Toronto has never won the right to host the Summer Olympics. It lost the Canadian vote for 1976 to Montreal in 1968, finished third behind Atlanta and Athens for 1996 in a 1990 vote in Tokyo, and finished second to Beijing for 2008 in a 2001 vote in Moscow. In 2015 the city decided not to bid for 2024.
Which bids Toronto actually made
Toronto has made more than one attempt to host the Games, but only two reached an International Olympic Committee vote. The 1996 bid was decided on September 18, 1990, and the 2008 bid on July 13, 2001. A third effort, for 1976, ended earlier, at a vote among Canadian sports officials in 1968, when Toronto lost to Montreal. TVO’s history of the city’s bids also describes a first push in the 1950s for the 1960 Games and a poorly documented attempt for 1964. In September 2015 Toronto confirmed that it would not bid for 2024.
The table lists the three contested results covered below.
| Games | Where and when it was decided | Toronto’s result |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Canadian Olympic Association vote, September 7, 1968 | Lost to Montreal, 19 to 17 on the second ballot, according to TVO |
| 1996 | IOC session, Tokyo, September 18, 1990 | Eliminated in the fourth round with 22 votes; Atlanta won |
| 2008 | IOC session, Moscow, July 13, 2001 | Second place with 22 votes in the final round; Beijing won |
1976: Toronto loses to Montreal at home
According to TVO, a bid committee chaired by Mayor Allan Lamport was formed in September 1967, even though Montreal already looked likely to be Canada’s choice. The committee proposed a domed stadium and an Olympic Village near Ontario Place. Hamilton also entered. The decisive vote was held by the Canadian Olympic Association on September 7, 1968. TVO reports that Montreal beat Toronto 19 to 17 on the second ballot after the Hamilton votes split.
TVO gives the first ballot as Montreal 18, Toronto 16 and Hamilton 2. Other accounts of the 1968 vote report different first-ballot counts, so only the final margin quoted by TVO is used here.
Montreal then went on to host the 1976 Summer Olympics. TVO says Toronto received the 1976 Summer Paralympics as a consolation. The Canadian Paralympic Committee describes the Torontolympiad as the fifth Paralympic Games, held from August 3 to 11, 1976, starting two days after the Montreal Olympics closed. It was the first Paralympic Games in the Americas. The committee reports 41 nations and 1,271 athletes, the first time the total passed 1,000, and says athletes with amputations and visual impairments competed for the first time. The opening ceremony was held at Woodbine Racetrack and the closing ceremony at Centennial Park Stadium, in what is now Etobicoke. Other sources give different athlete and country totals, so the figures should be read as one organization’s count.
1996: a third-place finish in Tokyo
The bid for the 1996 Games was led by Paul Henderson, whom TVO describes as a former Olympic sailor. TVO says the bid promised debt-free Games and a $10 million profit, while a January 1990 City report estimated costs above $2.5 billion and a loss of $90 million. Opposition came from a coalition called Bread Not Circuses. TVO reports that Council approved the bid by a vote of 12 to 4. Jack Layton, then a councillor, is one of the opponents TVO names.
The vote took place at the 96th IOC session in Tokyo on September 18, 1990, at the New Takanawa Prince Hotel, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The candidates were Atlanta, Athens, Toronto, Melbourne, Manchester and Belgrade. On the first ballot Athens led with 23 votes and Atlanta had 19. Belgrade, Manchester and Melbourne dropped out in turn, and Toronto was eliminated in the fourth round with 22 votes. Atlanta then won the fifth round with 51 votes to Athens’s 35.
Wikipedia’s table of the vote gives Toronto 14, 17, 18 and 22 votes across the four rounds it survived. The final figures for Toronto, Atlanta and Athens match the newspaper account and TVO. The early-round numbers rest on the table alone and are given as reported. TVO notes that blame for the loss fell on opponents such as Layton and on Henderson’s combative style, but the vote was cast by IOC members, and any claim about why individual members voted as they did is speculation.
2008: second place to Beijing
The next bid was organized by a body called TO-Bid. TVO says David Crombie chaired it and John Bitove Jr. served as president and chief executive. Wikipedia’s article on the bid says organizers described about 70 percent of the needed venues as already built, with events concentrated along the Lake Ontario waterfront and an Olympic Village on reclaimed industrial land. For the waterfront setting, see the article on Toronto’s harbour and waterfront. TVO adds that the plan included a social contract promising up to 2,000 low-income housing units, and that the bid helped prompt the creation of Waterfront Toronto.
Wikipedia reports that the Government of Ontario issued its financial support guarantee on January 16, 2000. It also reports that the IOC Evaluation Commission’s report, dated April 3, 2001, praised the compact concept and the financial plan, and named the public-private delivery of the waterfront venues and the Village as the main challenge.
The IOC met in Moscow on July 13, 2001. ESPN’s report shows the votes by round.
| City | Round 1 | Round 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Beijing | 44 | 56 |
| Toronto | 20 | 22 |
| Paris | 15 | 18 |
| Istanbul | 17 | 9 |
| Osaka | 6 (eliminated) | not applicable |
Beijing won in the second round. ESPN notes that Beijing had lost the vote for the 2000 Games to Sydney by two votes. Toronto went into the vote saying the race was close, and finished second, which was the best result of any Toronto bid.
The Lastman remarks and what they mattered for
In June 2001, Mayor Mel Lastman made remarks about Africa on the way to an Olympic meeting, and press reports suggested they might have damaged the bid. Prime Minister Jean Chrétien apologized for them, according to ESPN. The Canadian IOC member Dick Pound said that the margin of the loss made it unlikely that the remarks had changed the outcome and that blaming them would be unfair. Paul Henderson, then an IOC member, put the result down to Beijing’s political influence. After the vote Bitove praised Beijing’s presentation as “10 out of 10.”
These are statements of opinion by people involved. The record shows only the vote: Beijing 56, Toronto 22. For the people who ran the city at the time, see the article on Toronto’s mayors and municipal elections.
2024 and why Toronto stayed out
After the Pan American Games of 2015, some people called for another attempt. TVO reports that the city declined. Mayor John Tory said the timeline was too short, since a bid would have to be assembled in under two years, and councillors across the political spectrum raised financial uncertainty. Marcel Aubut, then president of the Canadian Olympic Committee, accepted the decision and said he was still optimistic that Toronto could host in future. Tory confirmed the decision in September 2015.
TVO sums up the earlier failures as a mix of administrative errors, internal politics within the Canadian Olympic body and between the Metro municipalities, worries about cost and taxpayer risk, organized public opposition, and international competition. That list is a journalist’s reading rather than an official finding, but it matches the facts above: money and politics at home were part of every attempt.
Frequently asked questions
Has Toronto ever hosted the Summer Olympics?
No. Toronto lost bids for 1976, 1996 and 2008. It hosted the 1976 Summer Paralympics, called the Torontolympiad, and in 2015 it hosted the Pan American Games.
How many votes did Toronto get in the 1996 vote?
Toronto was eliminated in the fourth round with 22 votes. Atlanta won the fifth round with 51 votes to Athens’s 35, at the IOC session in Tokyo on September 18, 1990.
Who beat Toronto for the 2008 Games?
Beijing. In the July 13, 2001 vote in Moscow, Beijing received 56 votes in the second round and Toronto 22.
Did Toronto bid for the 1976 Olympics?
Toronto sought to be Canada’s candidate. At the Canadian Olympic Association vote on September 7, 1968, Montreal beat Toronto 19 to 17 on the second ballot, according to TVO.
Why did Toronto not bid for 2024?
Mayor John Tory said the time to assemble a bid was too short, and councillors cited financial uncertainty. Toronto confirmed in September 2015 that it would not bid.
Sources
- TVO, “Outbid: How Toronto Lost the Olympics Again and Again and Again” (accessed October 2026)
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution, original announcement story on the 1996 Games decision, September 1990 (accessed October 2026)
- ESPN, report on the awarding of the 2008 Games to Beijing, July 13, 2001 (accessed October 2026)
- Canadian Paralympic Committee, “Groundbreaking Torontolympiad, the fifth Paralympic Games, celebrates 50th anniversary” (accessed October 2026)
- Wikipedia, “List of bids for the Summer Olympics” (accessed October 2026), used for the 1996 round-by-round table and attributed in the text
- Wikipedia, “Toronto bid for the 2008 Summer Olympics” (accessed October 2026), used only for statements attributed to it
Related reading
- Toronto’s mayors and municipal elections
- Toronto’s harbour and waterfront
- Ontario Place history
- Etobicoke history
- Rogers Centre
Last verified: November 2026
Cite this page
APA: History of Toronto. (2026, November 1). Toronto’s Olympic Bids: What Happened in 1976, 1996 and 2008. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/toronto-1976-olympic-bid-and-1996-2008-bids
MLA: “Toronto’s Olympic Bids: What Happened in 1976, 1996 and 2008.” History of Toronto, 1 Nov 2026, https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/toronto-1976-olympic-bid-and-1996-2008-bids. Accessed .
Chicago: History of Toronto. “Toronto’s Olympic Bids: What Happened in 1976, 1996 and 2008.” Last modified November 1, 2026. https://historyoftoronto.ca/blog/toronto-1976-olympic-bid-and-1996-2008-bids.
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