Boasting 148 gold medals, 182 silver medals, and 221 bronze medals, Canada ranks 15th in the world at the Summer and Winter Olympic Games combined, so you know that the country has craved playing host multiple times.
As it turns out, various cities dotted across the country have bid to be the hosts of the Olympics 18 times. Luckily – for two of these occasions, at least – three bids were successful, bringing the Games to Canada.
On this page, we’re having a look at the Montréal, Calgary, and Vancouver Games, how the home nation fared, and the enduring legacy of hosting the biggest multi-sports event on the planet.
1976 Summer Olympics (Montréal)
The Summer Olympic Games is always huge. Even when you consider the sheer level of interest in soccer betting and the sport around the world, the Olympics tends to trump even the FIFA World Cup.
This was Montréal’s opportunity to showcase itself to the globe, welcoming 92 nations to partake in 198 events between July 17 and August 1, 1976.
So, the city went all-in. An obscene amount of money was pumped into infrastructure projects to get Olympic-ready, amounting to the epitome of a white elephant stadium and an overall cost 13 times larger than expected.
In the event, Canada managed to more than double its medal haul of the 1972 Games in Munich, collecting five silver medals and six bronze medals to total 11. Still, it would mark an eight-year gap since the last gold.
Canada has certainly enjoyed more prosperous Summer Olympics outings since, but the main legacy hanging over the 1976 Montréal Olympics is just how much economic damage it did. It was a financial disaster.
1988 Winter Olympics (Calgary)
Only 12 years on from welcoming the world for the Summer Olympics, Calgary stepped forward to host the planet’s best winter athletes in much more familiar sporting territory.
Over 1,400 athletes arrived from 57 countries to battle for medals in 46 events, all of which set new records for the Winter Olympics.
Riding high on a joint-record two gold medals and four total medals from the 1984 Sarajevo Winter Olympics, expectations were bumped up for the first-time hosts, but much like in Montréal, Canada couldn’t quite get the gold.
That said, the total medal win count of five did mark a new high for the nation, and luckily, there were several feel-good stories that everyone hoped would defy sport betting odds and ended up dominating the headlines.
Calgary’s Olympics staged not only the heroism of Eddie the Eagle in the ski jumping events but also the debut of the Jamaican bobsleigh team!
Unlike Montréal, Calgary doesn’t regret hosting the Olympics. The facilities continue to be in use – including the home of the Calgary Flames – and the city felt enthused enough to bid for the 2026 Winter Games.
2010 Winter Olympics (Vancouver)
By quite some margin, the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics were Canada’s finest outing as the colossal event’s host. From the legacy of the events at the time to what’s been left for the city, Vancouver 2010 was close to perfection.
The Olympic Committee often hails the event as one of the best ever seen, and the stats concur. Of the 1.54 million tickets available, over 1.49 million were sold, and Canada vs USA in the hockey final was watched by 114 million people worldwide.
On the sporting side, Canada won not one, not two, but 14 gold medals on home soil! That haul doubled the Turin 2006 effort and remains the pinnacle of Canadian gold medal winners at the Winter Olympics.
Canada topped the gold medals list and finished third overall, which is also still the nation’s joint-highest final rankings position.
Highlights include Maëlle Ricker and Alex Bilodeau getting the first golds on home soil, Christine Nesbitt obliterating her way to gold in speed skating, and Sidney Crosby scoring the golden goal to beat the USA.
For the city, all of the facilities set up in Metro Vancouver continue to be used on a daily basis, with the key being repurposing them shortly after the end of the Games. Plus, the art pieces put up for the guests remain in place.
Canada has hosted the Olympics three times, and they just keep getting better. Maybe another Canadian city will win the bid for the 2030 Winter Olympics and improve on the Vancouver Games.
*Credit for all images in this article belongs to Alamy*
