Now that a federal funding shortfall of over $100 million has forced the Yukon government to pull its Canada Games bid for 2027, the territory’s opposition parties are asking if federal funding is a question for other big infrastructure projects.

The government announced Monday that the federal government only offered $16.75 million to help Whitehorse host the Games.

That included $3 million in capital funding for an event with estimated capital costs of $185 million that would go to improve or replace recreational infrastructure like the Takhini Arena, and build up to $65 million worth of housing for athletes – to be subsequently used by the general public.

Essentially, the territory was offered only three per cent of the federal funding it was depending on. For context, the City of Whitehorse was ready to contribute $11 million for capital alone.

“Without any meaningful contribution from the federal government to support the Games,” Community Services Minister Richard Mostyn told the legislature Monday afternoon, hours after the government had announced it would pull its hosting bid, “we were left with no other option.”

Some of the repercussions are obvious.

Whitehorse misses out on a chance to draw tourists and showcase itself to the rest of Canada.

The territory misses out on legacy infrastructure, like the Canada Games Centre from the 2007 event – 15 years later, that facility is still used for recreation by 3,000 people daily in the winter.

The planned housing money now needs to be found elsewhere, though Mostyn told reporters the government is still pursuing that funding independent of the Games bid.

But for Yukon Party Leader Currie Dixon and Yukon NDP Leader Kate White, the lost bid raises a bigger question.

If the government was relying on close to $200 million from the feds, and was only offered a small fraction of that, how confidently can the territory depend on federal money for other, more important infrastructure projects in the Yukon?

“The rejection by the federal government to fund (the Games),” Dixon told reporters, “it certainly raises concerns about other projects as well.

“The Atlin hydro project, the Moon Lake project, Dawson rec centre: These are all projects that will require significant investment from the federal government.”

The Atlin Hydro Expansion Project, for instance, needs $60 million from the federal government to get underway and help Yukon Energy replace electricity generated by fossil fuels as part of its renewable energy target for the decade. It’s unlikely that funding could come from any other partner on the project, and the gap could put it in jeopardy.

White also wondered how sure federal funding could be for other infrastructure projects when the Canada Games request seemed so certain.

“It sounded like the $160 million was a done deal and we were moving forward and hosting the Games,” she told reporters.

Mostyn spoke with reporters he learned of the federal government’s offer last week.

He said he was disappointed by the federal response, but remains confident Yukoners can rely on future federal infrastructure funding in other areas. 

“It’s as a result of the federal decision to really hold the line on their spending on this sporting event that we’ve had to pull our bid,” he said, acknowledging the financial pressures on the federal government following relief spending during the COVID-19 pandemic and rising inflation this year. 

“The federal government has contributed immense amounts of infrastructure money to the territory over the last six years. It’s been record investment. And so they’ve certainly been very supportive.

“But we’re in a new era now in the country.”

Mostyn said staffers in his department had spoken with federal employees in a meeting last week, and new infrastructure spending was being allocated for the federal budget next spring.

Spending on public transit, sewer water and infrastructure that would prepare Canada for a changing climate are “the areas the federal government is looking to invest in in the future,” he said. 

“And so I have no doubt that there will be more infrastructure money coming to Canada and to this territory.”

Dixon was more critical of the federal government.

He said he expected some belt-tightening from the feds, but was disappointed by Ottawa’s offer for the hosting bid.

Given the offer, he said, he thought the Yukon government made the right decision to abandon its considering the massive funding shortfall.

He said he was surprised by how big that shortfall wound up being, though, and called the federal government’s offer a “slap in the face” to Yukoners.

“What is particularly concerning to me is that this is the federal government that has shown a lack of interest in the North,” he said.

“This is just the most recent example of that.”

In a statement released Monday, Yukon MP Brendan Hanley said he was disappointed the Yukon government has withdrawn its bid, but added the federal government will continue to help fund other areas critical to Yukoners.

“Federal contributions to priorities such as housing, health care, infrastructure, and climate change – areas that we know Yukoners care deeply about – will continue as we invest in the growth and well-being of all our communities, in collaboration with all Yukon partners,” the Liberal MP said.

Those areas are where the Yukon government should be requesting funding, White told reporters.

“When you recognize the level of housing insecurity in the territory, and how inflation increases affect individuals, there’s a lot of other things that $160 million could really do to benefit the territory.” 

The Yukon government submitted its bid for the 2027 Canada Games in 2021.

The 18-month process was announced with the support of representatives of the City of Whitehorse, Kwanlin Dün First Nation, the Council of Yukon First Nations and the Canada Games Council.

Mayor Laura Cabott said in a statement Monday the Yukon government’s decision “is disappointing, but we also understand the circumstances surrounding such a decision.

“While the Games would have offered an opportunity to showcase our city on a national stage, hosting multi-sport games requires substantial investment.

“Without partner funding, the legacy investments which are integral to a meaningful bid would not have been possible,” Cabott said.

She thanked chair Piers McDonald and the Whitehorse bid committee “for their incredible work bringing us to this point.

“Their bid highlighted the economic potential of the games and showed the Canada Winter Games bid evaluation committee Whitehorse is a community with world-class potential,” the mayor said.