Where the federal parties stand on a Toronto bid for the 2024 Olympics

With Toronto Mayor John Tory holding his Olympic cards close to his chest, the discussion on whether Toronto should enter the bidding process for the 2024 Summer Games has made for some interesting jockeying among the campaigning federal parties.

NDP leader Tom Mulcair added his voice today to those wanting Toronto at least to make a  bid. "It's well worthwhile getting into the game, at least at this first step to make sure the door is kept open," Mulcair said.

The Canadian Olympic Committee must send a letter of intent to the International Olympic Committee by 6:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday. The COC wants Tory to OK a bid and says it will even pay the $50,000 cost of the initial instalment should the mayor say yes.

On Friday, CBC News contacted the Conservatives, NDP, Liberals and Greens about where they stand on the bid issue.

The NDP responded that if Toronto bids, and the NDP forms the government after the Oct. 19 election, "an NDP government will work with Toronto to ensure that its bid is in the best interests of Canadians." 

While they made no commitment to contributing federal money to a Toronto Olympic Games, a near necessity, the NDP says that major events like an Olympics, "when done right — can provide real benefits for host cities, their regions and indeed the rest of Canada."

For an Olympics "not done right," Mulcair pointed to the 1976 Montreal Olympics in his home city.

Greens positive about Toronto bidding

Ken Melamed, the Green Party candidate in the West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country riding, responded to CBC News on behalf of his party. Melamed was Whistler's mayor when the Vancouver region hosted the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Melamed said party leader Elizabeth May "believes there is merit in considering a Canadian bid for the Summer Games."

"The games provide an enormous opportunity for Canadian sport, culture, and lasting legacies," Melamed added.

Still, he did not commit the Greens to support federal funding for the Games and said that, "given the highly risky nature of the bidding process, the GPC believes that the majority of funding for the bid should come from the private sector."

Trudeau would be a partner

Last week, Justin Trudeau was asked about a possible Toronto bid replied: "We are certainly there to be the partner the municipality and even the province needs."  

He then noted that the Olympics provide an opportunity to showcase both Toronto and Canada, adding: "But there are an awful lot of questions that need to be answered about what that bid would look like."

Asked today whether Trudeau and the Liberals would support federal funding if Toronto does bid, campaign press secretary Cameron Ahmad said, "that's a conversation we would have to have after we know."

After this story was first published, Conservative Party campaign spokesman Stephen Lecce emailed CBC News to say, "We would review any proposal from the City of Toronto."

John Tory has said he spoke with Stephen Harper about a possible bid but did not offer any details. 

However, Tory has said the federal and Ontario governments are "essential parts," suggesting if he does decide to bid, he expects to have Ottawa's support, regardless of the federal election result.

The federal contribution to the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games totalled $1.25 billion.

Opposition in Toronto from both left and right

Even if a federal government does jump in, though, there is still Toronto city council to navigate. 

For example, Gord Perks, an environmental activist who ran unsuccessfully for the NDP in the 2006 federal election before winning his council seat, has said he is strongly opposed to having the Olympics in Toronto.

On the right, former mayor and now councillor Rob Ford said in a statement last week on a possible Toronto bid, "I cannot emphasize enough how bad of an idea this is."

While Ford was mayor, the bid issue did come before city council, but a sub-committee unanimously rejected in January 2014 pursuing a bid for the 2024 Games.

The council has not formally dealt with the issue since the COC and others began pushing earlier this summer for a Toronto bid. 

What about the public?

What Torontonians think of the issue is harder to say.

Mainstreet Research released a poll Monday that found all parts of the city split on whether or not Toronto should bid for the 2024 Games. 

Fifty per cent said they approve of bidding, 47 per cent opposed and, interestingly, just four per cent said they were not sure. Compared to Mainstreet's last poll, approval has dropped eight points.

Next door in Mississauga, the city council voted unanimously last week not to support a Toronto bid. Mayor Bonnie Crombie is a former Liberal MP.

In the media, The Globe and Mail had a full-page editorial on Saturday opposing a Toronto bid, while Toronto Star columnist Bob Hepburn wrote in favour. CBC Sports has Scott Russell expressing support for a Toronto bid.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation has also weighed in, issuing a media release calling on Tory not to bid.

"Saying public debate will happen after the mayor has made a firm commitment to bid is just a strategy of kicking the Olympic can further down the road so the mayor and premier can further their 2024 vanity bid without pesky public opinion getting in the way," the organization said.

What's next

If the mayor decides to bid — and the decision at this point is his alone — the letter the COC sends to the IOC will be followed by a payment of $50,000 US.

Until the IOC changed their rules in the summer, bidding would have cost a lot more than it now does. 

Two more payments to the IOC , another $50,000 and then $150,000 are required during what the IOC calls the Vision, Games Concept and Legacy stage, when "cities develop their vision and concept." That $250,000 total compares to the old IOC bill for $650,000.

A 2013 feasibility study put the price tag for Toronto going through just the bidding process alone at between $50 and $60 million.

By the Tuesday deadline, interested national Olympic committees and cities must "commit to the bid process and a city becomes an official Applicant City," the IOC says on their website.

Bid are in from Rome, Budapest and Hamburg, and are expected from Los Angeles and Paris. 
GamesBids.com, a Toronto-based group that follows the bidding process closely, says Sofia, Bulgaria and Baku, Azerbaijan may also bid.

PHOTOS: 2024 Olympics draw cities interested in making host bids