TORONTO, ON - October 02, 2014 /CNW/ - Canadian Tire and Scotiabank announced today that they have come together to take an in-depth look at the social and economic impact of community hockey nationwide.

Hockey is part of the fabric of Canadian life and Canadian Tire and Scotiabank -- two of Canada's largest corporate supporters of community hockey -- are combining their shared passion for the game. The organizations will conduct a multi-phase, nation-wide analysis of the impact of hockey within Canada.

The first phase of the analysis, which evaluated the social impact of the game, is being released today. The second phase of the study will focus on the economic impacts of community hockey and is set to be released in early 2015. Program development and implementation based on the results will follow, continuing through the 2015-2016 season and beyond.

The game has a rich history -- from both a societal and economic standpoint -- and will continue to be a pillar of Canadian culture well into the future.

Statistics from the phase one study on the social impact of community hockey revealed the following:

• Canadians spend an average of ~7 hours per week engaging with hockey when the sport is in season.
• Canadians love hockey over other professional sports -- the NHL is the most popular professional sport in Canada by a significant margin with all other major league sports a distant second.
• 18% of Canadian households with kids have at least one child that currently plays hockey.
• Parents involved in the game clearly recognize the values the game can offer. Parents agree that hockey promotes the following values in their children:
  • Teamwork (82%)
  • Fun (78%)
  • Hard work (77%)
  • Commitment (76%)
  • Discipline (75%)
• The health benefits hockey provides are very important to parents. Amongst those with children enrolled in the sport, 64% could clearly see the health and physical fitness benefits to their children -- second only to the benefit of having fun at 68%.
• Overall, Canadians feel more favourably towards the sport of hockey in their communities than they did five years ago (+4 percentage points increase in favourability).
• Those who are involved with hockey experience the positive impact firsthand and want to be more involved. Among Canadian households that participate in Canadian hockey, the current involvement is greater than it was five years ago, and they believe they'll be more involved five years from now. Those with kids who play hockey expect to see the largest increase in involvement in the next five years (+14 percentage points).

"Hockey is and continues to be a big part of life in Canada. In communities large and small, Canadians are tied to the game and all it represents," said Duncan Fulton, Executive Officer and Senior Vice-President, Canadian Tire Corporation "We're incredibly competitive when it comes to our national teams, but for families across Canada playing hockey is about staying active and having fun. Canadian Tire champions the benefits of sport because we believe it helps build strong communities with real social and economic benefits."

With hockey season gearing up again, local arenas will once again take up their place as a de facto town hall, while tournaments and away games will make significant contributions to local economies.

"We believe it's important to build teamwork, camaraderie and sportsmanship in both hockey and the community. At Scotiabank, we are committed to supporting hockey at the community level, including sponsoring over 5,000 minor teams across the country," said John Doig, Chief Marketing Officer, Scotiabank. "Working with Canadian Tire, we are excited to uncover the true impact of the game. By quantifying the scope of hockey beyond its emotional reach, we will better understand the positive impact of our national pastime."

No one knows the positive influence of the game more than those who have been involved at its core. From outdoor rinks to NHL arenas, those who have pursued hockey as a career still remain tied to the game in their local communities. 

"Participation in hockey teaches important life skills," said former Toronto Maple Leafs and NHL Alumnus Wendel Clark. "Throughout my early years playing in Saskatchewan and now through coaching kids' hockey, I see the positive impact the game has on kids, families and communities. The success of the kids I've coached on and off the ice is a testament to how the game of hockey fosters dedication and teamwork. It excites me that corporations like Canadian Tire and Scotiabank are helping to spread the message of community hockey's importance to our great nation."

ABOUT THE POLLING DATA
For this survey, Charlton Strategic Research conducted online interviews with 2,000 Canadians aged 18+. The margin of error is +2.1%, 19 times out of 20. Data is representative of the Canadian population by age, gender and region. The survey was conducted from August 8-19, 2014.

ABOUT CANADIAN TIRE CORPORATION
Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited, (TSX: CTC.A) (TSX: CTC) or "CTC," is a family of businesses that includes a retail segment, a financial services division and CT REIT. Our retail business is led by Canadian Tire, which was founded in 1922 and provides Canadians with products for life in Canada across its Living, Playing, Fixing, Automotive and Seasonal categories. PartSource and Gas+ are key parts of the Canadian Tire network. The retail segment also includes Mark's, a leading source for casual and industrial wear, and FGL Sports (Sport Chek, Hockey Experts, Sports Experts, National Sports, Intersport, Pro Hockey Life and Atmosphere), which offers the best active wear brands. The nearly 1,700 retail and gasoline outlets are supported and strengthened by our Financial Services division and the tens of thousands of people employed across the Company. For more information, visit Corp.CanadianTire.ca.

ABOUT SCOTIABANK
Scotiabank is a leading financial services provider in over 55 countries and Canada's most international bank. Through our team of more than 86,000 employees, Scotiabank and its affiliates offer a broad range of products and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management, corporate and investment banking to over 21 million customers. With assets of $792 billion (as at July 31, 2014), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto (TSX: BNS) and New York (NYSE: BNS) Exchanges. Scotiabank distributes the Bank's media releases using CNW. For more information please visit scotiabank.com.

For more information, please contact:

Joanna Leong
North Strategic
416-723-1183
joanna.leong@northstrategic.com

Carol Endicott
Canadian Tire Corporation
416-480-3352
carol.endicott@cantire.com

Gordon Smith
Scotiabank Communications
416-933-3056
gordon.smith2@scotiabank.com