World Anti-Doping Agency headquarters will stay in Montreal until 2031

The World Anti-Doping Agency(WADA) headquarters will stay in Montreal until 2031, according to a decision from thebody's executive committee.

Federal Transport Minister Marc Garneauhas been personally involved in promoting Montreal's bid to retain the headquarters.

Garneautweeted out his reaction to the newsWednesday evening.

He andQuebec's international relations minister Christine St-Pierre were part ofa Canadian delegation that made a final pitch to WADA's 38-member decision-making body in Seoul, South Korea.

"We are very satisfied,"St-Pierre told Radio-Canada. "It's very good news."

The federaland provincial governmentshave committed to increasing WADA's annual funding from $1.9 million to $3 million for 10 years starting in 2021.

The Quebec government footing one third of the bill for the roughly $11-million increase and the federal government will paythe rest.

• Quebec minister optimistic WADA will vote to stay in Montreal

Garneau told Radio-Canadathat he's proudthe provincial and federal governments were able to work together to make this happen.

"Today was a great day, not onlyfor Montreal but also for the province of Quebec and for the government of Canada," he said.

"I think it's a strong endorsement of Canada's values with respect to clean sport. It's a strong endorsement of the good work that's been done since the beginning in Montreal."

WADA was established in Montrealin 1999 with the help of Dick Pound, a former Canadian Olympic swimmer and the agency's first president.

WADA was previously committed to staying in Montreal until at least 2021.

There wasspeculation, however, that at that pointthe office could move to Europe, closer to the International Olympic Committee, which is basedin Switzerland,but the head of theINRS Doping Control Laboratory in Laval said it's for the best that it didn't move because Canada hasanti-doping measures in place.

"It's obvious that it's important that it stays in Montreal," Christiane Ayotte told Radio-Canada's Gravel le matin.

A new locationmeans WADA would have lost some of its expertise because not everyone who works at the office is willing to move, she added.

"Itwould have been an immense amount of wasted time and energy."