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City-wide reaction to Calgary's vote to host the 2026 Olympics

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Tuesday’s Olympic plebiscite resulted in a variety of comments and reaction. This is a sampling of those comments.

“It was never about the few, but rather the many; about renewal and opening doors and real hope for future generations. It all made sense, and it still makes sense. The key now is to take some time to consider how we can build on the partnerships forged, the possibilities and the ideas that were tabled as part of this bid.”

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Mary Moran, CEO Calgary 2026

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“Ultimately, the people have spoken. The people have spoken in big numbers and this is very clear direction for where we go from here.”

Mayor Naheed Nenshi

“This decision was never an easy one. Calgarians were provided the information they needed to make an informed choice and we respect their decision.”

Tourism and Culture Minister Ricardo Miranda

“I think it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, well maybe twice for me. But it’s special, man. The Olympics is one of the best exhibitions of human ability in the world.”

Calvin Lee, Calgary resident

“I just don’t understand how you cannot see the positives that come into this influx of money. None of this money would be coming our way if the Games weren’t held here. So to me I kind of just say let’s do it.”

Calgary 2026 volunteer Genevieve McLean

I think one of the concerns people had going into the plebiscite is what happened if we had a tight result with low voter turnout. That’s not the case here. This was a very decisive victory for the no side with a very high voter turnout. 40 per cent voter turn out, that’s beaten municipal elections let alone a stand alone plebiscite. So clearly Calgarians were engaged in the process and they came out and voted. It’s also a sense of David beating Goliath. The yes side had the mayor, the yes side had some of the senior business leaders and all of the Olympic athletes, and a million dollar advertising budget. The no side had some coffee clubs and yet they were able to knock them out.

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Duane Bratt, political scientist at Mount Royal University

“Calgarians have had their say and decided to pass on an Olympic bid at this time. However, both ‘yes’ and ‘no’ supporters have made clear in their debates that investment in sports is important regardless of the outcome of this plebiscite. Through this Olympic bid exploration process there has been substantial work completed regarding the state of sport in Calgary. These efforts will be not wasted.”

Murray Sigler, CEO of Sport Calgary

“The people of Calgary have spoken and today indicated that they do not support a 2026 Olympic bid. We have said all along that it is the people who should decide whether or not this bid moves forward and we accept this democratic result. With today’s vote, Calgarians told governments to focus on key priorities, and to keep taxes down. Calgarians understand this and have decided to get our fiscal house in order before embarking on such a large and expensive undertaking. 

“Our thanks go out to all the volunteers who made today’s vote possible and to Calgarians for making their voices heard. In particular, I would like to thank Councillors Jeromy Farkas and Sean Chu for having led the fight for a plebiscite, and commend Premier Notley for having insisted on it as a condition of provincial support.

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“I also want to thank the many enthusiastic volunteers who have put so much effort into the 2026 bid. They believe in Calgary (as) a world class city, and saw this bid as an opportunity to energize our city in the decade ahead.  We must now all work together in developing the Calgary of the future.”

UCP Leader Jason Kenney

Calgary 2026 CEO, Mary Moran was joined by Norm O’Reilly, assistant dean, University of Guelph and Trevor Tombe, associate professor, the University of Calgary to discuss the economic costs and benefits of hosting the games during the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic symposium in the Leacock Theatre at Mount Royal University on Thursday, November 1, 2018. Al Charest/Postmedia
Calgary 2026 CEO, Mary Moran was joined by Norm O’Reilly, assistant dean, University of Guelph and Trevor Tombe, associate professor, the University of Calgary to discuss the economic costs and benefits of hosting the games during the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic symposium in the Leacock Theatre at Mount Royal University on Thursday, November 1, 2018. Al Charest/Postmedia Al Charest/Postmedia

“The Games have been promoted as a solution to Calgary’s current economic challenges and that’s a little bit of a stretch. But given that people do have strong concern around economic recovery, people need to think about how we can solve our provincial budget challenges and I hope that whether the vote is a yes or a no, we can get started on those conversations right away.”

Trevor Tombe, associate professor of economics at the University of Calgary

The losers win, what an incredibly sad day for my City. An opportunity missed.

Calgary businessman George Bookman, via Twitter

“I didn’t feel well informed going in (to vote). I don’t think either side was being honest with the numbers. It’s just a bad time for the city to get involved with this because of the economics around it. The last Olympics it was the right time, Calgary had lots of money and there was a lot of corporate backing. It was just a better economical time.”

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Darcy Derochet, voter

Mary Moran, Calgary 2026 CEO and chair Scott Hutcheson react at the Yes party to the news that Calgarians have voted against a 2026 Olympic bid on Tuesday November 13, 2018. Leah Hennel/Postmedia,
Mary Moran, Calgary 2026 CEO and chair Scott Hutcheson react at the Yes party to the news that Calgarians have voted against a 2026 Olympic bid on Tuesday November 13, 2018. Leah Hennel/Postmedia, Photo by Leah Hennel/Postmedia

“We will respect the community’s wishes and we will make sure that the community understands lessons learned and we will hope that from this process we can create a better Calgary by understanding the spirit that we’ve gone through and the thinking that we’ve gone through and the process of each level of government that we’ve gone through and how do we make that different the next time to make the process even better.”

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Scott Hutcheson, chair of Calgary 2026 Bid Corp.

“Thank you to @YYCGames2026 for the commitment & professionalism demonstrated throughout this process. You have fulfilled your mandate in difficult times. Tonight is not about winners & losers — we need to find a collaborative path forward.”

Calgary Coun. Jyoti Gondek, via Twitter

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“I think (the bid) was a good investment regardless of if we win or not because it gave us some very solid footing to build great Games if we do get it. You have to do your due diligence to really make an informed decision, and that’s what we’ve done.”

Coun. Shane Keating

“There are members of council who have raised very legitimate and very important criticisms of the process. I think that their arguments and concerns are entirely valid and I hope the city and council recognize that there were errors made and the process wasn’t transparent enough.”

Kelly Sundberg, associate professor of economics, justice and policy at Mount Royal University

Olympic medalist Catriona Le May Doan reacts to the results at the Yes party to the news that Calgarians have voted against a 2026 Olympic bid on Tuesday November 13, 2018. Leah Hennel/Postmedia,
Olympic medalist Catriona Le May Doan reacts to the results at the Yes party to the news that Calgarians have voted against a 2026 Olympic bid on Tuesday November 13, 2018. Leah Hennel/Postmedia, Leah Hennel/Postmedia

“We are an Olympic city. It would be great to say we’re also a Paralympic city. We already have 85 per cent of the infrastructure. It’s the right time. Our community and our province need this stimulus. It’s not just about sport it’s about we have the legacy and we need to grow on that legacy and keep it alive for another 30 years.”

Calgary 2026 board member Catriona Le May Doan

“I think a lot of people who are watching this felt like there was a really low level of engagement with the Olympics issue given the costs. And that was true up until fairly recently. When the bid had that near-death experience in council it seemed like that was an important moment where people really did start paying attention.”

Jack Lucas, assistant professor of political science at the University of Calgary

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