March 9, 2007 (Halifax, NS) – Commonwealth Games Canada and the Halifax 2014 Commonwealth Games Society received notice today that the Province of Nova Scotia and the Halifax Regional Municipality have withdrawn their funding support of the bid for the 20th Commonwealth Games. We have advised the Commonwealth Games Federation of the decision to withdraw from the bid process for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

“There has been so much passion and optimism around Canada’s Bid that it’s hard to believe we’re out of the competition. There is strong support for our bid across the country and throughout the Commonwealth and I firmly believe we had the team and the plan to win the 2014 Games,” said Dr. Andrew Pipe, President of Commonwealth Games Canada. “But we respect the decision taken today, and wish the two remaining bid cities the best of luck. We would also like to thank all of the Commonwealth Games Associations around the world for their input, their welcome and their support.”

“On behalf of the Bid Committee, we have been honoured to take on this mission on behalf of Canada, Nova Scotia and Halifax, and we thank everyone who has helped to put together what we believe to be strong technical and legacy-driven bid,” said Halifax 2014 Chair and President Fred MacGillivray. “This is not a failure of the bid and we are proud of the planning and preparation we completed as a community. We respect the decision that’s been made and understand it was made to ensure the best interests of the province and the city were protected.”

The Halifax 2014 Commonwealth Games were designed as an opportunity for the Commonwealth family to gather to celebrate sport and culture in the Atlantic gateway to Canada.

The mandate of the Committee was to build a Games that provided lasting tangible legacy for the community, met CGF requirements, delivered a unique athlete and spectator experience, and positively positioned Halifax and Nova Scotia internationally. The process of review and scrutiny by the funding partners was designed to verify the budget and ensure affordability of their respective shares. This process, supported fully by Halifax 2014 and CGC, is fiscally responsible and ensures a Games that are affordable for citizens of the province and city.

CGC and the Bid Committee have been working diligently to respond to initial feedback on preliminary Games budget information from their government partners since February, providing options that reduced the budget (inflation in) from $1.6b, to $1.3b, and yesterday indicating a strong confidence in continuing this process to present a bid based on the available $1b of funding from its partners.

The Halifax 2014 Commonwealth Games Society will begin to wind down its operations, with seconded employees returning to their home organizations and a number of employees remaining for a period of time in order to wrap up financial matters, communicate the decision to partners and stakeholders throughout the Commonwealth and ensure an accurate and detailed transfer of knowledge is completed.