Notley guarded about support for Olympic bid

Ottawa also wants to see financial benefits ‘before moving forward’

Premier Rachel Notley says her NDP government needs to know if there would be real benefits for Albertans before deciding whether to support a potential Calgary bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Earlier this week, Calgary city council approved allocating a further $1 million toward exploring an Olympic bid, with an additional $1 million contingent on the provincial and federal governments quickly coming on board. Mayor Naheed Nenshi said Monday the decision to go after the Games will require the approval of three levels of government, with the city needing a decision from Edmonton and Ottawa by the end of the year.

Notley, who spoke at the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association annual convention Thursday, told reporters she hadn’t yet had a chance to “go through the pros and cons on the matter.”

“What we’re planning on doing is reviewing all the information on it,” the premier said at the Telus Convention Centre.

“There’s a lot of documentation and a lot of conflicting opinion, and I think that we owe it to taxpayers to think very hard about the economic benefits, to make sure they are significant and real.”

Notley said she is in regular talks with Nenshi, who on Thursday met with officials from the Canadian Olympic Committee.

The mayor’s office declined to comment on Notley’s remarks.

The Calgary Bid Exploration Committee estimates hosting the Olympics would carry a $4.6-billion price tag, offset by revenue of $2.2 billion plus associated economic benefits.

That would require $1.2 billion in funding from the federal government and another $1.2 billion from the province and other potential funders.

Council moved ahead on the Olympic bid this week only after a controversy arose over internal reports questioning the economic spinoff from hosting the Games, as Calgary had done previously in 1988.

Studies commissioned by the bid exploration committee from Deloitte and the Conference Board of Canada suggested a significant boost to GDP from hosting the Games.

But two reports penned for the city — by University of Calgary professor Trevor Tombe and West Virginia University professor Brad Humphreys — poked holes in those studies.

Councillors questioned why the internal reports had not been made public and why they only heard of their existence now.

Provincial support for an Olympic bid could be controversial for the NDP government, which is grappling with a deficit that exceeds $10 billion and the aftermath of a harsh two-year recession.

A spokesman for the United Conservative Party caucus said the party had no position on the issue at this point, but UCP Leader Jason Kenney said earlier this year he did not support a Calgary Olympic bid because it would be too expensive given the state of the province’s finances.

The federal Liberal government, meanwhile, is also noncommittal around a potential Calgary attempt to secure the Olympics.

In a statement, federal Sport Minister — and Calgary Centre MP — Kent Hehr said Ottawa is always happy to see communities interested in hosting international competitions.

“Our government looks forward to reviewing the business case put forward by the City of Calgary, as we need to first review the numbers before moving forward in a responsible manner.”