Montreal Olympic Games left a legacy that's still being felt, 50 years later

The Olympic rings are displayed outside Olympic Stadium in Montreal on Monday, May 4, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

MONTREAL — When reflecting on the 1976 Montreal Games, it’s hard not to think of the controversies surrounding the Olympic Stadium, whose problem-plagued construction and ballooning costs earned it the nickname the “Big Owe.”

But 50 years later, key players in the Olympic movement say the first Games on Canadian soil had a lasting impact on Quebec’s sporting culture that went far beyond those negative headlines.

“These Games left a great legacy,” said Thomas Bach, who is the honorary president of the International Olympic Committee and a 1976 gold medallist in the team foil fencing event.

“I remember the controversies at the time, like with all the Games to follow elsewhere,” he said by video from Lausanne, Switzerland in June.

“Having visited Montreal afterwards, seeing the Olympic Park, the Olympic Village and the stadium, in seeing that Montreal and Canada have since become premier hosts for international sporting events — like the Road World Cycling Championships you’re welcoming this year — all of this is because of the these first Games.”

Canada, he added “put itself on the world map as a major organizer of sporting events.”

Eric Myles, the chief sport officer at the Canadian Olympic Committee, said he sometimes hears people express regret about the Olympic Stadium. Over the years, the venue has attracted negative press for its chunks of falling concrete, a faulty retractable roof and a $1-billion price tag that took Montrealers three decades to pay off.

“What was unfortunate about the Olympic Stadium was the corruption (surrounding its construction),” Myles said in an interview at the committee’s offices earlier this year. “It didn’t have anything to do with the Games.”

He said the Montreal Games were the first to be profitable, in terms of operating expenses, which surprises people to hear.

“It’s crazy when you say that; people look at you and don’t believe you,” Myles said. “They were incredibly well organized.”

Claude Mailhot, a sports broadcaster who covered 21 Olympic Games, including in Montreal and Vancouver 2010, also believes the Games were a success.

“The Montreal Games worked so well, despite the costs for the stadium and the criticism (then-Montreal Mayor Jean Drapeau) received, that if Montreal hadn’t done a good job, Calgary and Vancouver would have never got to host Olympic Games,” he said.

Bach believes that while the Games attracted controversy, people’s attitudes have shifted over time.

“Now, with a little hindsight, people can realize that it wasn’t debt, but that Canada made a very good investment,” he said. “Canada has been seeing a return on that investment for several years.”

The Games were also the catalyst to build some of the country’s first major sporting venues, many of which are still in use today. Those include the Claude-Robillard Sports Complex, the Olympic Basin, and the stadium, which is currently getting a new roof.

“There are a lot of things that are still there and that have really benefitted the Montreal, Quebec and Canadian communities,” Myles said. “That was really a plus.”

Tricia Smith, the president of the Canadian Olympic Committee, added that the Games led to the creation of a number of provincial sports federations.

In recent years, some 40 per cent of Canada’s Olympic team has been comprised of Quebec athletes, which may also be part of the Montreal legacy.

“As an athlete, you could see the support Quebec has for its athletes,” said Smith, a four-time Olympian who won a silver medal in rowing in Los Angeles in 1984.

She said that enthusiasm continues today.

“Quebec has a fantastic culture of support for its athletes, whether it’s the spectators who turn out in person or the coverage provided by the media,” she said.

Myles agrees the structures and organizations that support athletes are particularly strong in the province. Those include provincial sports departments, businesses that sponsor events, comprehensive media coverage and strong citizen support.

He said the province has developed an expertise and is often considered “avant-gardiste.”

“Yes, it exists elsewhere in Canada, but it’s much more fragmented,” he said. “In some way, a lot of that comes from the 1976 Games.”

That includes the education department’s Sport-études program, which allows student athletes to balance their education with competitive goals.

“Some extremists want the focus to be solely on development, but we can’t abandon excellence,” Myles said. “It’s the balance between the two that is needed. When it’s done right, there is a great place for it. I feel the Games really helped foster that — the desire to be the best.”

Mailhot believes the 1976 Games helped to boost the province’s sporting culture in a way that is still being felt, 50 years later.

“It opened up the minds of people in Montreal, and probably all of Quebec, that there was more than just professional sports,” he said.

He believes the Olympics inspired many people to launch their own amateur sporting careers, or to start to compete more seriously.

“Maybe some young people saw that and told themselves, ‘Maybe distance running might interest me. I run already, but now, maybe I can run for medals,’” he said. “I’m sure (the Olympics) were a catalyst and a positive influence.

— With files from Michel Lamarche

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 13, 2026

Frédéric Daigle, The Canadian Press