Calgarians will have their say on whether or not they want the city to host another Olympic games and people started casting their ballots on the plebiscite at advance polling stations on Tuesday.

Advance voting was open from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Tuesday and will be open the same hours on Wednesday at 14 polling stations around the city as well as at two stations at MRU and U of C.

  • Click HERE to find your polling station

“We had all 14 stations open at 11:00 a.m.." said Laura Kennedy, returning officer for Voted 2018. "They all have had a bit of a rush of people but we have had processes developed and we actually had area supervisors, as we’re calling these individuals, go out to all of the voting stations and make changes to the flow to ensure the flow was able to go through quickly.”

“We understand there were lineups. We understand that people were standing in the snow. We apologize for our part in that.”

According to the City of Calgary, 21,185 Calgarians cast a ballot on Tuesday and there have been 7,738 mail-in special ballots.

The question on the ballot is:

  • Are you for or are you against Calgary hosting the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games?

    __ I am for Calgary hosting
    __ I am against Calgary hosting

Voters do not need to register but they will need to present valid identification and sign a statement at the voting station that confirms they meet the requirements to vote.

To vote, people must be at least 18 years old, a Canadian citizen and resident of the City of Calgary.

Both yes and no supporters were out working to get their message out on Tuesday.

Staff at WinSport and the Canadian Sport Institute Calgary teamed up to encourage Calgarians to vote yes and the group headed over to the polling station in Bowness to cast their ballots.

“We’ve got to keep the positive message going and make sure that we get this over the goal line on November 13,” said Barry Heck, President and CEO of WinSport. “This is a tremendous opportunity for Calgary. It is our bid, it’s our times and it’s our turn and we’re going to make this happen.”

“I’m really happy that we’re able to have a plebiscite and let, sort of, the public have a great decision,” said Olympian John Morris. “It’s something our city needs.”

No Calgary 2026 held a rally outside the Scandinavian Centre in the northwest to ask people to vote no on the plebiscite.

“We are betting our future on a sporting event and we think that we need to be looking at, if you’re investing in Calgary 2026, other things move off the agenda and that’s a really critical decision for Calgarians,” said Jeanne Milne, from No Calgary 2026.

“I think I would have liked to have seen more about what’s going to happen if the costs overrun and who’s going to be responsible for that,” said Catherine Louie.

Supporters and opponents were lined up at the polling stations despite the cold weather and many voiced their opinion about the vote.

“The city has no money, we’ll pay higher taxes. The province has no money, we’ll pay higher taxes. The feds have no money, we’ll pay higher taxes. I’m not paying higher taxes, that’s quite simple” said Peter Williams.

“I agree that it’s a really good chance for Calgary to bring people from all over the world here. Bring all of the advantages that the Olympics bring and keep it for the next 30 plus years,” said Kerry Dankers.

A million ballots have been printed to ensure there are enough to go around and Elections Calgary will use vote tabulators to electronically tally the ballots.

Vote Day for the plebiscite is on November 13 and the unofficial results will be posted on the Elections Calgary website after the polls close.

The official results will be available on Friday, November 16 at the Municipal Building posting site, Elections Calgary Office and on its website.

“The unofficial results are called on vote night, will be available after all of the voting has occurred. The votes will be tabulated and as the returning officer I can only release the total,” said Laura Kennedy, Returning Officer, Elections Calgary.

For more information on advanced voting, click HERE.

For more information on the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games bid, click HERE.

Watch Saturday, November 10 @ 4:30 pm - Yes or No: Should Calgary Host the Olympics?