The 2021 Francophonie Games will not go ahead in Moncton and Dieppe, due to to increased costs and a lack of funding commitment from Ottawa.
That from Premier Blaine Higgs who made the announcement in Fredericton this morning.
Higgs says this decision was not easy, but they could not in good conscience invest more than they had already committed.
He says a representative will be named in the coming days to the organizing committee board of directors to start the formal cancellation process.
There’s no word on how much the cancellation will cost the provincial government.
The provincial government had set aside $10 million for the 2021 games, and the original estimate for hosting the games was $17 million.
In November 2018, the costs ballooned to $130 million.
Higgs said that the federal government’s funding formula to support major sporting events is inadequate.
