The City of New Westminster has made the difficult decision to decommission the Canada Games Pool effective immediately. Canada Games Pool has been closed since September 2021 after heavy rains caused flooding in the facility’s mechanical room. During the work to resolve the flooding issue, a leak was discovered in the main pool tank.

City of New Westminster staff have been working with a team of professionals to explore all possible options to repair the leak and extend the service life of Canada Games Pool. By nature of the work involved, any attempt to repair the pool could uncover additional issues or challenges. Additionally, the significant cost, extensive work required, and an estimated timeline of approximately 8 months to complete were all contributing factors to the decision to not proceed with repairs to the facility. The decision to decommission the facility involves the least amount of risk and will allow for existing resources to remain focused on the completion of təməsew̓txʷ Aquatic and Community Centre. As part of that project, Canada Games Pool was already scheduled to be decommissioned in August 2023.

New Westminster Parks and Recreation is in the process of developing and evaluating alternative service delivery options for both fitness and aquatic programs. This includes extending the operating season of the community outdoor pools, relocating Canada Games Pool fitness equipment to Centennial Community Centre, and utilizing private and community facilities to relocate fitness programs that normally take place in the Centennial Community Centre gymnasium. There are no intentions to cancel any group fitness programs currently being offered. We recognize that this is not an ideal situation and it is our goal to balance and minimize impacts to the community to the fullest extent possible. 

The City of New Westminster acknowledges the significant loss and impact on the community and our organization. Canada Games Pool has served our community for almost 50 years and a team of professionals worked to explore all possible options to extend the service life of this valued facility. While Canada Games Pool is being decommissioned sooner than expected, we look forward to the successful completion and opening of the new təməsew̓txʷ Aquatic and Community Centre.

The City of New Westminster considers all Parks and Recreation programs and services offered to the community to be vital in supporting a high quality of life. It will take a number of weeks to fully respond to the unexpected and untimely closure of the Canada Games Pool. We ask for patience as we thoroughly consider all options and work through the various complexities to ensure we are serving all members of the community in a balanced and equitable way. We will keep the community updated as this work progresses. 

Click here to read FAQs related to the decision.

Click here to read the full media release.