Calgary, Alberta
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| Motto: Heart of the new west | |||
| Area: | 712.14 sq. km. | ||
| Population - Total (2001) - Density | 878,866 1252.3/km² | ||
| Time zone | Mountain: UTC-7 | ||
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Latitude
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51°6' N | ||
| MPs | |||
| Diane Ablonczy, Rob Anders, Art Hanger, Stephen Harper, Jason Kenney, Deepak Obhrai, Jim Prentice, Lee Richardson | |||
| MLAs | |||
| Cindy Ady, Moe Amery, Wayne Cao, Harvey Cenaiko, Alana DeLong, Heather Forsyth, Yvonne Fritz, Marlene Graham, Denis Herard, Mark Hlady, Ralph Klein, Karen Kryczka, Jon Lord, Richard Magnus, Gary Mar, Greg Melchin, Pat Nelson, Hung Pham, Shiraz Shariff, Murray Smith, Ron Stevens, | |||
| Mayor | David Bronconnier | ||
| Governing body | Calgary City Council | ||
| City of Calgary | |||
Calgary is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. It is situated towards the south of the province, in a region of hills and high plains east of the Rocky Mountains and sits at an elevation of about 1000 metres above sea level. As of 2002, the metropolitan population was 993,200.As of 2003, the metropolitan population was at an estimated 997,150. By 2005 the population is expected to reach over 1.2 million. It is the largest city in Alberta and the third largest in Canada, serving as the hub of the fifth largest Census Metropolitan Areain Canada. Calgary is located in Division No. 6.
Calgary International Airport serves the city.
Calgary's economy is largely centred on the petroleum industry, with agriculture and high-tech industries contributing to the city's rapid economic growth.
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First settlement
Before Calgary was settled by white Europeans, it was the domain of the Blackfoot people, whose presence has been traced back 11,000 years. In 1787 cartographer David Thompson spent the winter with a band of Peigan Indians encamped along the Bow River in the Calgary area. He was the first recorded European to visit the area. By 1860 settlers began arriving to hunt buffalo and sell illegal whiskey.
The first recorded settler in Calgary was rancher Sam Livingston in the early 1870s, and in 1875 the site became a post of the North West Mounted Police (now the RCMP). Originally named Fort Brisbois, it was renamed to Fort Calgary in 1876. The detachment was assigned to protect the western plains from whiskey traders from the United States. Fort Calgary was named by Colonel James MacLeod after Calgary (Cala-ghearraidh, Bay of the pasture) on the Isle of Mull, Scotland. When the Canadian Pacific Railway constructed a major rail station in the city, Calgary began to grow into an important commercial and agricultural centre. (The Canadian Pacific Railway headquarters are located in Calgary today.) Calgary was officially incorporated as a town in 1884 and elected its first mayor George Murdoch. In 1894, Calgary was elevated to a city.
The oil boom
With the discovery of oil in Alberta in the mid–20th century, Calgary became the centre of an accompanying oil boom. Calgary's economy grew when oil prices increased with the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973. The city's population grew from 325,000 in 1974 to 647,000 in 1987. During this time, Calgary skyscrapers were constructed at a pace seen by few cities anywhere. With the announcement of the National Energy Program in 1981 the oil boom started to subside. The NEP was cancelled in the mid-1980s by the Mulroney government, and Calgary has since largely recovered.
Calgary remains the oil capital of Canada and second only to Toronto for corporate head offices. The beef industry is also very important to Calgary, as it is a distribution centre for the outlying rural areas. Lakeside Packers and Cargill Limited near Calgary are some of the most modern, state-of-the-art beef processing facilities in North America.
The Stampede
The Calgary Stampede was inaugurated in 1912 by Guy Weadick, an American trick roper. Weadick wanted to put on a world-class rodeo event and Wild West show that would bring the best cowboys from across the continent. The first Stampede was the richest rodeo competition in North America with prize money totalling $20,000. It drew more than 100,000 spectators. For the year 2000, the attendance to the 10-day rodeo and exhibition totalled 1,218,851 people. During Stampede Week, the city's residents dress in western attire, and nearly all businesses decorate their stores and offices western style. The Calgary Stampede is often called "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth."
Cultural scene
Calgary's cultural scene has changed considerably over time. Today it has grown into a more cosmopolitan city despite its traditional culture of hotel saloons, hockey and western music.
Calgary is home to the internationally-renowned contemporary theatre company One Yellow Rabbit. The company shares the massive EPCOR Centre for the Performing Arts with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra and two more established theatre companies, Theatre Calgary and Alberta Theatre Projects. Calgary was also the birthplace, in the 1970s, of the improvisational theatre games known as Theatresports.
Calgary is affectionately called the Nashville of the North, and took a large part in the country revival of the 1990s. Currently, some of the city's most popular bars trade on the image of cool country, playing contemporary country music to young twenty-somethings.
Outdoor Recreation
Calgary is next to some of the most prestine natural enviornment in the world. Banff National Park is about 150km due west of Calgary. Closer to Calgary at about 100km West is Kananaskis Country.
Many Calgarians and hundreds of thousands of tourists enjoy activities such as hiking, skiing and fishing in these great parks every year.
Political scene
Calgary is traditionally seen as a conservative city, dominated by older small-c social conservatives and more modern fiscal conservatives. This is only aided by the fact that the city is a corporate power-centre, with a high percentage of the workforce employed in white-collar professions. During the 1990s the city's mainstream political culture was dominated by the right-wing Reform Party. However, as Calgary has grown, its politics have gained more diversity, particularly on the left. This growing alternative left-wing political culture got a lot of attention during the 2000 World Petroleum Congress and the J26 G8 Protests. The largest protests in the city's history erupted in early 2003, in response to the War on Iraq. The city has a chapters of various well-known organizations, as well as an Anti-Capitalist Convergence
Prior to the 26th Alberta general election on November 22, 2004, all eight of Calgary's federal MPs were members of the Conservative Party of Canada, and all 21 provincial MLAs were Progressive Conservatives. The city gained two additional legislature seats for the provincial election, where according to unofficial results the Liberals have broken the Tory monopoly by winning three seats.
Education
Calgary is the site of four major tertiary educational institutions: the University of Calgary, The Alberta College of Art & Design, the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, and Mount Royal College.
Sports
Calgary held the 1988 Winter Olympic Games. The remaining venues have become a training site for athletes around the world.
Military presence
Calgary is still home to a sizable military presence, including HMCS Tecumseh, a unit of the Naval Reserve, the HMCS Tecumseh Band, and 746 Communications Squadron (Communications Reserve), as well as several units of the Army Reserve, including:
- Headquarters, 41 Canadian Brigade Group
- The King's Own Calgary Regiment (Royal Canadian Armoured Corps)
- Regimental Band of The King's Own Calgary Regiment (RCAC)
- 33 Field Engineer Squadron (Canadian Military Engineers)
- The Calgary Highlanders
- Regimental Pipes and Drums of The Calgary Highlanders
- 14 Service Battalion
- Calgary Detachment, 15 Field Ambulance (Canadian Forces Medical Service)
- Militia Training Detachment Calgary
Additionally, there are several squadrons of the Royal Canadian Sea Cadets, Navy League Cadets, Royal Canadian Army Cadets and Royal Canadian Air Cadets
Local media
Daily newspapers
- Calgary Herald - The largest newspaper in Calgary. Generally conservative, covers more worldly news than the Calgary Sun. Owned by the CanWest media company.
- Calgary Sun - Tabloid-sized paper, big on sports (and famous for Sunshine Girl) with significantly less content than advertisements. Covers the little tidbits that make Calgary unique.
- Globe and Mail - Canada's "National Newspaper", more liberal than the other papers with more world news, business and arts coverage.
- National Post - Daily national news owned by CanWest Global Communications.
Radio stations
AM
- 580 - CKUA - Info/Educational
- 660 - CFR - Classic Gold/Oldies
- 770 - QR77 - Talk Radio
- 910 - QR91 - Country/Drumheller
- 960 - CFAC - "The Fan" all-sports
- 1010 - CBR - CBC
- 1060 - CKMX - Golden Oldies (pre-70's)
- 1140 - CFXL - Adult
FM
- 88.1 - new community station
- 88.9 - CJSI - Shine-FM - Contemporary Christian
- 89.7 - CBCX - Espace Musique
- 90.9 - CJSW - University of Calgary
- 91.1 - CKDQ - Q91 country, broadcasting from Drumheller
- 92.1 - CJAY - Classic Rock
- 93.7 - CKUA - Info/Educational
- 94.7 - CHKF - Asian Canadian community
- 95.9 - CHFM - Lite 96 adult contemporary
- 96.9 - CKIS - Jack FM Variety
- 98.5 - CIBK - Vibe 98.5 urban music
- 100.9 - CFXL - The Eagle classic rock/variety, broadcasting out of Okotoks
- 102.1 - CBR-FM - CBC Radio Two
- 103.1 - CIQX - The Breeze easy listening/jazz
- 103.9 - CBRF-FM - La Première Chaîne
- 105.1 - CKRY - Country 105
- 107.1 - CKIK - Q-107 classic rock
Television stations
- 2 - CICT - Calgary Independent Television
- 4 - CFCN CTV - (Canadian Television Network)
- 8 - CKAL A-Channel - (Craig Broadcasting Corporation)
- 9 - CBRT CBC - (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation)
- 13 - CJAL Access - Alberta Educational Television Network
Related topics
See also
- List of mayors of Calgary, Alberta
- List of the 100 largest cities in Canada
- List of the 100 largest metropolitan areas in Canada
- 1988 Winter Olympics
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