OTTAWA OFFERS $1.75B
Games money beats expectations
The federal Liberal cabinet has authorized Olympic spending of up to $1.75 billion for Calgary’s 2026 Olympics, if the city bids for the Games and wins.
The amount was voted on this week, according to a federal source authorized to speak on the matter and interviewed by Postmedia on Friday.
The $1.75 billion is much higher than most people involved in the bid expected from Ottawa.
Some officials involved with the file thought the feds would specifically match the announced provincial and city pledges combined, which won’t likely top $1.2 billion. In that case, the three-party total would have fallen far short of the $3 billion in public funding said to be ideal for the Games.
However, Ottawa now offers the incentive of a much bigger cash envelope on two conditions.
First, the province and city would have to raise their spending to get the matching money up to $1.75 billion.
So far, the Notley government has pledged $700 million. The city contribution is expected to be less than $500 million.
That total — somewhere around $1.2 billion — is less than necessary to secure matching for the $3-billion target.
Now both the province and city hall have to decide whether to up their ante to take advantage of the federal offer that could actually enable total public spending above $3 billion.
The second condition, the federal source said, is that the $1.75-billion commitment will be cancelled if Calgarians reject the Olympic bid in the plebiscite set for Nov. 13.
Ottawa has always seemed keener than the province on Calgary’s bid. This cabinet decision is clearly designed to show enthusiasm for the Games while pressuring the other parties to step up.
The NDP says $700 million is the maximum it can possibly manage. Now Ottawa is putting the Notley government in the position of appearing to kill the bid if it doesn’t come up with more.
An announcement is expected next week.
By then, federal authorities hope, the parties will agree on a total number that works for Calgary’s bid. But the provincial response was swift and negative on Friday.
“We don’t plan to increase or change the financial commitment we’ve made,” said Cheryl Oates, spokeswoman for Notley.
In a statement to Postmedia, Calgary’s mayor said he was “surprised” by the report.
“We were surprised to see this number reported for a proposed federal contribution to a potential Calgary 2026 Olympics as negotiations are still underway,” Mayor Naheed Nenshi said.
Coun. Ray Jones confirmed that city council has not been notified of any official commitment from the federal government, but called the reported number a “very encouraging sign.”
“It’s good news, but it’s still dependent upon the plebiscite,” Jones said.
He also said that if it’s up to the city to come up with the lion’s share of funds to match the federal number, the bid is still in jeopardy.
“The city’s got a limited amount of money to spend,” Jones said. “If we’re short a billion to match the feds, it won’t be coming from us because we just don’t have it.”
Jason Ribeiro, organizer with the group Yes Calgary 2026, called the federal numbers positive news but added, “We have learned to wait until official announcements to comment.”
Franco Terrazzano, Alberta director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said the group is “against the federal government’s use of tax dollars to fund the Olympics.” Terrazzano said the federal government is “broke” and that the average Canadian’s share of federal debt is close to $18,000.
He added that Calgarians are still playing the “wait-and-see game.”
“There’s still a lot of questions marks,” he said.
But Calgary 2026 Bid Corp. chairman Scott Hutcheson remains optimistic.
“Calgary 2026 has three great partners,” he said. “We are working hard on negotiating a deal that is good for Canada, the province and the community of Calgary.
“We will be in a position to speak about that next week.”
We are working hard on negotiating a deal that is good for Canada, the province and the community of Calgary.