The City of Moncton and the Saint John, N.B., region have officially been named as hosts of the 2029 Canada Summer Games.
The 32nd edition of the games will see top young athletes from across Canada competing in the nation’s largest amateur multi-sport event.
“We are absolutely thrilled to see the Canada Summer Games come to life in Moncton and Saint John in 2029. Both regions put together a remarkable and collaborative bid and I wish to thank them and the Bid Evaluation Committee for their tireless efforts throughout the bid phase,” said Catherine Gosselin-Després, chair of 2029 Canada Games Bid Evaluation Committee.
“Moncton and Saint John will undoubtedly create a transformative experience for Canada’s next generation of athletes and leaders that will spark greatness across the nation.”
The games will feature between 16 and 20 sports over two weeks of competition.
Approximately 4,600 participants will take part, including athletes, coaches and managers, as well as more than 5,000 volunteers.
It’s expected the games will bring positive economic impacts and improved community infrastructure in the region.
“New Brunswick is proud to host the 2029 Canada Summer Games,” said Premier Susan Holt in a provincial news release.
“We’re excited to welcome folks from across the country and show off everything we love about our beautiful province; from our caring people to our culture, our food, and so much more.”
New Brunswick previously hosted the Canada Summer Games in 1985 in Saint John as well as the 2003 Canada Winter Games in Bathurst-Campbellton.
Canada Games Aquatic Centre to see upgrades
One of the lasting legacies of the 1985 games is the Canada Games Aquatics Centre, which was initially built specifically for the event.
Neil White was a venue manager for those games, and is a regular user of the pool these days. He says the centre was a massive addition for Saint John at the time and is still a popular place among residents today.
“It really did,” says White, when asked if the Aquatics Centre changed the view of Saint John outside of the city 40 years ago. “It was a jewel in the crown, a beautiful pool like this and the whole centre in the core of the city, uptown. It was fabulous and still is.”
The aquatics centre has seen improvements over its four-decade lifespan, but before Canada’s top young athletes dive into the province’s only 50-metre swimming pool, some renovations will be needed.
Amy McLennan is the centre’s general manager. She beams that the news of the games returning to Saint John is very exciting for the aquatics centre in particular, which will be a focal venue of the games.
McLennan says seeing an investment into an important piece of infrastructure is incredible, and the work will ensure swimmers will have a place to go uptown for generations to come.
“There is a lot of room to improve in terms of overall accessibility and inclusion to meet today’s standards,” says McLennan. “They are different than they were 40 years ago, and just an overall facelift for the facility is definitely needed given the amount of time that it has been in place and the amount of bodies that have been through the door.”
She said the facilities changerooms that lead to the pool deck, and overall accessibility improvements, are top of mind.
Having heard stories from users of the centre on the legacy left by the 1985 games, McLennan is looking forward to the next generation getting to have similar tales.
“For their children and grandchildren to be able to experience that once again I think it will just be incredible,” says McLennan. “It’s just great passing along the torch so to speak and understanding the value of the games on the national platform and how it showcases our beautiful region.”
The aquatics centre and Canada Games Stadium on the University of New Brunswick’s Saint John campus were constructed for the 1985 games. Forty-years later, rather than focus on new builds, Envision Saint John CEO Andrew Beckett says these games will offer an opportunity to revitalize some of those “legacy assets.”
“It also creates a bit of focus and attention in terms of solidifying provincial funding, federal funding that are going to be needed to make that investment happen,” says Beckett. “From a sustainability standpoint, I think to be making investments in an existing facility rather than building new, I think is going to be a really strong legacy for these games to really use this as an opportunity to revitalize some existing facilities.”
While no timeline or details on any specific work to be completed has been announced, Beckett says in an ideal world all work would be finished a year out from the games to ensure everything is running smoothly.
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