[3] Lefaive was an original council member for the Canada Games that began in 1967, and was named a director of the Canadian Olympic Association.
He developed a working relationship with John Munro, the Minister of Health and Welfare, and was able to influence the government's policies on sport.
[9] After a dispute with the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) over Canada using professional players, Canada withdrew from international competition when Earl Dawson announced, "We will not return until the rules permit us to enter a team that is truly representative of Canadian hockey, so we can play our best players as all other countries do".
At the event's closing ceremonies he stated, "we're leaving behind a legacy of people who are, or have been, involved and certainly now committed to the positive values that flow from sports competition".
He felt that having more people involved would increase the talent pool, and stated that "the quality of an athlete is the consequence of participation, not the goal".
[2] In 1973, Lefaive called for amateur sport leaders in Canada to be more vocal in supporting the planned 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.
In response to the protests against the cost of Canada hosting the Olympic Games, he said that "amateur sport was criticized on economic grounds", which "ignored the true value of international competition".
[19] On November 30, 1973, Marc Lalonde the Canadian Minister of Health and Welfare, named Lefaive the president designate of a proposed corporation which would include all amateur sport bodies.
He was part of the Canadian delegation attending the 1971 Ice Hockey World Championships, which began discussions on a possible return of the national team to international competition.
[23][24] Kryczka, Hay and Lefaive went to Prague in April 1972 to finalize a deal with the Soviet Union Ice Hockey Federation for what became the 1972 Summit Series.
He noted that obstacles were the timing of the events overlapping with the National Hockey League (NHL) season, and the cost of traveling to Europe from North America.
[28] In April 1973, Lefaive and Gordon Juckes met with Andrei Starovoytov from the Soviet Union Ice Hockey Federation to discuss the possibility of another series.
He cautioned that raising the level of competition at the Canada Games would lead to the more populated Canadian provinces dominating the events.
[38] On April 13, 1978, Lefaive was appointed by Iona Campagnolo to return as director of Sport Canada, and replace Roger Jackson who resigned.
The CAHA was upset about the WHA not paying development fees when it signed players from junior ice hockey teams in Canada.
The aims were to encourage the best student athletes to remain in Canada instead of accepting scholarships in the United States, and act to as a feeder program for the national men's team.
The CAHA chose not to send a team to the 1980 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, and Lefaive stated the decision would hurt Canada's reputation.
[48][49][55] He made it a priority to have a CIAU super league operational by the 1980–81 school season, and suggested it would cost an extra C$25,000 per team.
[56] He continued preparations for the 1980 Canada Cup, despite the ongoing Soviet–Afghan War, although he received a request from Steve Paproski, the Minister of Amateur Sport, to review its relationship with the Soviet Union team.
The Canadian Press reported that NHL players were opposed to Soviet Union participating due to the Soviet-Afghan War.
He began planning in summer 1981 for ice hockey at the 1984 Winter Olympics, and expected the national men's team to be composed of junior and college players.
[65] Lefaive threatened a lawsuit for copyright infringement if a replica of the Canada Cup was made, but later said "If someone wants to send $11,000 worth of nickel to Moscow that's not my business".
[1] In November 1984, he proposed collaborating on a series of events with the United States Figure Skating Association to strengthen North American competition and its talent.
[68] Lefaive departed the Canadian Figure Skating Association to pursue opportunities in sports marketing, and was succeeded as executive director by David Dore on January 20, 1986.