Alberta to ask Calgary for refund of any unspent Olympic bid money

The Alberta government intends to ask the City of Calgary to refund any unspent Olympic bid money given to it by the province.

A total of $30 million was assembled from different levels of government to fund a 2026 Winter Olympic bid.

But in November, Calgarians voted against the bid in a non-binding plebiscite and it was halted.

The province says it had paid $7 million of its $10 million share to the bid corporation, with the third instalment to be paid after the bid book was finished.

And, it says it expects to receive a partial refund of that money as only about $10 million of that $30 million was spent — saying it will cover one-third of whatever the final costs are.

The bid corporation is currently finalizing its financial statements, which will then be audited independently with a completion date set for sometime in the spring, a spokesperson for the province said.

The province also paid $2 million to cover the costs of the plebiscite, saying future funding of $700 million was contingent on the result, and that amount will not be refunded — but the province said it is expecting to receive reports from the city on how that money was spent in the coming weeks.

CBC News has reached out to the Mayor Naheed Nenshi's office for comment.

Just Stockholm and a joint Italian bid from Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo are still in the running for the 2026 Winter Games.