In almost every opinion poll that has been taken in the past few years, support for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver has been greater outside the host province than within it. And in recent months, enthusiasm in the rest of the country has been on the rise.

There are probably two reasons for this.

Firstly, Canadians outside British Columbia have been mostly immune to the debate that has raged on the West Coast over the cost of the Games. And secondly, the torch relay has only recently returned to British Columbia after 90 days or so whipping up Olympic fever across the land.

Still, the degree to which the rest of Canada has embraced these Games has been impressive. Which leads to the question: Are these Canada’s Games or British Columbia’s? And whose interests and considerations should prevail when it comes to decisions where there may be conflicting interests or differences in opinion?

The dilemma is reflected in a new Angus Reid poll commissioned by The Globe and Mail. In it, respondents were asked to name their choice to light the Olympic cauldron to open the Games. The list of eight candidates included former Olympians Gaétan Boucher and Catriona Le May Doan, speed skating marvel Cindy Klassen, British Columbians Betty Fox, Rick Hansen, Senator Nancy Greene Raine and Joe Sakic, and finally, retired hockey superstar Wayne Gretzky.

Inside British Columbia, Mr. Hansen was the choice of 38 per cent of those polled, compared to 24 per cent for Ms. Fox, 14 per cent for Ms. Greene Raine and 12 per cent for Mr. Gretzky. But nationally it was a different story. Mr. Gretzky was the clear favourite among Canadians generally, with 25 per cent support. Mr. Hansen was next at 17 per cent while Ms. Greene Raine received 12 per cent of the vote and Ms. Fox 10 per cent.

So, should a decision like this be weighted favour of in B.C.’s opinion? Should concessions be made to the province that has assumed the greatest share of the financial burden of this event? Or has the contribution of the rest of the country been just as important?

These are all questions that have, at times, prompted lengthy and animated discussions among senior-ranking officials at the Vancouver Organizing Committee. And for the most part, VANOC has walked an incredibly fine line with a great deal of aplomb – an achievement that could all go up in smoke if British Columbians don’t get their way with the cauldron lighter.

I jest. Sort of.

The fact is, British Columbia has received host-province (see preferential) treatment from VANOC in some key regards. More people from British Columbia will have carried the torch during the relay than from any other province. More entertainers from British Columbia will be on Olympic stages too. There have been other employment benefits. But for the most part, VANOC has worked hard to sell these Olympics globally as an endeavour of the nation – not just Vancouver or British Columbia.

And the Games will be better for it.

“While we knew that the power of the Games would throw an enormous, bright, shining light on us here on the West Coast, we also thought that that light would be brighter, stronger and last longer if we brought the whole country together,” VANOC CEO John Furlong said in an interview yesterday on this subject.

“Wherever possible, that philosophy has guided our decisions. We think it looks better on us, quite frankly, and I get a real sense of satisfaction whenever I hear someone say that these are ‘Canada’s Games.’ And I don’t think people on the West Coast have been diminished even marginally by it.”

This credo – which I think will ultimately govern the final decision on who lights the cauldron – was evident from the moment VANOC started planning the torch relay route. It was Mr. Furlong who insisted the torch travel to the farthest reaches of each province to give as many Canadians as possible a chance of seeing it. And who felt these Games could be as much about nation building as anything else.

I don’t think many people in British Columbia would argue with the decision either. Although most would tell you it would be nice if their fellow Canadians shared some of the Olympic costs as well as the glory. (And they have).

There are, of course, other matters on which British Columbians will never agree with those living elsewhere in the country.

When asked by Angus Reid who the starting goalie for the Canadian men’s Olympic hockey team should be, 57 per cent of British Columbians said Canucks netminder Roberto Luongo. In the rest of the country, however, Martin Brodeur was the overwhelming choice.

Who will get their way?

“That’s one decision I’m glad I don’t have to make,” Mr. Furlong said.