By The Canadian Press

Calgary 2026 Winter Games bid on its last legs, council to vote on killing it

Oct 30, 2018 | 3:12 PM

CALGARY —  A Calgary bid for the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games appears virtually dead.

City council will vote Wednesday (Oct 31) on motions to kill the bid and cancel a Nov. 13 plebiscite on whether it should proceed.

The motions were passed Tuesday in a meeting of Calgary’s Olympic assessment committee.

“We do not have acceptable agreements in place with the other orders of government,” said Coun. Evan Woolley, who chaired the assessment committee.

“The clock has run out. I think it’s time we move on.”

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The bid corporation Calgary 2026 estimated the cost of hosting the games at $5.2 billion. Calgary 2026 asked for a combined $3 billion contribution from the federal and provincial governments and the city.

 The federal government committed $1.5 billion, which is half the $3 billion the city, province and feds were asked to contribute by the bid corporation Calgary 2026, but expressed it in 2026 dollars at $1.75 billion.

The sticking point is that feds want the city and provincial government to match that figure. The Alberta government has said it will contribute $700 million and not a penny more.

Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi has said the city shouldn’t pay more than the province, so the three levels of governments were running short of the $3-billion ask two weeks before the plebiscite.

Mount Royal University political science instructor Lori Williams said Monday that the funding uncertainty leaves city council with little choice