“We are excited to officially launch the bid process for the 2021 Canada Summer Games in Ontario,” said Tom Quinn, Canada Games Council Chairman. “Many communities have shown interest in hosting thus far and we look forward to seeing which of them will move forward with their intent to bid.”

In December 2015, the Canada Games Council and the Province of Ontario hosted an information session that provided an opportunity for all interested communities to clarify any issues, questions or comments on the bid process. 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 after the day.

“We are excited to build on our success from the 2015 Pan Am Parapan Am Games and host an incredible Canada Summer Games in Ontario,” said Michael Coteau, Ontario Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport. “The Games are an excellent platform for next-generation high-performance athletes from Ontario and throughout Canada to pursue athletic excellence on home soil. The host community will receive many benefits including increased tourism and visitor spending, community building and an uptake in volunteerism.”

The Canada Games Council will now embark on a 14 month process to select the host of the 2021 Canada Games. Interested communities will have until May 20th, 2016 to submit their letter of Intent to Bid. The phase one 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 comprehensive 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 CGC’s Board of Directors on which bid can best meet the Canada Games hosting standards.

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 CGC Board of Directors will notify the Province of Ontario about the final selection of the successful 2021 community. The public announcement will be made in March or April of 2017 through a joint press conference.