On Saturday, the first-ever national MNP Canada Games Torch Relay visited Prince George with 12 torchbearers participating in the relay.
Torch relays and community celebration stops are hosted over the coming months across Canada before arriving in Red Deer, Alberta for the Opening Ceremony of the 2019 Canada Winter Games on February 15, 2019.
“The MNP Canada Games Torch Relay is an exciting opportunity to share the spirit of the Canada Games across the nation,” said Lyn Radford, board chair of the 2019 Canada Winter Games Host Society. “We are proud to partner with MNP to deliver the first-ever national MNP Canada Games Torch Relay and celebrate sport and culture in communities across the nation from now until the opening ceremony of the 2019 Canada Winter Games in Red Deer.”
Prince George hosted the last Canada Winter Games in 2015.
“For MNP, the opportunity to participate in the coast-to-coast Torch Relay is a real honour and a wonderful way for us, as a ‘Made in Canada’ firm, to celebrate our 60th anniversary,” said Jason Tuffs, Chief Executive Officer of MNP. “We wish all the athletes, their families, Games organizers, leadership and volunteers a fun and successful 2019 Canada Winter Games.”
“All of us in Prince George have such great memories of hosting the Canada Winter Games in 2015 and the torch relay gives us a chance to relive those days – even for just a few hours,” said Mayor Lyn Hall. “On behalf of city council and all of the residents of Prince George, I’d like to wish Red Deer all the best on hosting the 2019 Winter Games. The Games are truly an unbelievable experience that will change your community forever.”
As part of Canada Games tradition, the Roly McLenahan Torch was lit from the Centennial Flame on Parliament Hill with
Minister of Science and Sport Kirsty Duncan, , on October 4. From Ottawa, the torch journeys across Canada for the first time in the 51-year history of the Canada Games.
The MNP Canada Games Torch Relay visits almost 50 communities across Canada through a series of torch relay and community celebration stops before arriving in Red Deer for the opening ceremony of the 2019 Games. The next torch relay event is in Grand Prairie, Alberta on January 5.
