Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi has claimed he is hopeful a referendum on the city's candidature for the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games will still be held later this year ©Getty Images

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi has claimed he is hopeful a referendum on the city's candidature for the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games will still be held later this year as the Council prepares to vote on whether or not to establish a committee to oversee the potential bid.

The City Council will decide on Monday (April 23) whether to form a group to ensure they are kept abreast of developments within the bid in the lead-up to a referendum. 

This was proposed by Councillor Steve Keating and passed earlier this week, when the Council voted in favour of continuing the Winter Olympic and Paralympic bid for now. 

Keating claimed the oversight Committee was important because the City Council had not always been aware of the actions of the Bid Committee.

"What has happened since then, people have questioned is it neutral or not," he told Global News. 

"I think that is what this committee will do and that part has been missing too.

It is thought the committee would also play a role in any possible referendum, which Nenshi is confident will still take place in the autumn.

The City Council would need to approve any plebiscite on the bid and the Mayor has called for that to happen sooner rather than later so they can start preparing for it.

"If Council endorses a plebiscite, we can start doing some of the backroom work on it to ensure the processes and the procedures are in place," Nenshi, a supporter of the bid, said. 

"Then we will have a recommendation for a plebiscite date come to Council later this spring."

Opposition against a Calgary bid for the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games remains vocal, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation warning they will run a
Opposition against a Calgary bid for the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games remains vocal, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation warning they will run a "very vocal" campaign against the bid ©CTF

Doubts continue to linger over Calgary's candidature in the 2026 race, despite the City Council voting 9-6 in favour of not abandoning the project.

Opposition remains in some areas of the city, with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) warning they will run a "very vocal" campaign against the bid.

"There’s a lot of problems right now with the whole idea of Calgary putting in a bid," Colin Craig, Alberta director of the CTF, told The Star. 

"The Provincial Government’s debt is increasing over CAD$1 million (£558,000/$782,000/€635,000) an hour. 

"The Federal Government’s debt is going up more than CAD$2 million (£1.1 million/$1.5 million/€1.2 million) an hour.

 "On top of that, we’d probably see property taxes go up.

"Then there’s a whole bunch of problems around the International Olympic Committee and a repeated history of corruption."

Graz in Austria, Sapporo in Japan and Stockholm in Sweden are among the other contenders for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

They are joined by Sion in Switzerland, Erzurum in Turkey and a joint Italian bid from Milan, Turin and Cortina d'Ampezzo.

A host is due to be chosen in 2019.