Ottawa won’t be hosting 2021 Canada Games

By Nathan Bragg

Ottawa’s bid to host the 2021 Canada Summer Games has fallen short.

The Canada Games Council announced on March 30 that the Niagara Region topped other bids from Ottawa, Sudbury and Kitchener-Waterloo to win the right to host the three-week competition, which brings together Canada’s top young athletes representing their provinces and territories a format similar to the Olympic Games.

Ottawa’s bid involved facilities across the city, including the Nepean Sportsplex and Lansdowne Park. Several of the city’s recreation facilities would have been upgraded if the bid had been successful.

Mayor Jim Watson expressed his disappointment on Twitter, saying he was “sad that Ottawa won’t host” the Games but adding he was “”proud of our Bid Committee & volunteers.” He also thanked the Canada Games Council “for considering our City.”

This was Ottawa’s second bid for the biannual event after previously losing out to London, Ont. in 2001.