The 2014 Winter Olympics are under way in Sochi, Russia and I’m happy to report that Canada is currently in the lead with 3 gold medals, 3 silver medals and 1 bronze medal.

I also love our slogan: #WeAreWinter. It’s almost as good as the “Own the Podium” one associated with the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. I think it’s important to strive to be the best and I love to see us doing that.

But beyond just sports, the Olympics can also be highly political. Consider the facts that the average daily temperature in Sochi never drops below freezing and that it’s the warmest city, ever, to host the Winter Olympics. In fact, it’s where Russians vacation to get away from the cold. 

My only hope—through all the politics—is that the opportunity to city build isn’t lost.

As I’ve said before, I think major sporting events like the Olympics and the Pan American Games are a wonderful opportunity to catch up on infrastructure deficits. It creates a real deadline and pushes people and government to move quicker than they otherwise would.