Karate Canada is the national association representing the sport of Karate in Canada. Formerly the National Karate Association (NKA) of Canada, the organization was founded by Masami Tsuruoka.

History

In 1964, Masami Tsuruoka and four other karate instructors incorporated the association in the cities of

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

and

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

, and Tsuruoka was elected the first president of the organization. The NMA was organized to promote and develop the art of traditional karate in Canada into a respected sport and to provide a framework for Canadian competitors to gain international recognition. In March 2009 the NKA assembled its National Council, chairs of key committees, athlete representatives and select provincial and territorial representatives for a strategic planning retreat where they voted to investigate changing the name of the organization to Karate Canada. Today Karate Canada represents several traditional karate styles active in Canada. Karate Canada includes all ten provinces and two territories and is recognized as the national sport governing body of karate in Canada by the Canadian Federal Government. It is partially funded through

Sport Canada Sport Canada is a branch of the Department of Canadian Heritage that develops federal sport policy in Canada, provides funding programs in support of sport, and administers special projects related to sport. Its mission "to enhance opportunitie ...

. Each province and territory has a local organization which represents their interests and concerns at the national level, and is responsible for the standards and development of traditional karate within their respective provincial or territorial jurisdictions. Karate Canada is the only national Canadian karate organization recognized by the

Canadian Olympic Committee The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC; ), also known as Team Canada, is a private nonprofit organization that represents Canada at the International Olympic Committee. It is also a member of the Pan American Sports Organization. History Cana ...

(COC) and the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

. Karate Canada conducts annual competitions, and the winners are the only karate athletes recognized as national champions by the COC and Sport Canada.

References

{{World Karate Federation Sports organizations established in 1964 Karate organizations Japanese karate Traditional karate 1964 establishments in Canada Karate in Canada