Saint John, Moncton submit bid to co-host 2029 Canada Games

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Unless something drastically changes, the 2029 Canada Summer Games will be co-hosted by Saint John and Moncton after the cities joined forces to submit a joint bid to the Canada Games Council.

On Wednesday, the council announced details on the process and said a final decision will be announced in March of 2025. However, the two cities were the only ones to meet a February deadline to express an interest to deliver their intent to bid, and the two cities opted to take a co-host approach.

In 2022, New Brunswick was confirmed as host by the Canada Games Council as part of the province’s regular turn in the Games’ national hosting rotation.

The co-bid approach is not unprecedented. In 2003, Bathurst and Campbellton served as co-hosts of the Canada Games Winter Games, the second time the province hosted the Games.

The 1985 Canada Summer Games were staged in Saint John.

The first Canada Games were held in 1967 and have operated every second year since (with the exception of 2021, which was pushed to 2022 because of the pandemic), alternating between summer and winter games.

Last year, officials from Moncton, Saint John and Fredericton were the three cities invited by the province to consider submitting hosting bids for the 2029 Games. After the bid process was officially launched, Fredericton opted out, with officials saying the city would consider a support role. The two others evaluated the opportunity and opted to make a joint bid.

“Moncton and Saint John have significant experience hosting world-class events and will showcase all they have to offer to visitors and participants in a joint bid approach,” said Tammy Scott-Wallace, the provincial minister of tourism, heritage and culture, in a press release.

“We look forward to working with the Canada Games Council and the municipalities to support a successful bid process.”

Up next is formally developing the bid, which needs to meet deadlines later this year and early in 2025.

First is a technical review phase, which is just underway. This phase will assess the ability of each city to host the Games regarding standards for sport venues, non-sport venues and the Games Village.

From there, a more comprehensive package will be developed for review in January and February of 2025. That involves an overall vision, a marketing and communications strategy, community commitment and a confirmation of an overall budget.

Each Canada Summer Games features two weeks of competition, between 16 and 20 sports, approximately 4,600 participants (athletes, coaches and managers), and over 5,000 volunteers. The two most recent Canada Games have generated more than $200 million in overall economic activity in the host province.

In an interview in December, Scott-Wallace detailed the financial aspects of the process.

At that time, she said the initial budget was listed at $39.6 million, with $10.35 million from the province, $13.25 million from the federal government, $13 million from the host society and $3 million from the host municipality.

The province’s contribution is over a four-year period, beginning with the current fiscal year.

In addition, the province has started a $1 million sport development fund specifically for N.B. athletes targeting the 2029 Games with the total funding spread over four years at $250,000 per year.