Nenshi: We won’t pay more than Alberta for 2026
Mayor downplays concerns over province’s offer for Olympic bid
Mayor Naheed Nenshi says there’s a limit to the financial burden the city is willing to bear when it comes to hosting the Olympics and $800 million is “too high.”
On the heels of the NDP government’s announcement that it will contribute $700 million toward the cost of Calgary hosting the 2026 Winter Games, Nenshi said the city shouldn’t be expected to pay more than the province.
“I think if you’re looking at the city putting in $800 million, (which is) more than the province, that is not a good deal,” said Nenshi on Monday.
But the mayor also downplayed concerns that the province’s contribution is too low — countering previous cost projections advanced by bid proponents and pro-bid councillors suggesting the province’s share should be between 30 and 35 per cent of the overall cost, or about $1 billion.
“The province’s number was well within the range that we had discussed,” said Nenshi, who declined to clarify exactly how much the city had sought from the province during negotiations.
Calgary 2026’s current plan pegs the total public investment required to host the Games at $3 billion.
Finance Minister Joe Ceci said Friday that some conditions must be met for provincial funding to go to the Games. The province’s money is contingent upon Calgarians voting in favour of hosting the Olympics in the Nov. 13 plebiscite.
Ceci also said the province wouldn’t be willing to guarantee against cost overruns, as B.C. did for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics.
Asked Monday if the city would be willing to financially guarantee the Games, Nenshi shot down the idea.
“That would not be an acceptable outcome for the city,” Nenshi said, adding that there are other options, including insurance, budget contingencies or further discussions with the International Olympic Committee.
“But this is a critical question that we’ve got to answer and Calgarians need to know.”
The province also said it will require that the bid corporation, Calgary 2026, be subject to provincial transparency and freedom of information laws, “or other equivalent rules or regulations” — a condition that provoked a curt response from the mayor Monday.
“It’s totally fine and it is being done right now, but sometimes people like to throw things in a press release to make themselves look good,” he said.
With the province’s financial commitment to the Games now public, the focus has turned to the remaining levels of government.
Ottawa’s financial contribution has not yet been announced, but, according to its policy on hosting international sporting events, it will cover as much as 50 per cent of the public portion of the bill.
The City of Calgary’s contribution has not yet been made public.
The mayor said the federal government’s number will come within the next week, with the city’s to follow shortly after, which will leave about three weeks to disseminate the cost-sharing information before the plebiscite.
Nenshi said the plebiscite campaign period is similar to a regular election.
“I’ve been in a lot of election campaigns and a lot can happen in three weeks,” he said. “This election campaign feels a little bit stalled at the starting line because people are waiting for these numbers in order to really be able to make their decisions.
“So I’m very hopeful that we’ll have those numbers as soon as possible and we’ve been pushing hard (to) get there.”