It has been over 75 years since Ontario hosted a major, international multi-sport event. A successful bid to host the Pan Am Games in the Greater Golden Horseshoe would finally put an end to that draught.

Even more so, the bid brings the potential to create thousands of jobs, attract tens of thousands of tourists and leave a legacy of sports and recreational facilities for a generation.

The Pan Am and Parapan Am Games are held every four years, and competitors from all of the 42 countries of the Americas take part. Over 5,000 athletes took part in the 2007 games, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

By hosting the Pan Am Games, the region would see nearly $2 billion invested in the Ontario economy, attracting nearly a quarter of a million tourists, and triggering more than 17,000 jobs in construction, tourism and event support.

Beyond that there is a lasting legacy, namely the facilities that will be available to our communities for years to come: pools for our children to swim in, tracks for them to run on and fields for them to play on.

Southern Ontario is drastically under-serviced in sport infrastructure, an important part of ensuring that Ontarians can lead healthy, active lifestyles. Top-notch new facilities such as the ones we would require for the games would be a tremendous asset in encouraging our youth to get involved in sports.

When you combine all of these factors, this bid is an ideal fit for the Greater Golden Horseshoe.

The province has put forward a business case, pledged a significant financial contribution to the Golden Horseshoe bid and, importantly, assumed responsibility for any cost overruns.

But a viable bid could only proceed with the shared support of all levels of government. So it is good news that the federal government has decided to join Ontario at the table.

A joint funding commitment ensures that the Greater Golden Horseshoe will have a competitive bid for this prestigious international sporting event.

The last time Ontario hosted an international sporting event of this kind was in 1930, when Hamilton played host to the Commonwealth Games.

A Greater Golden Horseshoe bid for the 2015 Pan and Parapan American Games sends a clear message to the country and the international sporting community that Ontario is prepared to stage a world-class event. It is a tremendous opportunity to showcase not only our athletes, but all that Canada has to offer.

It is time that Ontario once again welcomed the international sporting community to visit us, and there is no place more ideal for it than the Greater Golden Horseshoe.