Michael Chambers

Michael Chambers is currently serving his second term as President of the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC). He has been involved with the organization in various executive and committee capacities since 1984, initially representing the sport of canoe/kayak through to his election to the presidency in 2001.

Chambers plays an active role in international sport, both within and beyond Canada’s borders. He is a member of the Pan Olympic Solidarity Commission (2001-present); a member of the executive committee for the Pan American Sports Organization ({PASO} 2004-present); and president of the Sports Venues Commission of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC). Most recently he was appointed to the IOC Working Group for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games.

Other past contributions include board member of the 1999 Winnipeg Pan American Games (1996-1999) and member of the PASO Evaluation Commission (2002) for the 2007 Pan American Games. He was also a member of the Board of Directors and executive committee for the Toronto 2008 Bid Corporation (1998-2001) during the city’s bid for the 2008 Summer Games.

Chambers’ association with the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games began in 1998 during the domestic bid phase, when he chaired the former Canadian Olympic Association Evaluation Commission’s bid review of the three Canadian cities vying for the Games. He was appointed a member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee for the Vancouver 2010 Bid Corporation, holding positions as Board vice-chair and chair of the International Relations and Strategic Planning Committee. He also co-chaired the Vancouver 2010 Transition Committee.

Active in the movement against doping in sport, Chambers has contributed to the effort as a special commission member and panel presenter on the Fight Against Doping in Sport at the ANOC General Assembly in Kuala Lumpur (2002) and as a longstanding member of the COC Anti-Doping Committee. He also led the COC’s successful effort to secure a gold medal for Beckie Scott following the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games.

Chambers’ involvement with high performance sport in Canada began in the early 1960s, when he competed in canoe racing at the Rideau Canoe Club in Ottawa. He subsequently served on the Club’s board for some 20 years from 1981 until 2001, when he was elected COC president.

Born and raised in Ottawa, Chambers holds two bachelor degrees in commerce and laws from the University of Ottawa. He continues to live in the nation’s capital with his wife and two children, and is a partner in the offices of the Ottawa law firm Maclaren Corlett LLP.