Calgary’s olympic future was discussed at city council Monday as councillors tried to tackle the question of how to engage the public and measure its support for a bid to host the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Last week council voted in favour of continuing to move forward with a possible Olympic bid but the province has said it will not release money for a bid without a vote to measure public opinion.
During Monday’s meeting, councillors voted in principle to work toward a plebiscite or vote to measure public opinion.
One of the challenges the city faces is that it will have to present its case in public engagement sessions and try to communicate what’s at stake without appearing to take a side one way or another on whether an Olympic bid should proceed.
This means the city is going to have to argue both yes and no on this issue.
Vancouver’s bid process included over 400 public engagement sessions to educate voters before they were asked to cast a ballot.
A plebiscite would cost about $2 million and the results would be non-binding but it is needed to get access to provincial money for a bid.
If the process keeps moving forward and the plebiscite happens it would most likely be held in the fall after more public discussion.
(With files from Bill Macfarlane)
