An attempt to gauge the interest of Calgarians in submitting a bid to host the 2026 Olympic Winter Games could occur in the next six months.
On Tuesday, an Olympic exploration committee was informed that a plebiscite has been tentatively slated for early November and may occur on a Saturday in an effort to encourage more Calgarians to voice their opinion.
The estimated cost of the plebiscite would be nearly $2 million.
The current wording of the proposed question is ‘Do you support or do you oppose the City of Calgary’s participation in hosting the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games?’. Councillors are questioning whether the ballot should include additional details regarding the cost of hosting the games to ensure plebiscite participants are fully informed.
“The question that was put to committee, which was a version of the question that they used in Vancouver, was something to everybody’s liking,” said Ward 8 councillor Evan Wooley. “We know that it was the province that, as a part of their commitment, asked that we hold this plebiscite. They need to be able to give input on that.”
The committee members quashed the idea of hosting a public hearing on a possible bid as they believe the plebiscite’s results will be an accurate representation of the sentiments of Calgarians.
The committee is next scheduled to meet two weeks from now. The meeting will follow a referendum in Switzerland on whether Sion should submit a bid to host the 2026 Games.
With files from CTV’s Jordan Kanygin
