Is another Olympics in the future for the city of Calgary?

The last time the Canadian city of Calgary hosted the Olympics was in 1988, but the Alberta Minister of Culture, Ron Orr, shared this week that proposals for a future bid are in the works.

“We have engaged in some initial processes and we’re exploring it. There is a small group of individuals who have put together some proposals for our future opportunity, and we will certainly be looking at those as they come in … so yes, it’s possible.”

The conversation about an Olympic bid came during a funding announcement for WinSport. WinSport CEO Barry Heck said the organization is not involved in any discussions within the ongoing Olympic bid process.

Having hosted the Games before, Calgary is pretty well set up to be able to do so again, but would likely need to update some of the venues. The nation is still reaping the benefits of the 1988 Games, so economically, it would be of great benefit to win a bid in the future.

The Calgary Chamber of Commerce isn’t involved in discussions to put together a bid, but president and CEO Deborah Yedlin would be happy to show support for it, “We will support an Olympic bid because it’s something that’s important for the city, we need a renewal of our sports infrastructure,” said Yedlin.

Four years ago, a proposed city bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics was canceled after Calgarians rejected it in a plebiscite. Mayor Jyoti Gondek, who was a city councilor in 2018, opposed the 2026 bid and called it “destructive” for Calgary, failing to see how it could benefit the city.

Gondek was in a meeting when she heard about Minister Orr’s comments regarding a bid through text message. Gondek said, “I don’t know what Minister Orr is talking about. I’m looking forward to the provincial government engaging with us as the so-called site.” The quip seems as though Gondek’s position on a bid has not changed since 2018, but it was not revealed how the city and other council members may feel.

Will the Mayor and the Minister be able to reach an agreement and put a bid on the table? At this moment, that seems unlikely, but perhaps with a strong proposal, Gondek will recognize the financial gain the city will see if a bid is accepted down the road.