletes from Atlantic Canada at the 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games, to increase the number of athletes selected to national training squads, and to hire and retain new coaches in selected sports. This announcement comes as a renewal of Sport Canada funding of $738,000 over the past three years to the Canadian Sport Centre (Atlantic) in support of coaching, training, and competition opportunities for our future world-class athletes.

Canada�s new government is proud to support the Atlantic High-Performance Sport Strategy. This support coupled with the new funding for the Halifax bid for the 2014 Commonwealth Games demonstrates the Government of Canada�s commitment to Atlantic Canada�s contribution to high-performance sport in Canada. The Government of Canada is confident that these initiatives will allow Atlantic-Canada-based athletes the opportunity to continue to shine on the national and world stages.

Canada�s new government is the single largest investor in Canada�s sport system. More than $140 million is provided annually for initiatives to support our high-performance athletes and to promote sport and participation among Canadians.

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