Officials expect the 2025 Canada Summer Games to be a huge economic boost for the province.

St. John’s was chosen as the host city for the games. It’s the first time the capital city will host the games in more than 40 years. The last time was in 1977.

Mayor Danny Breen calls the economic benefits from the games significant. They’re expecting the economic impact to be around $100-million. He compared the impact to that of the Brier, which generated about $10-million. Breen says the Canada Games will be the equivalent of ten Briers in two weeks.

Some people have questioned the decision for the city and the province to push forward with the bid, given the dire economic times that have been exacerbated by the pandemic. In fact, the province was originally supposed to host the games this year but switched spots with Ontario to have more time to plan and develop infrastructure for the event.

Breen says the city is putting over $7-million towards the games and he believes the investment will be worth it. He thinks the economic benefit is something the region needs and says the timing is perfect.