Manitoba among 4 provinces interested in jointly hosting 2030 Commonwealth Games | CBC News (2025)

Ian Froese · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 14, 2025 4:06 PM EDT | Last Updated: April 15

Fourprovinces could be part of Canada's bid to host the Commonwealth Games in 2030.

Manitoba, Ontario, Newfoundland andLabrador and Prince Edward Islandhave toldthe Canadian governing body for the Commonwealth Games that they areinterested in jointly bidding for the Games. Other countries may also put forward bids.

Potentialhosting partnerswithin Canadahad until March31 to submit their interest, along with the sports they wantto host, to Commonwealth Sport Canada.

The federal government and the Ontario regional chief for the Chiefs of Ontario are also supportive of the four provinces' bid.

Brian MacPherson, CEO of Commonwealth Sport Canada, said his organization will now workwiththe governments to explore the feasibility of a multi-province bid.

"We're quite hopeful that together, we'll be able to co-create an actual bid that'll be submitted to our international federation by Aug. 31," he said.

Recent Canadian bids faltered

The Commonwealth Games are a quadrennial (every four years) multi-sport festival featuring 74 countries that Canada hasn't hosted since 1994, when the Games were in Victoria.

Hamilton attempted to stage a bid for the 2030 Games, which would mark 100 yearssince the Ontario city held the first iteration of theGames in 1930, but the Ontario government didn't support it.

Alberta's government wouldn't supportCalgary's bid for 2030 because of escalating costs, the provincial government said in 2023.

And Victoria tried to bid for the 2026 games, but that plan was shot down by the B.C. government.

Over the years, the price tag for hosting the Commonwealth Games has skyrocketed to around $1 billion, MacPherson said, which made asking one city and one province to shoulder a large share of the costs impractical.

"That was a barrier with every provincial government basically saying, 'No, we're not interested in doing that,' and hence these bid attempts imploded," MacPherson said.

The international federation has responded by permitting hosts to drastically reduce the number of sports and athletes participating in the event to make it moreaffordable.

MacPherson said that appeals toCanada, which wants toshare the reduced costs of a scaled-down event across multiple provinces. It is also prioritizing the use of existing sporting venues, rather than funding new capital projects.

"Any time Canada is planning and delivering a major games, the entire Canadian sports system gets lifted up. New monies come into the sports system, new interest, more participation," he said.

"There's a very good reason to havingmajor games hosted in this country."

Recent hosting examples

In Manitoba, there's a "great proven track record" of major events, said Sports Minister Nellie Kennedy, pointing to the 1999 Pan American Games and the Grey Cup coming to Winnipeg later thisyear.

"We do a great job of hosting these events and I think it's really important with regards to Manitoba tourism and the economy."

A spokesperson with Prince Edward Island's government pointed to the 2023 Canada Games and the Rivalry Series games between Canada and U.S. women's hockeyas recent examples of the province's solid reputation in hosting national and international sporting events.

A chance to host the Commonwealth Games would support the province's tourism strategy, April Gallant said.

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