Nenshi lashes ‘fumble’ of Games bid
Frustrated Mayor Says Province, Ottawa Dropped Ball On Olympics
Mayor Naheed Nenshi blasted the provincial government and federal minister of sport Thursday for their handling of the city’s 2026 Olympic bid, suggesting they should be held “accountable” for dropping the ball.
Nenshi made the comments following a meeting of council’s intergovernmental affairs committee where he said council must develop an “advocacy strategy” to get other governments engaged on the pressing economic challenges faced by Calgary.
The mayor said he found it strange that Calgary ’s key financial partners in the Winter Games bid have not contacted the city since Calgarians voted it down Tuesday.
“I am more than a little bit surprised that since the plebiscite results, I have not heard from any politicians at the provincial and federal level. I find that odd,” Nenshi said.
Nenshi admitted he was frustrated with how federal Sport Minister Kirsty Duncan and Alberta Culture and Tourism Minister Ricardo Miranda handled the file.
“If you’re the minister of sport provincially or federally and you fumble the Olympics, you probably should be held accountable for that,” Nenshi said.
“If I’m the minister of sport and I’ve got the opportunity to get the Olympics and I fail in doing that, what else do I do? What is the most important thing I could possibly do?”
He was particularly angry about how the federal government’s financial contribution to the Games emerged, just days ahead of a council vote to kill the bid.
He said Ottawa could have convened cabinet and announced its financial commitment to the Games in the spring.
“For them to wait until two weeks before the plebiscite and not even have a cabinet discussion on it until then, as I understand it, I just don’t get it,” said Nenshi.
“If I had a city administrator who was in charge of such a big file and did not keep us appraised and missed deadline after deadline on it, I would question whether that person could handle their files.”
Later, while standing near provincial Transportation Minister Brian Mason to launch the MAX bus rapid transit network on Thursday, Nenshi doubled down on his earlier comments, suggesting the province didn’t do enough to explain why it was prepared to financially back the bid.
“If you’re going to make a $700-million commitment to something — that’s a big meaningful commitment — you should own it. And you should get out there and say ‘This is why we’re willing to put that money in and this is what’s important,’ ” Nenshi said.
“And whether you’re the provincial or federal government, you shouldn’t leave your other partner to carry all the water on this.”
Miranda responded late Thursday afternoon with a strongly worded statement of his own, arguing the Alberta government followed through on its promise to “publicize details” of the province’s support 30 days before the plebiscite.
“I understand Mayor Nenshi is disappointed in Tuesday’s plebiscite result and looking for someone to blame. We, however, have believed from the very start that Calgarians needed to have their say on whether to proceed with anOlympicbid.Amajorityultimately voted against the bid,” Miranda said.
“It is my belief that the process on whether to proceed on the Olympics should have never been driven by politics or politicians. It should have been decided by Calgarians and the plebiscite provided the opportunity for their voices to be heard.
“We would like to thank all our partners for their work on this file and are not looking to place blame for what was ultimately a fair and transparent process.”
The federal minister of sport’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.