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Mayor Naheed Nenshi slammed a decision by city councillors to hold a vote that could end Calgary’s pursuit of the 2026 Winter Olympics.

“I think this is remarkably shortsighted, particularly when we’re looking at an investment that would be historic into the economy of Calgary at a time when we desperately need investment,” Nenshi said.

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“If this fails, I think that many articles in many books will be written about what Calgary did wrong here.”

Due to a scheduling conflict, Nenshi was absent Tuesday when councillors decided to hold a vote on proceeding any further with a bid amid concerns about continued missteps and a lack of transparency on the Olympic file.

But the mayor took the opportunity at a provincial news conference Thursday to unleash a torrent of criticism regarding the vote scheduled for the next council meeting on Monday.

“Let’s be blunt. It was purely political,” he said. “A couple members of council thought that at this moment enough of their colleagues are irritated that they might be able to get the eight (votes).”