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The head of the Canadian Olympic Committee told the Canadian government to step up "with the big boys" if the country's athletes are going to compete on a level playing field with their competition from the other G-8 countries.

Chris Rudge, the chief executive officer of the COC, said at the close of the Beijing Olympics that Canada's 18 medals put it in a 14th-place tie with Spain on the list of total medals for the Games, but among the top countries, which use gold medals as their measuring stick, Canada's three wins rank it only 19th.

"And the rest of the world is not standing still," Rudge said on Sunday.

The COC's ambition is for Canada to stand 12th in 2012 at the London Games. If placement is reckoned by the gold standard, Canada would require about double the success it had in Beijing. France finished 12th here with six golds and a total of 38 medals.

The COC chief said 35 improvements had been made in the COC's athlete-support programs since Athens, but Canada needs more athletes in its system, more and better sport facilities — particularly in population-dense Southern Ontario — and increased federal support to help convert world championship results to Olympic results.

"I appeal to Prime Minister [Stephen] Harper for all of the $30-million [a year] we asked for," Rudge said. "Put an order-in-council, now. …

"If we're going to play with the big boys and be a G-8 nation, let's be G-8 all the way."

The feds were slow to pay into COC excellence programs for elite athletes and came up with less funding than the Olympians requested. The federal government is backing the Road to Excellence program to enhance summer sport medal chances to the tune of $8-million this year, $16-million next year and a continuing $24-million from 2010.

The Beijing Games were a success for Canada by outdated standards if Canada envisions itself as one of the leaders, Rudge indicated. The 50-per-cent improvement in overall medals since Athens is a 50-per-cent improvement on Games that were a failure in the public eye.

The Canadians marched out of the massive 91,000-seat National Stadium in Sunday's closing ceremony behind trampoline star Karen Cockburn, who took a silver medal and is one of only five Canadians to be on the podium for three consecutive Olympics. Canada's three golds, by wrestler Carol Huynh, the men's rowing eight and show jumping equestrian Eric Lamaze, matched the total of Athens in 2004. Canada also left Beijing with nine silver medals and six bronze.

The total of 18 medals in Beijing matches the performance in Barcelona in 1992 as Canada's third best Olympic haul — second best if the aberration of the boycott-hit Los Angeles Games (44 medals) in 1984 is discounted.

"We've accomplished a lot, but other countries are investing and investing more quickly," Rudge said.

Gold medals "don't happen on a little talent and passion. It takes investment."

Staying afloat with the financial tide internationally in summer sport is a tall order, Rudge acknowledged. Canada is not a big spender in a league with the Australians or sport-lottery-supported Britons.

As Canadians are possibly facing a federal election, Rudge says investment in sport needs to be an issue for parties, but the reality is that it never has registered on the political agenda. The current government does not maintain the sport portfolio as a full ministry.

The will to spend on sport has traditionally been tied to grassroots participation, national sport federations and creation of infrastructure for major Games. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation said in a commentary last week that the current level of taxpayer support for sport "is more than adequate, although in many instances misdirected."

"We need to engage all Canadians," Rudge said. "We can't just throw it in the lap of government."

With the Vancouver Winter Games of 2010 next on the Olympic horizon, the feds are already heavily invested in elite winter sport, providing half of the $110-million Own the Podium winter sport program.

"But we are a summer sport nation, too," Rudge said. What lies ahead is a selection of which sports will get enhancements and which will be left by the wayside.

For the first time, the COC rewarded medal winners with cash, with $20,000 going to a gold medalist, $15,000 for a silver and $10,000 for a bronze. That adds up to more than $500,000, including multiple team members such as the rowing eights and equestrians.

Cockburn has twice had surgery on a right knee and would be pressed hard to make it to the London Olympics in 2012. She said it was likely her Olympic farewell.

"I think it's just a great way to end these Olympics which have been so amazing."

Cockburn, 27 of Toronto, also won silver at the Athens Games in 2004 and took bronze in 2000 when the sport made its Olympic debut in Sydney.

Only three other Canadian athletes have won medals in three consecutive Games in individual competition: Phil Edwards in track and field in 1928, 1932 and 1936 (bronze); rowing coxswain Leslie Thompson-Willie in 1992, 1996 and 2000 (gold, silver and bronze); and kayaker Caroline Brunet in 1996, 2000 and 2004 (two silver and a bronze).