FEDS, PROVINCE READY TO FUND BID
2026 olympics a step closer after city reveals $20.5M Commitment
A plebiscite to ask Calgarians to accept or reject a potential bid to host the 2026 Olympic Winter Games could cost almost $2 million.
City administration outlined the costs, time and manpower required to put forward a nonbinding vote in response to a request from councillors Sean Chu, Peter Demong, Jeromy Farkas and Joe Magliocca, according to a city document.
It would take six months from the time council approves a plebiscite to hire and train 3,000 staff, find balloting locations and communicate with the public, adding a consultant would need more than a month to draft a clear “for and against” question for council to approve.
The bill would be $1.96 million, more than four times what it would have cost to hold the vote during the last municipal election.
A committee will hear an update on Calgary’s bid exploration process next Wednesday and at least one councillor has indicated he’ll renew calls for the city to put the question to Calgarians.
“It’s absolutely worth the money,” said Farkas. “There’s some costs to hold a plebiscite, but I don’t think we can afford not to.
“For the Games to be a success, it needs to be a driven by a groundswell of support, just like in ’88, rather than by just the political elite, and it’s definitely well past time to consult Calgarians.”
This is the latest attempt from Olympic-bid skeptics on council to get agreement on putting a question to Calgarians.
Chu attempted last July to secure council support for an Olympic plebiscite to be folded into the October municipal election. At the time, the cost for holding a plebiscite during the election was around $390,000.
Farkas also said he has a proposal in the works to get around the fact that municipal plebiscites are nonbinding.
“I would be proposing a plebiscite, but I’ll also be amending the councillor code of conduct to require councillors to view plebiscites as binding,” Farkas said. “The only plausible and legitimate way to proceed with a bid at this point is to ensure we have the full and outright endorsement of Calgarians.”
Coun. Ward Sutherland said he’d like to see a plebiscite but wants more clarity around costs for hosting the Games before putting it to Calgarians.
“Until we know what the deal is and what it would really cost, I think we’d be premature to do it,” Sutherland said.
He also said he’d respect the will of Calgarians if there were to be a plebiscite.
“A plebiscite isn’t binding legally, but for me it is. I believe in democracy and if after people have been given the proper information, if that’s what it is, I would honour that.”