Port Coquitlam recreation subsidy program returns for 2024

As the cost of living continues to increase in the Tri-Cities, Port Coquitlam is bringing back a popular financial aid program. 

Registration for the city’s recreation assistance initiative opens on Friday, the city announced in a press release on Nov. 23. 

The program aims to help residents struggling to make ends meet enroll in sports, arts, and camps in 2024. 

“We will continue to work to ease some of the financial hardships being faced by many families in Port Coquitlam,” Mayor Brad West wrote in a statement. 

Residents who are approved for the program will receive a One City Pass, a card which provides free entry to numerous drop-in activities in the city, for the calendar year and a 75 per cent discount towards membership costs or activities like summer camps.  

Adults and youth will also receive $200 and $500 respectively to increase their ability to enroll in a recreation program. 

In 2022, over 800 residents were approved for a recreation subsidy. This year, Port Coquitlam has handed out over $39,000 to nearly 1,200 residents who applied for the program. 

In August, the Dispatch reported that the average housing price in Port Coquitlam had risen by 9.8 per cent over the past six months — the highest rate in the Tri-Cities. Prices rose by 7.3 per cent and 3.5 per cent in Coquitlam and Port Moody, respectively, over the same timeframe. 

Coupled with the fact that SHARE experienced double the normal demand at their food bank over the summer, Port Coquitlam is hoping to make it easier for everyone in the city to be able to access recreation or arts programs. 

“This program removes financial barriers while enhancing community and family connectedness,” West stated. 

There’s a variety of recreation programs available in Port Coquitlam, stated Coun. Paige Petriw in a release. Specifically, in the beginning of November, the city launched a new female-only basketball session at the Port Coquitlam Community Centre. 

Glenn Mitzel, Port Coquitlam’s recreation manager, said in an interview earlier this month that the city had a void in women’s basketball programming — especially for students that had recently left high school.

After Terry Fox Secondary and Riverside Secondary won provincial basketball titles in 2022 and 2023, Port Coquitlam hoped to build an initiative that encouraged local women to stay in the sport.

“As our mayor has said, we want to be the best sports town in the province,” Mitzel said.

For more information about your eligibility in the subsidy program, you can visit the city’s website.