Joe Kanuka joined the board of directors of the Regina Rams Football Club in 1960, and served as president in 1966. In 1967, he became a director of the Saskatchewan Roughrider Football Club. He was the 1968 founding president of the Saskatchewan Amateur Football Association, and in 1972 was appointed the first commissioner of the Canadian Junior Football League.
From 1970 to 1973, Joe was a director and team manager of the Regina Optimist Swim Club. He volunteered his legal skills to help many Saskatchewan sport organizations to incorporate, and acted as a volunteer athlete representative and agent through the Canadian Amateur Track and Field Association. In 1971, Joe was a founding member of Sask Sport Inc. and served as its president from 1972 to 1974.
