Calgary council votes to resurrect Olympic bid from near-death


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Calgary city council voted 8-7 Wednesday — after a day of heated discussions — to keep the city’s 2026 Olympic bid alive and allow Calgarians to decide whether the bid should move forward, with a plebiscite planned for Nov. 13.


The Calgary 2026 OIympic bid corporation came out swinging at city council, accusing councillors of wanting to take away the democratic rights of Calgarians. 


The barbed words were just the latest in a sometimes acrimonious debate about the future of Calgary’s bid that has played out over the past several days. 


“Today when city council votes, you stand to undermine a process, a three-year process, an expensive taxpayer funded process, a democratic process that all Calgarians deserve,” said Calgary 2026 board chair Scott Hutcheson.





“You agreed to this process, you gave your word.”


Mary Moran, chief executive of Calgary 2026, also appeared frustrated. 


“We also told Calgarians that it would be their decision, because that’s what you told us to tell them,” she said.


That didn’t set well with Coun. Jyoti Gondek, who accused Hutcheson of “very publicly” creating a divide, painting a picture of an incompetent council on one side and a skilled Calgary 2026 on the other.


“You’ve asked us at many turns not to be emotional, but your presentation today was underpinned by emotion,” she said. 


Negotiating in public


As a backdrop to the debate, the foyer out front of council chambers was packed with supporters of the Olympid bid, who chanted “Let us vote! Let us vote!” just prior to the start of the council meeting.


As the debate dragged into the afternoon, however, most of those supporters had left. 


Wednesday is the culmination of a wild few days of negotiations and bad blood between federal, provincial and municipal governments. 


On Tuesday, the chair of the city’s Olympic assessment committee, Coun. Evan Woolley, introduced a motion that recommends the city stop pursuing the Games and fold the bid corporation ahead of the plebiscite. 


That motion is what was brought before council Wednesday morning.


Last minute deal


Recommending that the plug be pulled on the Games bid wasn’t the only Olympic-sized drama on Tuesday. Calgary 2026 released a new funding proposal late in the night signed by the province and the federal government that didn’t show any movement from their respective positions. The city has not signed on.


What did change is the bid budget was reduced through what Calgary 2026 said was savings in the budget. Rather than $3 billion needed from public funds, the organization said they now required $2.875 billion.


It wasn’t enough to convince Woolley. 


“More than anybody on council, I have worked diligently and have been super excited about the opportunity,” he told CBC News on Wednesday morning. “I see very little in today’s letter that will change my vote.”


The proposal seen by the public was sparse on details, but security efficiencies were at the heart of the savings in the budget, as well as a reduction in housing needed for workers. 


Calgary 2026 highlighted one budget line that calls for the city to purchase a contingency insurance policy, valued at $200 million, for $20 million of city funds. The organization said that will leverage $200 million from the federal government in matching funds.


When questioned, however, it became clear there was no insurance policy identified as yet and if none could be found, Calgary 2026 just said it would find more cuts in their budget. 


Still working out details


During the council debate, city manager Jeff Fielding said administration is not at a point where it can say whether the latest deal complies with principles council established for the negotiations.


“We’re saying we still need to do some homework to make sure we’re within the mandate that was given to us by council,” he said. 


City solicitor Glenda Cole agreed, saying it would require further conversations with the bid corporation.


Fielding said the question before council is whether it feels there is enough information at this time for Calgarians to make an informed decision in the plebiscite. 


After a break for lunch, Coun. Druh Farrell said council promised Calgarians they would have the information about how much the bid would cost the city 30 days prior to a plebiscite and said that promise has been broken. 


She pointed to the fact there are no more open houses hosted by the city between now and the vote and highlighted that mail-in ballots are already out. 


“We are where we are today,” said Fielding, adding it’s a failure on the part of all parties in the negotiations.


“We’re exactly in this position where you have to make a decision.”


City finances


Gondek made a point while questioning the emotional introduction from Calgary 2026 that council has other big decisions to make, particularly when it comes to finances.


At the top of that list is a $98-million hole in its tax base brought about by the economic downturn and the lingering vacancy rates in downtown Calgary.


Council is scheduled to discuss that very issue Wednesday. 


The city’s finances were also a feature of Woolley’s questions. He asked administration how much money there was to fund some of the city’s capital projects outside of the Olympics.


“There are not a whole lot of funds available to us,” said city treasurer Carla Male.


Council also heard that if it decides not to host the Games, it would have to come up with another way to invest in upgrades to the existing facilities from the ’88 Winter Olympics. 


Fielding, the city manager, estimated that cost at $500 million.  


With files from Sarah Rieger.





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