With key council vote cleared, push is on ahead of Calgary 2026 plebiscite
Cheryl Bernard looks at Calgary’s potential bid for the 2026 Winter Games from both a business and a sport perspective. She built a successful insurance agency in the city before focusing her attention on curling, eventually earning the right to represent Canada at a home Olympics.
“It’s a 10-for-1 return and I just don’t know that you can say no to something like that in a business sense,” Bernard said Thursday, a day after the potential bid survived a city council vote.
Ten votes out of 15 were required to abandon the Nov. 13 plebiscite asking Calgarians if they want to host the Games or not. Only eight voted in favour of the motion, a result that allowed bid supporters to clear a key hurdle.
Now both the yea and nay sides will do their best to beat the drum ahead of the non-binding decision, which will influence the next council vote. The International Olympic Committee will accept 2026 bids in January and the host city will be elected in June.