How the West Lost
Ottawa chose not to support Edmonton’s bid for Expo 2017 “because of fears the event would have provoked jealousies in Eastern Canada.”
by Michael Ganley
By Michael Ganley, editor
The truth has been outed, at least in part. The Ottawa Citizen has reported that the federal government chose not to support Edmonton’s bid for Expo 2017 “because of fears the event would have provoked jealousies in Eastern Canada.”
The official line at the time was that Ottawa’s estimated price tag – $1 billion – was too high. But the documents, obtained from Heritage Canada as a result of an access-to-information request by researcher Ken Rubin, suggest that the federal government was concerned that its support would lead to “a request for a large-scale expenditure in Eastern Canada.”
Heritage Canada found the Edmonton proposal to be solid, comprehensive and professional, but without federal support, it came off the rails.
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