First Nations urge BC NDP government to reconsider 2030 Olympic bid

Crowds on Granville Street after Canada's Men's Ice Hockey gold medal win during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. (Hulse & Durrell)

Although the window for continuing the planning process for the first-ever Indigenous-led Olympics is quickly closing in, the Four Host First Nations are urging the BC NDP provincial government to reconsider their decision not to support the bid.

Leaders of the Four Host First Nations and the Canadian Olympic Committee put on a united front and expressed their anger and frustration during Friday’s press conference in reaction to the provincial government’s decision.

Without the backing of the provincial government, it would appear that the dream of re-hosting the Games in BC is dead. Support and financial backing from the provincial level is needed to progress and push the bid forward to the federal government for federal funding, and ultimately to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

But at this time, the bid is not dead — it is “stalled,” according to Wilson Williams, a councillor of the Squamish Nation, in a statement.

“Our canoe is stalled right now. Truly, if we don’t get the provincial and federal governments in the canoe, we’re still here — we’re not going anywhere,” said Williams.

“The omission of no support from the governments would kill the bid, but we’re saying that we are still here for that conversation. We want meaningful dialogue and if we want true reconciliation, we need to be in the room talking amongst you as an equal voice.”

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The leaders said the surprise decision by the provincial government to not support the bid, without performing the in-depth collaboration and consultation requested, is an affront to reconciliation with Indigenous communities.

The First Nations add that they have not received a formal response from the provincial government, and instead only learned about the decision through the distributed press release on Thursday.

“Let’s get into a room. If it doesn’t make sense at the end of the day, I’m with everyone at the table here — it doesn’t make sense, and we don’t go forward,” said Tricia Smith, the president of the COC.

“But this is a responsible bid as I’ve said before. People have always said, ‘Why are you building things again and again for the Olympic Games?’ We’re not doing that, we’re using the venues again, and we’re revitalizing the venues again from 2010. We’re using the resources from 2010, building on things that worked, fixing things that didn’t work.”

Proponents of the 2030 bid have long asserted that BC’s second Winter Olympics would largely reuse and improve on the venues and infrastructure built for the 2010 Games, while also creating new affordable housing opportunities for Vancouver and Whistler through the construction of new Olympic Villages in both communities to house athletes and officials.

The Vancouver 2030 Olympic Village was eyed for the First Nations developments of either the Jericho Lands in West Point Grey or the Heather Lands just west of Queen Elizabeth Park.

The Games could also potentially expedite existing transportation infrastructure priorities, including attracting federal funding to build the SkyTrain Millennium Line extension from Arbutus to the University of British Columbia in time for the 2030 Games.

The COC estimated the 2030 Games in BC would require the provincial government to carry 17% of the cost, while 52% would come from the private sector, including contributions from the IOC. It is unclear who would act as the financial guarantor of the Games, which was a role the provincial government fulfilled in 2010.

“We did our best guess [on cost estimates] without having everyone in the room,” said Smith.

“Now we want to get the province and federal governments in the room, along with the partners, to look at what works, what doesn’t work, and what can work, but we haven’t had that conversation yet. There has to be some clarification over the numbers, and we also need to look at the benefits.”

Smith added the IOC has made enormous reforms over the years after Vancouver 2010 to simplify and reduce the cost of both the bidding process and the organizing process and host city requirements.

In the early 2000s, significant public funding covered much of the $35-million cost of the 2010 bid committee’s years-long efforts leading to the IOC’s July 2003 decision to award the 2010 Games to Vancouver. For the 2030 process, due to the IOC’s reforms, the bidding costs are a small fraction of the 2010 bid cost, with the COC fully covering all bidding costs to date — no public funding has been put into the bid project yet.

The scenario of the BC NDP provincial government reconsidering its position on the 2030 Games is not completely out of the question, as this exact scenario transpired in Vancouver’s co-hosting role for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The provincial government initially killed the World Cup bid in early 2018, before circling back and warming up to the idea earlier in 2022, with Vancouver ultimately named a host city.

In a joint statement Friday, the federal government’s Liberal MPs from British Columbia suggested they are disappointed by the BC NDP provincial government’s decision.

“Under the right circumstances, this bid could have set an important and groundbreaking precedent for future Games in terms of reconciliation, sustainability, and inclusivity, building on the important legacies and lessons learned when Vancouver and Whistler hosted the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games,” reads the joint statement from federal Liberal MPs in BC.

“For a bid of this kind to go forward, all levels of government need to be in favour. The Olympic and Paralympic Games represent a unique and powerful opportunity to leverage the power of sport to inspire Canadians and celebrate Canadian achievement. Hosting the Games needs to encourage social inclusion and provide an unparalleled opportunity for tourism and economic growth. Our Government remains committed to bringing world-class events to British Columbia in partnership with First Nations, the Province, Municipalities, and communities — so that we can continue to showcase our province to the world.”

The idea of bidding for the 2030 Games was first ignited by former VANOC CEO John Furlong in early 2020 during the lead-up to the 10th-anniversary celebrations of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics.

But the momentum of the idea to bid for the 2030 Games was interrupted two weeks later by the sudden onset of the pandemic.

The COC also delayed its work on seriously exploring the feasibility of the Vancouver 2030 bid due to their earlier focus on safely preparing Canadian athletes competing in the maligned Tokyo Summer Olympics in Summer 2021, and the Beijing Winter Olympics shortly after in February 2022.

“After more than two years of hard work by many to realize a dream to bring the 2030 Games to Canada and to maximize our 2010 investment, it’s enormously disappointing that it has come to a sudden end. I hope there will be a reconsideration — we can do this cost-responsibly,” said Furlong in a statement to Daily Hive Urbanized on Friday.

“Early this year, as the bid evolved to become Indigenous-led, I was delighted to support and champion this. Having had the privilege and honour to lead the 2010 bid and Games, I can perhaps uniquely share the deep disappointment of the leaders of the Lilwat, Squamish, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh people who put so much energy and keenness into this truly historic effort.”

Furlong adds that “if Vancouver, given our wealth of world-class facilities, track record, reputation and army of experienced people can’t stage the lowest-cost Games in Olympic history, then no city can.”

When asked today whether the COC would consider pushing its Vancouver bid concept to 2034 or consider another location, such as re-exploring a bid in Calgary, she said there would be significantly more international competition to host the 2034 Games.

“For 2030, we have a very excellent chance of being awarded these Games,” said Smith.

“In terms of a future Games, we’ll talk to the team and see where we are, and we certainly think it is beneficial to bring Games to Canada, and we think Canada does a fantastic job in hosting the world for Games.”

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