Toronto will never get the Olympics, because:
1. Whenever Toronto bids, as many people vocally oppose the bid as support it. This certainly can't go unnoticed by those making the choice. Why pick a city where half the population seems to be against the idea?
2. Funding arguments always abound. Will the federal government chip in? Provincial government? Municipal governments? What will be the ratios? This can't be reassuring from the judge's perspectives. In a place like, oh say China, this is not a concern: the government has the ultimate power to make it happen, even if it means people are evicted by bulldozer or a few thousand poor folks starve to death. The joys of authoritarianism.
3. Toronto bids always rely heavily on what we *claim* we will build, rather than what we already have. "Sure, our waterfront has been industrial wasteland for 150 years, but if we get the bid, we will convert it into a playground oasis in 6 years." Yeah, sounds fishy to me too, and I live here. Did anyone else read about how many years of red tape had to be wallowed through to build a silly beach with some umbrellas on it (referring to HtO)? Multiply this by 10,000.
4. Our public transit systems is too small, underfunded, and decrepit. We have one measly public transit link from the airport to downtown, and it takes 4 times longer than a cab. We've managed to build one pathetic useless stub of a subway line in the last half century. Our roads and highways are overloaded on a good day, and one accident creates chaos from Mississauga to Scarborough. We have very little parking downtown. Do you think the judges don't notice this sort of thing?
5. We're too close to the US. Notice that almost every other Olympics is in the US. If they give the Olympics to Canada, that means the next ones must be in Europe or Asia, and the US doesn't get an Olympics for 16 years. Do you think they will let that happen? Nope. TV ratings rule. (This applies to the summer Olympics, which are the big ratings generators, and explains why Vancouver got the 2010 Winter Games. The Winter Games are a consolation prize; but they are a non-issue in Toronto since we don't get snow and have no real mountains.)
I for one am glad. We can't even handle Woofstock or Ride for Heart without turning the downtown core into a chaotic hellhole of traffic jams. If Toronto ever gets the Olympics, I will rent my condo to some Australian or German tourists, and spend the year living and working in Australia. Or Germany. Or Iraq. Whatever the hell it takes to get away from here, because it won't be a pleasant place to be.