According to Leger Opinion’s 2024 Physical Activity and Sport Survey, in collaboration with the Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute, 27% of adults have participated in sport in the year preceding the survey. Sport reflects physical activities that involve competition, rules, and developing specific skills. The purpose of this summary is to examine sport participation by income status. For the purpose of this analysis, household income was analyzed as a dichotomous variable: lower household income was characterized by less than $60,000 per year and higher household income constituted $60,000 and higher per annum. With this definition in mind, sport participation was higher among individuals who were living in households within the higher income category (32%) compared to adults who were living in households within the lower income category (22%).
To understand sport participation fully, “participation” reflects an understanding of the regularity of participation (months per year) and the frequency of participation (times per week) in order to distinguish regular participators from those who do not participate very often. From the perspective of regularity, almost two out of ten sport participants nationally (19%) did so every month of the year, whereas an additional 42% participated between six and eleven months of the year. Roughly four in ten (39%) participated in sport for less than six months out of the year. Income status, however, was not significantly associated with the number of months participating.
Figure 1: Regularity of adult sport participation (number of months/year) by income status
Source: 2024 Physical Activity and Sport Survey, Leger with CFLRI
Sport participants were also asked how frequently they participated in sport on a weekly basis during the months that they participated. At a national level, almost two out of ten adults (18% nationally; 20% in the lower income category and 17% in the higher income category) participated very frequently at four or more times a week, and 34% reported two to three times a week (32% in the lower income category and 35% in the higher income category). Nationally, 28% participated once a week (26% in the lower income category and 29% in the higher income category). Two out of ten (20%) adults indicated that they participated less often or variably depending on the month or the season (22% in the lower income category and 19% in the higher income category).
Figure 2: Frequency of sport participation (number of times/week) among adults by income status
Source: 2024 Physical Activity and Sport Survey, Leger with CFLRI
Age and gender by income status
Overall, considerably more men than women (17% difference between the genders) participated in sport in the previous twelve months. This gender difference was also apparent, regardless of income status (15% difference between the genders among those living in the lower income category compared to a 18% gender-related difference among those living in the higher income category). When exploring this relationship by income status, more men in the higher income category (40%) reported participating in sport in the past year compared to men in the lower income category (30%), and a similar relationship appeared for women (22% of women in the higher income category compared to 15% of women in the lower income category).
Nation-wide, sport participation decreased significantly with increasing age (53% of 18- to 24-year-olds versus 13% of adults aged 65 years and older). This pattern was comparable regardless of income status. Upon combining age and gender, the gender gap existed among all age groups and age-related declines in participation rates appeared for both men and women; this is also the case among adults in the higher income category. Among adults in the lower income category, however, the relationships differed slightly; there were no significant differences by gender among 18 to 24 years or adults 65 years and older.
Figure 3: Participation in sport by gender and income status
Source: 2024 Physical Activity and Sport Survey, Leger with CFLRI
In terms of the number of months participating in sport nationally, a greater percentage of men overall (21%) reported participation during each month of the year compared to women (16%), whereas relatively more women (43%) said that they participated for less than six months out of the year compared to 37% of men. When considering income status, there were no significant gender differences among those living in lower income households. Among sport participants living in higher income households, women were more likely than men to report participating less than six months a year, whereas relatively more men reported participating every month of the year compared to women.
There were very few significant differences regarding the regularity of participation by age, with one exception; relatively fewer older adults (65 years and older) participated in sport for fewer than six months out of the year compared to younger age groups. This relationship, however, was not significant when examined by income level.
When both age and gender were considered together, there were no significant gender differences per age group for regularity of participation. Among males, however, older men (65 years and older) were less likely than men aged 25 to 44 years to have participated less than six months in the year, and similarly, when considering income status into the mix, older men in the higher income category were less likely than 25- to 44-year-old men of the same income level to state this. Nationally, there are no other significant age and gender differences for regularity and also when also considering income status.
Considering frequency of participation, a greater percentage of young sport participants (aged 18 to 24 years) did so at least four times per week compared to adults aged 25 to 64 years, and this pattern is also significant among in the higher income category; on the other hand, relatively more older adults (65 years and older) participated between two to three times a week compared to adults younger than 45 years. Among adults living in higher income households, older adults were more likely than those aged 25 to 44 years to have participated two or three times a week, although this relationship was not significant among adults in the lower income category.
Degree of structure of sport and competition
Almost half of adults (47% overall; 43% of adults in the lower income category compared to 49% living in the higher income category) participated in a primarily structured environment, whereas 30% (32% in the lower income category and 30% in the higher income category) reported a primarily unstructured environment, and 22% (25% in the lower income category and 22% in the higher income category) reported both types of environments.
Compared to women (26%), a slightly higher percentage of men (33%) primarily participated in an unstructured sport environment. This gender-related relationship was significant among those in the lower income category, but not in the higher income category.
Nationally, older sport participants (65 years and older) were most likely to have primarily participated in structured environments, yet were least likely to report unstructured environments. This relationship between age and structured environments was significant specifically among sport participants in the lower income category, but not the higher income category. Among sport participants falling in the higher income category, relatively fewer older sport participants participated in a primarily unstructured environment compared to those 25 to 64 years.
Figure 4: Level of structure of sport participation by gender and income status
Source: 2024 Physical Activity and Sport Survey, Leger Opinion with CFLRI
Half of sport participants indicated that they competed in their sport, and more men (57%) than women (39%) did so. These gender differences were evident regardless of income level. For example, among individuals living in lower income households, 57% of men competed compared to 40% of women. Among those living in higher income households, 58% of men competed versus 39% of women. Generally, there were no differences in the percentage reporting that they competed with age, regardless of income level, with one exception; a greater percentage of 18- to 24-year-old sport participants in the higher income category competed in sport compared to those aged 25 to 64 years and of the same income status.
Use of supports in sport, such as coaches or training
The survey also asked about the use of a coach in sport and whether or not the individual trains. Almost one-third of adults (32% nationally; 35% in the lower income category and 31% in the higher income category) reported the use of a coach for sport. There were no overall differences in the use of a coach by gender of the sport participant, nationally and by income level.
There was a considerable decrease in the use of a coach with increasing age of the participant (e.g., 51% of adults aged 18 to 24 years compared to 16% of adults 65 years and older). This relationship persisted among those in the higher income category, and also, generally speaking among those within the lower income category.
Figure 5: Use of a coach and training in sport by gender and income status
Source: 2024 Physical Activity and Sport Survey, Leger Opinion with CFLRI
Nationally, 51% of adults said that they trained for their sport, and there were no significant differences in training by income category. In general, a higher percentage of men (54%) stated that they trained for their sport compared to 44% of women. This relationship, however, only appeared among individuals in the higher income category (54% of men compared to 43% of women), as interestingly, there were no significant differences among those in the lower income category (57% of men compared to 52% of women). In Canada, there was a decline in the percentage of adults who trained with increasing age. Regardless of income group, older adults were considerably less likely than the 18- to 24-year-olds to report training.
Production of this summary has been made possible through a financial contribution from the Government of Canada. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent their views.
