Not to put too much pressure on Canada, especially given the current state of the neighbours, but it may be up to us to save the Olympics. Not the movement itself, of course. There are lots of Canadians like Beckie Scott and Dick Pound and others who are fighting the good fight on existential underpinnings like doping. And thank goodness for them. But for the moment they appear to have lost that fight. In some ways, the Olympics don’t want to be saved.When it comes to the 2026 Winter Games, though, Canada may be the only hope. There are only three potential bids, which the International Olympic Committee approved Tuesday: Milan and Cortina D’Ampezzo in Italy (which could be the last Winter Games in central Europe ever, if you think about it), Stockholm in Sweden (plus some sliding in Latvia), and Calgary (plus some events in Whistler, B.C.). Turkey, the autocratic bid, was dropped last week. You know what they say about scapegoat-based autocratic populism these days: they can’t win ’em all.The IOC, meanwhile, insists there is no Plan B, which is the kind of thing you say when you have great options, right? Salt Lake City is definitely not just sitting there, ready to be an emergency Olympic host and give NBC two straight chances to make the most patriotic possible pile of time zone-friendly money.But other than a last-ditch Mormon option, or maybe Barcelona, Canada appears to be the safest harbour left. The IOC was effusive, of course. Vice-president Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. said in the IOC Session in Buenos Aires, “People might say that we only have three candidates. But let me tell you, we do have three candidates … that are extraordinary.” Of Calgary he said, “Calgary is a very big city, Canada is a very developed country, and they can do that any day of the week. There is no problem there.” Of Italy he said, “No doubt they can do the Games.” Of Sweden he said, “Again, it’s a very ...
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