Before Calgarians voted on whether to pursue a bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics, politicians on both sides of the debate engaged in some last-minute campaigning.
Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi, one of the strongest supporters of the 鈥淵es鈥� vote, has been part of a robocall campaign with the lobby group 鈥淵es Calgary 2026,鈥� urging residents to get to the polls and vote positively for the Games.
鈥淭he Yes committee, privately funded, asked me to be their voice on the last day,鈥� Nenshi said in a phone interview with CTV Calgary. 鈥淕iven that my position is well known, I was happy to do it."
On the other side, Calgary city councillors Joe Magliocca and Jeromy Farkas personally emailed their constituents to explain why they plan on voting 鈥淣o鈥� during Tuesday鈥檚 plebiscite.
鈥淭he focus should always (be) just getting Calgarians to participate regardless of your opinion,鈥� Farkas said. 鈥淚鈥檓 telling Calgarians: 鈥榊ou don't have to agree with my perspective, but get out, be heard.鈥欌��
Both Duane Bratt, a political scientist at Mount Royal University, and Elections Calgary don鈥檛 have any problem with campaigning for a particular side, provided it鈥檚 not done at a polling station.
鈥淟egally there's nothing wrong with that, they have clearly chosen sides,鈥� Bratt said. 鈥�(Nenshi) is the firmest 鈥榊es鈥� person on council and he is looking for a legacy so it鈥檚 important for him that the 鈥榊es鈥� side is victorious.鈥�
Polls close at 8 p.m. local time. As of 5 p.m., more than 153,000 people had cast their ballots. Officials expect voter turnout to be similar to the 2017 municipal election, where 387,306 people voted.
The plebiscite is non-binding and city council has the final say in the decision to move forward on a potential bid.
The city is asked to contribute $390 million of the $5.1 billion price tag for hosting the games. The province has committed $700 million while the Canadian government has agreed to kick-in $1.45 billion. Revenues from hosting the Games is expected to cover the remaining costs.
Official bids are to be sent to the International Olympic Committee in January with a selection coming in June.
With a report from CTV Calgary Ina Sidhu and with files from The Canadian Press
