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Vancouver mayor-elect Larry Campbell said Tuesday he still plans to hold a vote on the 2010 Winter Olympics to gauge public support for the Games.

"The people of Vancouver will have their say on whether or not they want Vancouver to host the 2010 Winter Olympics," Mr. Campbell said in a news release on Tuesday.

"I would prefer the provincial government hold a province-wide referendum, but if they won't, the new city council will make sure Vancouver voters have their say on the Olympic Games, once the final bid book has been submitted."

The Vancouver-Whistler 2010 Bid Corp. are scheduled to hand over their final bid book to the International Olympic Committee on Jan. 10, with voting to take place July 2 in Laussane, Switzerland.

After consulting with city staff, Mr. Campbell's party, the Coalition of Progressive Electors, or COPE, learned that holding a civic referendum would require a new voter's list be drawn up and advanced registration take place - all of which would be extremely costly.

The party suggests that holding a plebiscite instead would be a cheaper and more efficient means of gauging public opinion on the Winter Games. COPE says the details of a plebiscite will be discussed by the new mayor and council after they are sworn in on Dec. 2.

The idea of a referendum on hosting the 2010 Games is opposed by the Vancouver-Whistler 2010 Bid Corp. The fear of the bid corporation is that any suggestion of discontent during a referendum would create a negative feeling among International Olympic Committee (IOC) members.

Vancouver-Whistler is a finalist, along with Salzburg, Austria, and Pyeongchang and South Korea for the Winter Games.