It’s just two weeks before Calgarians head to the polls to vote in a plebiscite on whether or not the city should host another Olympics, but comments from the mayor appear to show that the idea itself is on thin ice.
On Saturday, Postmedia reported that Mayor Naheed Nenshi threatened to cancel the bid after details of an upcoming federal announcement for funding was also leaked by the paper on Friday evening.
In the announcement, Ottawa said it was ready to hand over $1.75B for the bid, but the province and the City of Calgary would have to split the rest of the cost.
Finance Minister Joe Ceci said on Saturday that Alberta is sticking to its figure of $700M because there just isn’t any more money in the budget to commit and there are other priorities the government needs to handle.
Premier Rachel Notley, speaking at an NDP conference in Edmonton on Sunday, stood by her minister's comments.
"We would do itin a fiscally prudent manner and that's reflected by the number we put out."
Calgary councillor Sean Chu told CTV Calgary on Sunday that he’s upset about the news of the federal announcement of funds, but more in the way the information came to the surface.
“We are continuously learning critical information from the newspaper like everybody else. You would think, as councillors, that we would be informed in some sort of way.”
Chu said that he did get a confidential e-mail from Nenshi late Saturday night about the funding announcement, but it was far too late by his standards.
He says that the leaked information has left a very bad taste in his mouth about the whole process.
“I feel like I am an outsider, looking in, not part of it. It seems like it’s a one man show.”
In terms of confidence for a bid going forward, Chu says the whole situation has rattled that to the core and turned it into a ‘gong show’.
Meanwhile, at a free public skating event hosted by Yes Calgary 2026 at one of the premier venues from the 1988 Olympics, some people are still a little hung up on the cost of hosting them again.
“I am undetermined at the moment. Obviously it would be great to have the Games here, but I don’t know how the costs will come out,” said Tim Jeffrey.
Yves Hamelin, with the Olympic Oval, says that they opened the facility on Sunday to the public as an opportunity for them to learn more about the bid process.
“Just to give them a chance to speak about it and talk about what’s in here for them and what’s in there in the bid for the Olympic Oval to keep the venue that has been a legacy from 1988.”
Hamelin says that anyone who is unsure about a bid needs to know that it is a fantastic opportunity for the city.
“From a business and a financial standpoint, I think there will be a lot opportunity for the economy of Calgary. From a sports standpoint, we are at a point where most of the venues from that time are aging and it’s a fantastic opportunity to revamp and renew from the vibe of the Games and keep it for another 20, 30 years.”
He says that the promise of federal funding, leaked or not, means that Ottawa is on board with the idea and the only thing that remains now is hammering out the right agreement.
“I am pretty confident that the conversation will be positive as anybody, whether it is the feds, province or city, we know how good it is going to be for the city and Canada.”
An official announcement on Calgary 2026 funding is expected to come from the federal government this week. The mayor’s office says that negotiations are still ongoing.
(With files from Alesia Fieldberg)
