NENSHI FIRES BROADSIDES OVER BID LOSS
Federal and provincial governments dithered over Olympic file, mayor says
When he’s really angry, Mayor Naheed Nenshi puts on a huge, sarcastic grin.
By that measure, he was furious on Tuesday.
Nenshi blasted both the federal and provincial governments, and the responsible ministers, for treating Calgary’s Olympic bid like some small irritant on a distant planet.
Without doubt, a major reason for the fatal credibility gap of the 2026 bid was this toxic mix of provincial indifference and federal incompetence.
“Both the federal and provincial governments dithered,” the mayor said in a media scrum.
“I think both of them could not be either fish nor fowl on this.
“And, look, if you’re the province and you’re making a $700-million commitment to this, own it. Talk about why it’s a good thing, instead of writing a press release in the middle of the night on a Friday, and then disappearing.”
It isn’t clear what episode he was talking about there, but it could be any of several with both the province and Ottawa, including federal Sport Minister Kirsty Duncan’s cancellation of a crucial Calgary news conference.
Nenshi said: “If you’re the minister of sport, provincially or federally, and you fumble the Olympics, you probably should be held accountable for that.
“For the federal government in particular, they frankly could have announced their funding in the spring, they could have announced it in June, and for them to wait until two weeks before the plebiscite, and not even to have a cabinet discussion until then, as I understand it, I just don’t get it.”
Nenshi said after the news conference that he’d spoken to Duncan about three times since she was sworn in as sport minister in January. She took over from Calgarian Kent Hehr, who was shuffled out after allegations of sexual misconduct.
That may have been a crucial loss for the Yes side.
According to the mayor, he was never able to get straight answers from Duncan. When she sent a letter in September saying the matched funding formula must apply, “other officials had said not to worry about it, other arrangements would be made,” the mayor said in an interview.
He added that even at the February Olympics in South Korea, where you’d think Calgary’s bid would be a subject of interest, he couldn’t get a substantive conversation going with Duncan.
The back story from some involved in all this is that Duncan has been very engaged, but couldn’t act because the city would never provide its official number, so that Ottawa had nothing to match. They point out that even by plebiscite day, the city still hadn’t officially signed.
Meanwhile, talks between the province and Ottawa sometimes turned bitter over such matters as timing of announcements. There may have been festering grievances over the Trans Mountain pipeline. None of that helped the bid.
The confusion led at the last minute to a wild rush to put together a funding formula.
There were midnight phone conferences and oddball solutions such as matched federal funding for the $200-million insurance policy.
City manager Jeff Fielding, at the tense council meeting that followed, said he didn’t even know if the city could buy insurance to cover that amount.
Such impressions proved lethal. There were too many uncertainties born of procrastination, provincial shunning, and divisions on city council.
Nenshi revealed that since Tuesday’s vote he hasn’t had one message or phone call from any senior provincial or federal politician.
Not Ricardo Miranda, the provincial culture and tourism minister, not Duncan, and certainly not Premier Rachel Notley or Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Miranda was a bit player throughout. The talks with Ottawa were handled mainly by Notley’s chief of staff, Nathan Rotman.
After Miranda made a few tepid comments in Calgary on Wednesday, calling the vote a success because people had their say, Nenshi said sarcastically: “Given this is the first I’ve heard from minister Miranda on any file in months, that is helpful.”
Later, Miranda said in a statement:
Talk about why it’s a good thing, instead of writing a press release in the middle of the night on a Friday.
“I understand Mayor Nenshi is disappointed in Tuesday’s plebiscite result and looking for someone to blame.”
There was, of course, a funding framework signed by Notley, Duncan and Calgary 2026 BidCo officials. It wasn’t exactly the Magna Carta, but it was a deal of sorts. You’d expect at least an effort at collegial behaviour after the voters said No.
But the province and the feds just continued their long, silent fade away from the bid.
Many people will say (indeed, they’re already saying it) that Miranda is right, Nenshi is just looking for a scapegoat.
But it’s clear that the efforts of Calgary’s bid corporation to put together a credible, winning package were in some ways betrayed. The betrayals came from afar, but also from within city council, including members who had voted funds for the whole process.