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Ekström, who was photographed holding a sign with the slogan “Make Canada Pay Again” and a bottle of maple syrup, said Calgary would make a “terrific host,” with average temperatures well below those in Stockholm.

“Suggesting that Stockholm is a good place for hosting the Winter Olympics is simply fake news,” Ekström stated, pointing to Sweden’s higher taxes. “Therefore, it would only be fair if Canada were to host the 2026 Winter Olympics, which almost certainly will increase public spending.”

Those at the helm of Sweden’s Olympic bid have tried to assure Stockholm’s newly formed local government that the city’s taxpayers will not be asked to foot the bill for the 2026 Winter Games if the bid is successful.

“We have not approached the notion of tax-based funding or any financial guarantees whatsoever” for the operating costs of the Games, Mats Arjes, chairman of the Swedish Olympic Committee, said last week, adding that the only financial guarantee required would be for “national security,” which is already tax-funded.

Stockholm’s bid team says 90 per cent of the venues that would be used for the Games already exist, and that only a new ice rink and skiing venue need to be built.

“We have been protesting in Sweden (about) Stockholm trying to get the Olympic Games because we think, just as our Canadian friends in the taxpayers association think, that this will cost a lot of taxpayers’ money. It always does,” Ekström said.

“I don’t think Sweden is a good pick, but if we were assured that this would cost none of the taxpayers’ money, we wouldn’t be protesting.”

Photo by Gavin Young / Postmedia

Franco Terrazzano, Alberta director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said it looked like a “friendly match” was forming between his organization and its Swedish equivalent.

“I’m not concerned that this is starting a war, but it’s funny to see that there’s some taxpayers over there that don’t support the Olympics and the current model that’s leaving taxpayers on the hook for a whole lot of money, either,” he said.

The CTF estimates that hosting the 2026 Winter Games could cost every Calgary household at least $2,000, even without potential cost overruns, a figure described as “credible” by University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe.