Canada launched several bids to host the Winter Olympics in Banff, with the first bid for the 1964 Winter Olympics which were eventually awarded to Innsbruck, Austria. Canada narrowly lost a second bid, for the 1968 Winter Olympics, which were awarded to Grenoble, France. Once again, Banff launched a bid to host the 1972 Winter Olympics, with plans to hold the Olympics at Lake Louise. The 1972 bid was most controversial, as environmental lobby groups provided strong opposition to the bid, which had sponsorship from Imperial Oil. Bowing to pressure, Jean Chrétien, then the head of Parks Canada, withdrew support for the bid, which was eventually lost to Sapporo, Japan. Several events were hosted at the Canmore Nordic Centre at Canmore, Alberta, located just outside the eastern gates of Banff National Park on the Trans-Canada Highway, when nearby Calgary, Alberta was awarded the 1988 Winter Olympics.
over 6 years ago