2021 Canada Summer Games Postponed to 2022 due to COVID-19

On Wednesday (Sept 16), the Canada Games Council (CGC) and the Niagara Host Society announced about its decision to postpone the 2021 Canada Summer Games in Niagara until 2022. The decision to postpone was taken due to the safety and health risks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Canada Summer Games were originally scheduled to be held in Niagara Region in August 2021, but has now been rescheduled to the summer of 2022.

The decision came up after noting the inability to deliver a wondrous event and after consulting with the Niagara region of Southern Ontario and the federal & provincial government.

Dan Wilcok, the President and CEO of the CGC, has said in a statement, “Like everyone else in sports events and the world generally we’ve all been watching how the pandemic unfolds, and following all the updates, trying to do our contingency planning and assess what impact it would have for us.”

“The Canada Games is a very large event. A lot of preparation goes into it. And we’ve been staying in close contact with all our all our various stakeholders trying to assess what a Games looks like in the context of the pandemic,” he added.

The Canada Summer Games are held every 2 years, alternating between winter and summer. It is a landmark event for Canadian sports lovers and represents the highest level of national competition for thousands of Canadian emerging athletes. It is expected that more than 5,000 participants and around 4,000 volunteers will participate in Canada’s largest multi-sport event in Niagara.

Considering the critical situation brought by the ongoing pandemic, the decision to postpone the Games is first and foremost to ensure the health and safety of all coaches, athletes, volunteers, staff and spectators who wish to participate in this event.

In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic is stopping the council from providing extraordinary gaming experiences in cultural events and sport competitions. By postponing the Canada Summer Games, the council will be able to better protect the health and safety of game participants, the Niagara community and tourists from all over the country.

However, no decision has been taken on the new date for the Canada Summer Games in Niagara, but both Canada Games Council (CGC) and the Niagara Host Society are planning to hold rescheduled games during the summer of 2022. These two organizations will continue to monitor situation of the pandemic and protect the health of all participants, employees and volunteers. They will continue to provide updates to stakeholders regarding delayed games.

The postponement will not affect future Canada Games events. The Canada Winter Games in Prince Edward Island will be held in early 2023 as planned.