After Calgarians finished casting their ballots on a potential bid to host the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, the city has become the fourth location to host a plebiscite on hosting the 2026 Games.

The public votes in the three other potential Olympic sites all resulted in a majority of voters opposing a bid. The plebiscites in Sion, Switzerland (54 per cent against), Innsbruck, Austria (53 per cent against) and St. Moritz/Davos, Switzerland (60 per cent against) were all precursors to the location’s abandonment of the bid process.

Of the 13 plebiscites that have been scheduled for hosting the 2010, 2022, 2024 or 2026 Olympic Games, only the Vancouver vote, to date, has led to a successful bid to host an Olympics.

Recent Olympic Game Plebiscites

  • 2026       Calgary, Canada (?)
  • 2026       Sion, Switzerland (54 per cent against)
  • 2026       Innsbruck, Austria (53 per cent against)
  • 2026       St. Moritz/Davos, Switzerland (60 per cent against)
  • 2024       Hamburg, Germany (52 per cent against)
  • 2024       Budapest, Hungary (Bid withdrawn prior to vote)
  • 2024       Boston, USA (Bid withdrawn prior to vote)
  • 2022       Munich, Germany (52 per cent against)
  • 2022       Krakow, Poland (70 per cent against)
  • 2022       St. Moritz/Davos, Switzerland (53 per cent against
  • 2022       Oslo, Norway (55 per cent for -bid later withdrawn)
  • 2010       Bern, Switzerland (78 per cent against)
  • 2010       Vancouver, Canada (64 per cent for - awarded games)

Tuesday’s Olympic vote is not the first plebiscite to be held in Calgary. Citizens have had their say on several topics including:

  • Fluoride in tap water (1999, 1989. 1971, 1961, 1957)
  • The location of a new city hall (1979)
  • The establishment of a ward system (1960)
  • Borrowing funds for a new library (1956, 1955)
  • Extension of a mayoral term (1923)
  • The purchase of land for stockyards (1913)

With files from CTV's Jordan Kanygin