Calgary decides on Olympic bid question for fall plebiscite

Voters will be asked whether they are ‘for’ or ‘against’ city hosting the Games

Calgary city council has chosen a question and Calgarians could go to the polls Nov. 13 to vote on a potential bid for the 2026 Olympics.

Council voted unanimously in favour of putting a simple question to voters about whether they support the city bidding for the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

Calgarians will decide whether to mark an X next to “I am for Calgary hosting ” or “I am against Calgary hosting.”

City clerk Laura Kennedy said the wording differs slightly from the yes/no question that Vancouverites were asked in their 2003 Olympic plebiscite.

“The wording of this is very clear. It is unbiased,” said Kennedy.

“If we were to put ‘yes’ or ‘no’ in front of that, we could be leading the vote to a positive outcome and we want to avoid that.”

Council was united in endorsing the question on Tuesday. Only Coun. Jeromy Farkas voted against the date. Coun. Joe Magliocca was absent.

Council could still vote in September against pursuing a bid, which would result in a cancellation of the plebiscite — but Olympic committee chairman Evan Woolley described the decision to set a date as “definitive.”

“It’s a huge step for us,” Woolley said.

“We’ve had a lot of moving timelines, and this is a definitive time and place and question for Calgarians to make that decision when it comes to November.”

Tuesday ’s decision came following a lengthy closed-door meeting of council.

Council emerged from the incamera session to duke it out on a controversial notice of motion seeking to make the Olympic bid corporation, Calgary 2026, subject to Alberta’s freedom of information laws.

Coun. Sean Chu urged his fellow councillors to ignore arguments proffered by city lawyers that current legislation prevents Calgary 2026 from being subject to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, and vote to find an alternative.

“After all, this is a government-guided body that is funded by public money. There must be something that can be done,” Chu

The wording of this is very clear. It is unbiased. If we were to put ‘yes’ or ‘no’ in front of that, we could be leading the vote to a positive outcome and we want to avoid that.

said.

Council ultimately voted 8-6 to send the entire matter back to the city’s law department for further study.

City solicitor Glenda Cole told councillors Tuesday that they can be assured that the chairman of Calgary’s bid corporation is committed to being as transparent as possible with details of the bid.

Earlier Tuesday, when asked for salary details for Calgary 2026’s new CEO, Mary Moran, bid corporation chair Scott Hutcheson declined to provide a number.

“I don’t think so. I don’t think it’s necessary information (for) the public, but we can look at that.”

Council has now broken for the summer break but could be recalled for a special meeting on the Olympics on Aug. 27.