At a session in Toronto, hosted by the Canada Games Council and the Province of Ontario, the potential bid communities were presented with an opportunity to clarify any issues, questions or comments on the bid process.

“On the heels of the very successful TORONTO 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games, Ontario has shown that it is very capable of hosting a major multi-sport event” said Tom Quinn, Canada Games Council Chairman. “This session informed hopeful bid communities what is entailed in hosting the Canada Games, Canada’s largest multi-sport event for developing athletes.”

In all, 27 communities RSVP’d to attend the session and 25 had representatives present. Another three communities were unable to attend but requested the materials electronically.

“Hosting the 2021 Canada Summer Games in Ontario will give our athletes a chance to compete here at home and boost local interest in sport, key priorities of our government’s Sport Plan,” said Michael Coteau, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport. “The Games will drive economic activity, strengthen our great sport legacy and support community building in Ontario.”

The Canada Games Council will embark on a 15 month process to select the host of the 2021 Canada Games. With the initial information session having passed, the official launch of the bid process will take place on January 28th 2016, with interested communities having until April 29th, 2016 to submit their letter of Intent to Bid. The technical review information will be due on June 30th, 2016.

After the technical phase, short listed bid communities will then be given until January 31st, 2017 to submit their Bid Proposal to the Canada Games Bid Evaluation Committee who will review and score based on the bid material and a site visit in each community.

The Canada Games Council’s Bid Evaluation Committee will be responsible for a detailed review of bidding communities and making a recommendation on the award of the Games to the Council’s Board of Directors.

Having hosted the 1981 Canada Summer Games in Thunder Bay and the 2001 Canada Summer Games in London, the 2021 Canada Games will mark the third time the Canada Summer Games are hosted in the province of Ontario.

The final recommendation from the Canada Games Board of Directors will be delivered to the Province of Ontario and then announced publicly by the Council and the Province of Ontario to officially award the 2021 Canada Summer Games in April of 2017.