Most Canadians remember where they were on February 28, 2010, when Canada’s men’s hockey team won Olympic gold in dramatic fashion.
It’s been five years since Vancouver’s turn on the global stage as the host of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, and a new poll shows most British Columbians think the experience has been worth it.
But that doesn’t mean they’d do it again.
An exclusive Insights West poll for CTV News released Friday found that nearly 70 per cent of British Columbians believe the games were “definitely” or “probably” worth hosting.
Even larger majorities of B.C. residents say the games had positive effects on the City of Vancouver, the metro region, the province, and the country as a whole -- 80, 75, 78, and 75 per cent, respectively.
“It’s very hard to get more than seven out of 10 B.C. residents to say they’re happy with something,” said Mario Canseco, vice president of public affairs for Insights West. “This is one of those occasions when it worked.”
In Metro Vancouver, 74 per cent of those surveyed said the games were either definitely or probably worth hosting.
"They are happy with the way things went,” Canseco said. “They think there is a legacy there for most of us."
That legacy includes the Canada Line, new athletic facilities and community centres, and the national pride associated with the 12 gold medals Team Canada took home.
In an open-ended question, more than 30 per cent of respondents listed “Canadian pride” as their favourite memory of the games, while one-in-four listed the gold medals won by Canada’s men’s and women’s hockey teams.
Not everyone was happy with Vancouver hosting the games, of course. A total of 27 per cent of respondents said hosting was “probably not worth it” or “definitely not worth it,” with only four per cent unsure.
Many more people say they would be in that category if Vancouver tried to host the games again.
Asked if the city should bid to host the Summer Olympics, a total of 53 per cent of respondents said the city “probably should not” or “definitely should not.”
