Nenshi raises 2026 Olympic bid with prime minister; says it was 'cursory'

Calgary's potential bid to host the 2026 Olympic Winter Games was on the agenda in a meeting between Mayor Naheed Nenshi and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

"It was very cursory," Nenshi told reporters Wednesday. "[Trudeau] certainly was very interested in seeing the results of the work."

The Canadian Olympic Committee established a special committee to assist interested cities in building successful bids.

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Calgary, which hosted the 1988 Winter Games, followed through on that request, committing up to $5 million to study a potential 2026 bid. Calgary's decision window is 14 months.

"We are so early in this process that it's not at all clear where we're going with all of this and certainly if the federal and provincial governments are not interested, that's a deal-breaker. We're done. No harm, no foul," Nenshi said.

The COC must submit the name of a Canadian 2026 host city to the IOC by September 2017. The IOC will announce the winner in 2019.

"Obviously we're in very, very early days right now," Trudeau told reporters.

"I think one of the things that people know about major international bids like Olympics or others is that, if you don't have local folks fully engaged and excited and on board, it becomes very difficult to justify the costs and challenges that inevitably come with it.

"We are always open to opportunities to showcase how extraordinary Calgary is, how extraordinary Canada is to the world and we look forward to continuing to hear about proposals like this in the coming months."

Host city announced next year

The 1988 Olympic legacy, combined with the IOC's willingness to scale back costs, make a Calgary bid seem attainable.

"The IOC has completely changed its thinking so that if you need to build new facilities, that is actually a mark against you instead of a mark in your favour," Nenshi added.

The Calgary mayor said there are many things that have to be considered including whether there are enough hotel rooms and whether all three levels of government put money in. He said traditionally federal support helps cover the cost of security while provincial governments put cash toward infrastructure.

Rome, Paris, Budapest and Los Angeles are finalists for the 2024 Summer Games. The host city will be announced next year.

Vancouver's bid for the 2010 Winter Games came in at $34 million in 2003.

The 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary were the first to make money thanks in part to a record $309-million American television rights deal.