City and Ottawa work to salvage bid agreement

Letter to PM threatens to cancel Olympic plans if deal not reached

With Calgary’s 2026 Olympic bid in doubt following Mayor Naheed Nenshi’s ultimatum to Ottawa over funding, city and government negotiators worked until Sunday afternoon trying to salvage an agreement.

In a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau obtained by Postmedia, the mayor warned he would recommend city council scrap the bid unless the federal government improved its contribution to a proposed cost-sharing agreement.

“If we cannot come to a mutually agreeable conclusion by Monday, I deeply regret that I will have no choice but to request that Calgary city council cancel the (Nov. 13) plebiscite and thus terminate our bid; an outcome none of us want,” he wrote.

Postmedia first reported Friday the Trudeau government had approved Olympic spending of as much as $1.75 billion, in 2026 dollars, in matching funds for a Calgary bid.

To receive the full amount, the province and city would have to raise their combined spending to the equivalent of $1.5 billion in 2018 dollars.

The federal funds are also conditional on Calgarians approving the bid in the plebiscite.

As of Sunday evening, a deal was not imminent.

Mount Royal University political scientist Duane Bratt described the bid negotiation process as “a fiasco,” with rifts emerging between governments and within city council.

A big-ticket project involving multiple orders of government normally involves negotiations behind the scenes, followed by a major photo opportunity and announcement, he said Sunday.

“This, you’ve got the province sending out a number a couple of weeks ago, then you’ve got the feds sending out a different number, and all very secretively, too. And then you’ve got Nenshi admitting in a publicly leaked but private letter to the prime minister what Calgary’s contribution is,” Bratt said.

“Where is the transparency among the three orders of government on this project?”

Some city councillors expressed surprise after Nenshi’s letter became public, saying they learned about the funding details through the media.

“I had no idea he was going to send a letter like that and this kind of crucial letter to potentially cancel the Olympics . ... The key is that he should have asked us, at least give us a warning,” said Coun. Sean Chu.

“He gave the warning late (Saturday) night, about six to seven hours late. He sent us the letter to say this is strictly confidential, he can’t talk about it.”

Coun. Ward Sutherland said councillors are expecting to learn an outcome Monday.

“If it doesn’t meet the numbers then, (the bid corporation), they ’re actually authorized to just say there’s no further bid, it’s done,” he said.

Sutherland said the Olympic file “wasn’t handled properly from the beginning, a long time ago.”

“It’s kind of a sad situation that I think no one is happy about it,” he said. “It’s a very divisive thing. It has been for a lot of people when I talk to them, and it hasn’t been a positive thing for Calgary at all, unfortunately.”

An email sent with Nenshi’s letter from Premier Rachel Notley’s chief of staff, Nathan Rotman, indicated — for the first time — that Calgary’s contribution to the $3-billion bid would be $370 million. The Alberta government has said it will contribute no more than $700 million.

In his letter, Nenshi said the city is seeking about $1.9 billion from Ottawa, including a guarantee on security cost overruns. He also stated the city ’s inability to match funding has been relayed to federal officials many times during the past two years.

Speaking to reporters at the NDP convention in Edmonton, Premier Rachel Notley said the province’s approach to the Olympics has followed three principles.

“The first is that the people of Calgary need a chance to vote on it in terms of a plebiscite,” Notley said.

“Second, in engaging in that vote, they need to have transparency so they know what it is they’re voting on.

“And third, that the Government of Alberta will support Calgary if ... they select yes (through the plebiscite) and that we’ll do it in a fiscally prudent manner, and that’s reflected by the number that we put out.”

Despite the weekend developments, some supporters of the bid said they were encouraged by the funding details that emerged Friday.

“We have been consistent — there has to be an acceptable deal out there,” said Jason Ribeiro, organizer with the group Yes Calgary 2026.

“Personally, I am very encouraged, but I just wish the deal was completed so Calgarians could have the full information for Nov. 13.”

James Millar, communications director with Calgary 2026, said in a statement Friday the bid corporation “is pleased with the keenness of the federal government on the project.”

“We are still in negotiations and can’t comment further,” Millar said.

But Erin Waite with No Calgary Olympics said the group sees the latest developments as confirmation that “it doesn’t sound like anyone can afford this.”

“It’s way too little information and too confusing information, too late, to help Calgarians ahead of a plebiscite,” Waite said.

“It seems to be a real stretch to imagine that we can go forward with this Olympic bid.”

Coun. Jeromy Farkas said he thinks it’s time to pull the plug on a bid.

“It’s obvious that we don’t have a grip on this,” he said.

“We’ve been asking for Calgarians to be given more information and now that that’s emerged at the very last minute, in my mind this info has made clear that it’s not just a bad deal for Calgarians, it’s a doomsday deal. The funding is just not in place to be able to proceed with it.”

The city’s 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games assessment committee is to meet Tuesday. City council’s next meeting is Wednesday.