Canmore seeks hike in debt limit for Games costs

Funding would also pay for pedestrian overpass and flood mitigation

Canmore’s council unanimously passed a motion last week asking the province to allow the town to extend its debt limit to cover the costs of a $116-million athletes’ village if Calgary wins the 2026 Winter Olympics.

The funding would help cover the costs of other priorities, such as the expansion of affordable housing, flood mitigation projects and construction of a pedestrian overpass, town administration told councillors.

Speaking in favour of the motion at the council meeting, Canmore Mayor John Borrowman said the potential for legacy infrastructure, if Canmore plays a part in hosting the 2026 Games, is too intriguing to ignore.

“Probably the most important legacy, in my mind, from being a host, it would be to provide this housing project to meet the needs of our community,” Borrowman said. “In order to deliver on that need, this request to the minister is one more step that we have to take to get to a final decision.”

The town’s debt limit for this year stands at $87 million, a figure that’s expected to reach $116 million by 2024.

By that year, the town is projected to have anywhere from $42 million to $59 million remaining in potential borrowing, which falls short of the $66 million it would need to fund the village.

Canmore could be a significant player if Calgary chooses to bid on the 2026 Games.

Among other roles, it would host biathlon and cross-country skiing competitions, while also acting as the developer and host of an athletes’ village for competitors and officials involved in those events.

The athletes’ village would be built on land in the Palliser neighbourhood, owned by the Canmore Community Housing Corp., and would include 1,200 beds in 242 units for the Games.

Post- Olympics, 218 of those units would be repurposed for affordable housing, to be owned and managed by the housing corporation, according to a plan presented to council by Canmore’s administration last week. The remaining 24 units would be managed by WinSport, or an equivalent organization, for athletes and coaches to use while training in the area.

The $116-million cost of delivering the village would be financed by the town and a host corporation funded by other levels of government.

The town would kick in about $10 million in public funds to the project. About 90 per cent of the units built — those that would later be used for affordable housing — would cost $64 million, which the town would recoup once the units are sold to the housing corporation after the Olympics.

That leaves about $42 million from other levels of government that would go toward financing the village through the host corporation’s contribution.

Councillors also heard that a combined $700,000, included in contributions from both the town and the host corporation, would help pay flood-mitigation costs. Close to $1.9 million combined would also help finance a pedestrian overpass in the mountain town.

The motion passed 7-0.

“It allows us to continue and to realize the potential for housing that we otherwise could not anticipate doing for a much longer period of time,” said Coun. Esme Comfort.

Coun. Joanna McCallum said she “reluctantly” supported the motion, noting that it would take a long time for the town to realize some of the benefits of contributing to a potential Olympic bid.

“I’m worried about how this is going to play out in the public,” she said. “I know that we’re grateful to have this opportunity but, at the same time, housing is a provincial responsibility . ... In 2016 we sent $54 million alone in taxation benefits to the provincial government, and we’re going to have to wait six or seven years to see this and we’re going to have to take all the liability on it.”

The Calgary 2026 bid corporation is hosting a town hall in Canmore at the Nordic Centre Day Lodge on Oct. 28, where residents can learn more about the potential bid.

The town will also hold a public hearing on Oct. 30 at 5 p.m. to receive input on whether it is “prudent” for Canmore to participate in a Calgary bid, should it move forward.

Canmore’s council is scheduled to decide on Nov. 6 whether it will be part of a Calgary 2026 bid.