Earlier this week, the Town of Sidney endorsed the bid in a letter that revealed Federal and Provincial contributions of CAD$450 million (£273 million/$355 million/€300 million) - far less than the expected final cost.

According to Victoria News, the letter, which was signed by Sidney Mayor Steve Price, outlines plans for CAD$300 million (£182 million/$236 million/€200 million) from the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) and Sport Canada and CAD$150 million (£91 million/$118 million/€100 million) from the Province of British Columbia "and a guarantee against overruns".

John Trelevan, vice-president of the Grumpy Taxpayer$ of Greater Victoria, claims this marked the first time any monetary amount associated with the bid has been revealed.

As such, he said it raises concerns about a lack of transparency on how much it would cost to host the Commonwealth Games in five years’ time.

"Don’t we deserve to hear the pros and cons in a public debate?" Trelevan was quoted as saying by Victoria News.

"This falls apart if there isn’t public support."

Victoria last hosted the Commonwealth Games in 1994.

It was an event that ended up costing 50 per cent more than the initial budget and requiring significant additional taxpayer funding.

"We’ve seen this movie before," Trelevan added.  

"And I hope Sidney had more information on the business plan (for the Games bid) before they made such a decision."

David Black, chairman of the Victoria 2022 Bid Committee, admitted criticisms of a lack of transparency on the cost "are fair".

"I apologise to the people who might be worried about that," he was reported as saying by Victoria News.

The Victoria Bid Committee was due to hold a press conference yesterday to discuss matters such as sport venues and the budget.

This was postponed, however, until next week with Black putting it down to cost estimates for the bid changing significantly following two days of meetings this week with CGF members from London and Toronto, who have been visiting Victoria this week to inspect the city's bid. 

Black is hopeful the issues surrounding transparency will be addressed at the re-scheduled press conference.

Victoria is Canada's sole contender for the Games following Toronto's decision not to proceed with a bid.

A delegation from the CGF visited Victoria in May, but Commonwealth Games Canada President Rick Powers claimed last month that the city had not been able to provide their full plans to officials.

Black, a businessman and owner of Canada's largest private publisher Black Press, was also unable to take part in the visit as he was not in the country at the time.

CGF members David Leather and Johan Baker were present in the city for meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday (August 8 and 9) but CGF chief executive David Grevemberg was unable to attend for the second visit.

Powers told insidethegames the visit would allow Victoria to work with the CGF to ensure their plans meet with the organisation's requirements.

Canada has not hosted the Commonwealth Games since Victoria staged the 1994 event and has pulled out of two recent bid races.

Halifax mounted a bid for the 2014 event but withdrew seven months before the vote in November 2007, where Scottish city Glasgow beat Nigerian capital Abuja.

Edmonton was originally in the running for 2022 but falling oil prices in early 2015 forced them to pull the plug, leaving Durban as the only candidate.

The South African city was then stripped of hosting rights due to a lack of financial guarantees, prompting a new bid race for 2022.

Birmingham and Liverpool are vying to be England’s candidate for the Games, while Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney in Australia have all expressed an interest in stepping in.