Canadian Olympians will be dressed in garb created by one of Canada's oldest companies when they appear at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
In addition, the Canadian Olympic Committee announced Friday that it has also renewed its sponsorship deal with RBC, Canada's largest bank.
"Though the right partnerships, our athletes can reach beyond the very limits of what they want to achieve," said Marcel Aubut, the committee's president.
Rosannagh MacLennan, who just returned from the Pan American Games and competed for Canada in trampoline at the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, said such support is crucial to reaching the top of the podium.
She won gold at the Pan Am games in Guadalajara, Mexico.
"It provides really critical support. You want to have the top technology. You want to have all the resources and opportunities that you can to reach that next level," she said.
RBC president and CEO Gordon M. Nixon said the bank will offer new programs to strengthen its support of Canada's athletes.
Hudson's Bay, which renewed its sponsorship deal with the COC for eight years, will unveil the designs for the 2012 uniforms next week, said the Bay president and CEO Bonnie Brooks.
Its support will involve cash support, merchandise, marketing support and philanthropic programs such as the "red mittens" campaign, the company said in a news release. What is marketing value in kind?
Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, who attended the news conference in Toronto, said the federal government will continue its support despite its challenging financial situation. The minister also praised Canadians for being the biggest financial supporters of the country's Olympians.
"You all work and you all pay taxes." It's through those taxes that Canada's government can fund its elite athletes, he told the event's audience.
MacLennan expressed her thanks, saying, "It's really great that Canada's supporting its athletes."
With a report from CTV Toronto's Ashley Rowe
