Scott Lehr, president of the Medicine Hat & District Chamber of Commerce, has announced a fundraising initiative for the 2026 Special Olympics Canada Summer Games. (Photo Courtesy Ross Lavigne)

By Chris Brown

Chamber kickstarts fundraising for Hat-hosted 2026 Special Olympics

Jun 22, 2022 | 4:30 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Local officials are laying the foundation for fundraising for the 2026 Special Olympics Canada Summer Games in Medicine Hat.

The Medicine Hat and District Chamber of Commerce is leading the way, encouraging its members to make an annual donation to the Games when renewing their membership.

President Scott Lehr has high hopes for the campaign.

“I would think this is will be a great success. I would think the community is going to get behind this and it’ll be a great Games and it’ll be great for the community on all sorts of levels,” he says. “It will be great for people to get out and see the Games and support the Games and get a lot out of it too. It’ll definitely be a big support for our local businesses community with everybody coming into town as well.”

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At the announcement today, a representative from Mr. Lube presented a cheque for $1,000 and owner Chris Hellman has committed to an annual donation each year until the Games. He’s also challenged other members of the business community to do what they can to support the Games, scheduled for Aug. 9-16, 2026.

The local Games committee aims to raise about $400,000 to help cover the $2.5 million cost of hosting. Special Olympics Canada, the federal government and the city are also contributing to the costs.

Close to 1,400 athletes are expected to compete in 10 sports at the Games. Sports include athletics, golf, powerlifting and swimming.

Lehr says hosting events of this magnitude is a big boost for the community.

“It gets people out here from across Canada and it spotlights Medicine Hat and our little corner of the province here and hopefully it brings people back after,” he says.

This is the first time the Special Olympics Canada Summer Games will take place in Alberta. In 2017, Medicine Hat hosted the provincial Games.