The Town of Canmore has decided to continue along the path towards a bid for the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games by agreeing to take the seat it’s been offered at the table of the bid corporation (BidCo).
“We have constantly been told we are a key partner,” said Canmore chief administrative officer Lisa de Soto. “If you look at the formation of the BidCo, no other community other than the City of Calgary is proposed to have a director appointed to the BidCo.”
“Canmore, as a mountain host community, is really important.”
READ MORE: Canmore to enter second round of public consultation on Olympic bid
In a 6-1 vote, council agreed to move forward with joining the BidCo, a decision that does not cost the community any money at this point.
The lone holdout in signing off on the town’s involvement was Councillor Joanna McCallum, who told her colleagues she was disappointed with the level of information that had flowed from the City of Calgary to the resort community so far.
“A lot of the questions and the information that I was looking for that would be provided within this time period already… hasn’t been. So this is my off-ramp point.”
READ MORE: Canmore to spend $200K on studying town’s role in potential Calgary Olympic bid
In her presentation to council, de Soto admitted communication from Calgary hasn’t been easy to come by since the town agreed late in 2017 to join the city in its exploratory process.
“Participation in the BidCo and appointment of a senior representative in the town will ensure that we have access to timely and up-to-date information which has been a struggle to date, in all honesty,” de Soto said.
Watch below: Political analyst David Taras joins Global News Morning Calgary to discuss Calgary’s possible 2026 Winter Olympics bid and whether or not it should be decided by plebiscite.
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