Canada always will do better at the Winter Olympics than at the Summer Games because winter sports are pursued by far fewer countries. Every nation has a strong track and field program, every region is heavily into the sport. You don't need money to take part in track or soccer or basketball. Poor countries do it.
Warm countries do it.
You do need money to be a skier or a hockey player. Obviously, you also need ice and snow. Canada always will be a hockey power, don't sweat it. Unless, of course, the planet tilts suddenly and a deep freeze settles over the equator. The consensus within the Canadian sport community is that the Salt Lake Games will be the last great Winter Olympics for Canada for a while, given the government funding cuts of the early 1990s.