Calgary is a city in western Canada, located in the province of
Alberta. In 2021, the city had a population of 1,306,784 and a
metropolitan area of 1,481,806, making it the third-largest city
and fifth-largest metropolitan area in Canada.
Calgary is
located at the confluence of the Bow and Elbow rivers in the
south of the province, in a transition zone between the
foothills of the Rockies and the Prairies, approximately 80
kilometers east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies, 299
kilometers south of the provincial capital Edmonton and 240
kilometers north of the Canada-US border. The city anchors the
southern end of the "Calgary-Edmonton Corridor", an area defined
by Statistics Canada, corresponding to the most populous urban
area in the country between Toronto and Vancouver.
Calgary's economy includes activities in the energy, financial,
film, television, transportation, logistics, technology,
manufacturing, aerospace, healthcare sectors and wellness,
retail and tourism. The Calgary region is home to the second
most head offices in Canada, among the country's 800 largest
corporations.
In 2015, Calgary had the highest number of
millionaires per capita of any major Canadian city. It is also
host to several major annual festivals, including the Calgary
Stampede, the Lilac Festival and the Sun and Salsa Festival. In
1988, Calgary became the first Canadian city to host the Winter
Olympics.
Calgary enjoys a continental climate with long but highly variable
winters and short, hot summers. The climate is greatly influenced by the
elevation of the city and the proximity of the Rocky Mountains. Although
Calgary's cold winters can be very uncomfortable, the hot, dry wind,
called "Chinook", regularly blows over the city from the Pacific Ocean
during the winter months, giving Calgarians a break during the season.
cold. These winds have sometimes raised the temperature by more than
15°C in a few hours, and can last for several days. The Chinook is such
a regular feature of Calgary winters that only one month (January 1950)
has gone without snowmelt in over 100 years of weather observations.
More than half of winter days have a maximum temperature above 0°C.
Occasionally, the temperature in winter can even approach 20°C.
Calgary is a city of extremes, and temperatures can range from a record
cold of −45°C in 1893 to a record high of 36°C in 1919. Calgary
experiences summer daytime temperatures above 30° About four days a
year. The temperature falls below −30°C five days a year on average;
however, periods of extreme cold usually do not last very long.
According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, the average
temperature in Calgary ranges from an average of −9°C in January to an
average of 16°C in July.
As a result of Calgary's high altitude,
summer evenings can be quite chilly; the average low in summer is 8°C
and frost can occur in any month of the year. The city has even
experienced snow in July and August. With an average relative humidity
of 55% in winter and 45% in summer, Calgary has a semi-arid climate
typical of other cities in the Western Great Plains and Canadian
Prairies. Unlike other cities further east, such as Toronto, Montreal,
and even Winnipeg, humidity is almost never a factor during the summer
in Calgary.
The city is one of the sunniest in Canada, with an
average of 2,405 hours of sunshine annually. Calgary receives an average
of 413 mm of precipitation, including 321 mm of rain and 127 cm of snow.
Most of the precipitation falls from May to August; June sees the
heaviest rainfall on average. In June 2005, Calgary received 248 mm of
precipitation, making it the wettest month in the city's history. In
2013, the late June flood in Alberta caused even greater damage, washing
away parts of downtown and forcing the evacuation of more than 75,000
residents, as rains in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains swelled the
Bow and Elbow rivers. Droughts are not unusual, however, and can occur
at any time of the year.
Calgary experiences more than 20 days of
thunderstorms per year on average, with almost all occurring in the
summer. The city sits on the edge of Alberta's hail corridor and
occasionally experiences hail damage. The hailstorm that struck Calgary
in 1991 was one of the most destructive natural disasters in Canadian
history.
Seasons
Winter: November to mid-March
Spring:
mid-March to May
Summer: June to August
Fall: September to
November
By plane
Calgary International Airport
Calgary International
Airport (IATA: YYC; 17km northeast of downtown). One terminal each for
domestic and international flights, 620 meters walk from each other;
also shuttle buses. WestJet has its hub here and occupies areas A and B
in the domestic terminal, C uses Air Canada. The international terminal
opened in 2016. Border formalities for entering the USA already take
place here. From Europe there are direct flights from Frankfurt or
Amsterdam. To use the luggage storage in the arrivals area (7:00 a.m. -
12:00 a.m.), travel and identity documents must be shown; luggage may be
searched. A quiet zone is at Gate A24. The seating in Banff Hall and
Kananaskis Hall in the domestic terminal is also relatively comfortable.
Feature: WiFi.
All car rental companies can be found in the Rental
Car Centre. It is opposite the domestic terminal departure level.
Hangar Flight Museum (Aero Space Museum), 4629 McCall Way NE,
Calgary, AB T2E 8A. Open: Tue.-Sun. 10.00-16.00.
transport
connection
Motorway: via the “Seerfoot Trail” (= Highway 2).
Taxi: from exit 1, 9 or 15. 2023 approx. c$ 40-45 to the city centre.
Curbside Airport Sedan Service Limousine service with zone based
flat rate e.g. B. from downtown c$ 68.75.
Long-distance buses:
Red Arrow Motorcoach from bus stop 11 to Edmonton, Red Deer and
Lethbridge. Advance reservation necessary, no ticket sales here. To
Medicine Hat with J&L Shuttle Service.
Tram Stop:
McKnight–Westwinds Station, Blue Line.
City buses, from arrivals
levels exit 7 (domestic) or 15 (international) between the two, tickets
are available at 7-Eleven near exit 10. Lines:
100: to
McKnight–Westwinds Tram Stop and North Pointe Bus Terminal
300:
express bus (with special fare) to downtown
to the freight center
only, not to the terminal: 32 Huntington/Sunridge and 57
Erinwoods/McCall Way
airport hotels
There are two hotels in
the airport: Marriott In-Terminal Hotel and Delta Hotels Calgary Airport
In-Terminal. Nearby are: Applause Hotel, Hotel Clique, Homewood Suites,
Wyndham Garden. A number of nearby hotels offer shuttle buses.
General Aviation
Springbank Airport (Calgary/Springbank Airport,
ICAO: CYBW) . Landing pad for smaller aircraft, general aviation,
charter (including helicopters) to remote regions. In even-numbered
years, the Wings Over Springbank air show is held here over a weekend in
July.
Winters Aire Park Airport (Indus/Winters Aire Park Airport,
ICAO: CFY4)
By train
Long-distance trains are no longer
available.
By bus
Calgary Downtown Ticket Office, 101-205 9
Ave SE, Calgary, AB T2G 0R3. Tel: +18002321958. reservation center. All
Red Arrow and ebus bus departures from Calgary. Open: 7.30am-6.30pm.
Red Arrow North Ticket Office, 304 35 Ave NE, Calgary, AB T2E 2K6.
reservation center. All Red Arrow buses out of Calgary stop here, but
not all inbound ones.
Boarding at the Deerfoot Inn & Casino (at the
horse statue; 11500 35 St SE, #1000) only by prior arrangement and
ticket purchased elsewhere.
In the street
The Trans-Canada
Highway intersects the city north of downtown. After Edmonton, Highway 2
belongs north.
In addition to a dense network of highways, Calgary surprisingly has
a very good network of bicycles and, thanks to the C-Trains, also a
useful tram network. There are also buses and a free inner-city tram
area. The entire inner city area is subject to a charge for parked
vehicles Mon-Sat.
plus 15
Plus 15 is a system of 86 pedestrian
bridges that connect 133 buildings, mainly office towers and shopping
centers, in downtown over a distance of 16 km. In the corresponding
streets it has led to the desertion of business life.
local
transport
Calgary Transit coordinates local public transport.
There are mainly buses that serve as feeders for the two tram lines
(“CTrain”). Some bus lines operate as “Express routes”. The area between
the City Hall and Downtown West tram stops is the "Downtown Free Zone,"
which does not require a ticket.
The single trip (90 minutes)
costs 2023 for adults c$ 3.60, young people 13-17 c$ 2.45, which are
also available in packs of 10 without a discount. Day tickets (daily)
are available for c$ 11.25/8.25. On weekends there is a “Weekend Group
Day Pass” 2 adults + max 3 children for c$15. Tickets can be bought in
the customer centers, vending machines at the tram stations (coins or
card only) or in many small shops with the Calgary Transit Logo.
Fare
evasion costs c$ 150, payable at the customer center within 15 days,
after that it becomes more expensive. After 6 weeks, a court summons is
issued.
taxi
The following call taxi companies also have
wheelchair-accessible vehicles:
Associated Cab, Tel. 403 299 1111
Checker Cabs, Tel. 403 299 9999
Downtown Calgary consists of a sizable skyline, Calgary Tower (with
Visitor Center), a historic pedestrian precinct from the post-fire era
Calgary Tower, 101 9th Avenue SW. Phone: +1 403-266-7171 . Open:
10.00-21.00/22.00. Price: c$21.00.
Heritage Park. Next to downtown
Calgary the most important attraction. It is a living historic town with
buildings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. with a historic
railway, paddle wheel steamer, a great automobile museum, historic
fairgrounds, Hudson's Bay Trading Post and all kinds of more. All rides,
demonstrations and explanations are included in the price. Excellent for
children and adults with an interest in western Canadian history. Open:
late May-October; Museum and café all year round.
Along the Bow River
there are beautiful parks including islands in the river, on which the
famous Calgary Zoo is located. The RiverWalk promenade goes west from
Chinatown.
The 1988 Canada Olympic Park is not very spectacular, but
today it offers some summer and winter sports activities. In addition,
in the Hall of Fame, the magic can be recreated and some sports can be
tried out in the simulator.
Chinatown (downtown, one block from Bow
River) . Sights include the Chinese Cultural Center with a museum and
gallery, and Sien Lok Park with its pagoda and sculptures. In addition,
the diverse district offers numerous shops and authentic restaurants for
specialties.
Fish Creek Provincial Park. Elongated landscape
conservation area in the south of the city. With marked hiking trails
that are often used as cross-country ski trails in winter.
Museums
Military Museums (The Military Museums), 4520 Crowchild Trail
SW, Calgary, AB T2T 5J4 (buses: 7 or 107 South Calgary, 13 Mount Royal,
or 63 Lakeview Express). Departments for the various branches of the
Canadian military. Outdoor area with a collection of Leopard tanks.
Price: adults c$ 15, seniors c$ 5.
Glenbow Museum, 130 9 Avenue SE
(opposite Calgary Tower). Art and local history museum with permanent
exhibition, archive as well as temporary exhibitions and events. In
addition, a special library with reference to western Canada.
Alternative address during renovation: Glenbow at the Edison / Second
Floor, 150 9 Ave SW. Open: due to Renovation closed until 2024 Price:
free.
Esker Foundation (Museum of Art), 1011 9 Ave SE 4th floor,
Calgary, AB T2G 0H7. Open: 11.00-18.00. Price: free.
Fort Calgary.
Birthplace of today's city. North West Mounted Police wooden fort dating
from 1875 with historical displays and guided tours. Open: Fri.-Sun.
10.00-17.00 (limited due to building damage in 2023). Price: c$10.
National Music Center, 850 4th Street SE . Collection opened in 2016
with 2000 instruments.
BMO Center (formerly Round-up Centre), 20 Roundup Way SE, Calgary, AB
T2G 2W1 (Tram 201: Victoria Park / Stampede Station) wikipediacommons.
Largest convention center, expanded in 2020.
There are five municipal
golf courses and a total of 61 in the metropolitan area.
Inglewood
Aquatic Centre, 1527 17 Ave SE, Calgary, AB T2G 1J9. Indoor pool, 25 m
pool. Open: 12.00-20.00, weekends 7.30-15.30. Price: c$ 8.50.
South
Calgary Outdoor Pool, 3130 16 St SW, Calgary, AB T2T 4G7. Open:
12.00-19.45.
Many festivals and other important cultural events take place annually in Calgary. These include the Calgary International Film Festival, Calgary Folk Music Festival, Greek Festival, Carifest, Lilac Festival, GlobalFest, Calgary Fringe Festival, Summerstock, Expo Latino, and many other cultural and ethnic festivals. Calgary's most famous event is the Calgary Stampede, or Calgary Rodeo, which takes place every July; the Stampede includes an internationally known rodeo, theatrical productions, agricultural competitions, bullock cart races, native exhibits, and pancake lunches across town, among others. It is one of the biggest festivals in Canada, and one of the best known. The event has a history that dates back 93 years. In 2005, 1,242,928 people attended the Calgary Rodeo. In 2009 Calgary hosts the Trades Olympiad competition organized by WorldSkills International, a competition that allows the best young professionals in the world to measure themselves through their professional know-how.
Thanks to its proximity to the Rocky Mountains, Calgary has always
been a popular tourist destination for winter sports. Calgary hosted the
XV Olympic Winter Games in 1988, the only Winter Olympics to declare a
profit.
Golf is extremely popular in the summer and the city has
a large number of golf courses. Calgary also hosts the most endowed show
jumping competition, in equitation.
Stephen Avenue is the inner-city pedestrian street with The Core
shopping center. Here are also the skyscrapers Scotia Center and Bankers
Hall, the Telus Convention Center and the luxury hotels Hyatt Regency
Calgary and Calgary Marriott.
A market hall is the Farmers' Market
South on the edge of a shopping area on the Bow River.
A sprawling
commercial area for shopping on the western outskirts of Signal Hill
Centre
Calgary takes its name from a beach on the Isle of Mull in Scotland. The people of Calgary are called "Calgarians".
Prior to the settlement of the Calgary area by Europeans, the area
was part of the domain of the Blackfoot people, whose presence dates
back at least 11,000 years. The French were the first Europeans to
explore the region. They built Fort La Jonquière, whose exact location
remains uncertain in 1751 (or 1754 according to some sources), near
present-day Calgary, along the Bow River. In 1787, cartographer David
Thompson wintered with a band of Peigans camping along the Bow River. In
1873, John Glenn was the first English-speaking European to settle in
the region.
The place became a post of the North West Mounted
Police (today the RCMP). The mounted police detachment was tasked with
protecting the western plains from whiskey merchants from the United
States. First called Fort Brisebois, in honor of officer Éphrem-A.
Brisebois (in) of the mounted police, Canadian volunteer veteran of the
Civil War (in the ranks of the Union) and former member of the Canadian
battalion of the Papal Zouaves, the city was renamed Fort Calgary in
1876 because of the lively hostility from Colonel Macleod, his superior.
James Macleod proposes to the authorities to give the city the name of a
beach on the Isle of Mull in Scotland (Cala-ghearraidh), which is
accepted. When the Canadian Pacific Railway extended to the area and a
train station was built, Calgary began to become a major commercial and
agricultural center. Today, Canadian Pacific's head office is in
Calgary.
Calgary officially acquired municipal status in 1884 and
elected its first mayor, George Murdoch. In 1894, Calgary became the
first city in what was then the Northwest Territories.
The first oil deposits were discovered in Alberta in 1902, but it was
not until 1947 that the oil industry really became important when huge
reserves were discovered. Calgary soon found itself at the center of the
subsequent oil boom. The city's economy booms when oil prices skyrocket
due to the Arab countries' oil embargo. The population grew by 254,000
inhabitants in the seventeen years from 1971 (403,000) and 1988
(657,000); 335,000 more inhabitants are added in the following eighteen
years (up to 992,000 in 2006). During these years of expansion,
skyscrapers were built at a rate almost unprecedented in the world. The
city center, until then dominated by buildings with a few stories, was
quickly overwhelmed with skyscrapers, a trend that continues to this
day.
Calgary's economy is so tied to the oil industry that the
city's expansion peaked at the same time as the average annual oil price
in 1981. The subsequent drop in oil prices and the introduction of the
National Energy Program by the federal Liberal government of Pierre
Elliott Trudeau are identified by the oil industry as reasons for the
collapse of the industry, and consequently the general economy of the
city of Calgary. The National Energy Program was abolished in the
mid-1980s by the Conservative government of Brian Mulroney; however, low
oil prices prevented a full recovery until the 1990s.
As the energy sector is responsible for the largest share of jobs in
Calgary, the consequences of the recession of the 1980s are enormous.
The unemployment rate is skyrocketing. Towards the end of the decade,
however, the economy was on the way to recovery. The city realizes that
it cannot depend so much on the oil industry alone, and the city has
diversified a lot since then, economically and culturally. The recession
period marked Calgary's transition from a mid-sized prairie city to a
cosmopolitan and diverse urban centre. This transition was completed in
February 1988 when the city hosted the XV Olympic Winter Games; the
success of these Games announces the entry of the city on the world
stage.
The economy of Calgary and Alberta is now booming and the
region, which today is home to nearly 1.1 million people, is still one
of the fastest growing in the country. The oil and gas industry occupies
the largest share of the economy, but the city has also invested heavily
in other sectors including tourism, light manufacturing, high
technology, cinema, transport and Services.
Calgary is located in southern Alberta on the prairie and is the
largest city in this province before Edmonton, the provincial capital,
which is about 300 kilometers to the north. This makes Calgary the
largest city between Vancouver in the west on the Pacific and Toronto in
the east on the Great Lakes. The Rocky Mountains stretch about 80
kilometers to the west.
From the confluence of the Bow and Elbow
Rivers, the city spreads evenly in all directions. The urban area is
slightly hilly, as it lies on the eastern foothills of the Foothills, a
hilly transition region to the Rocky Mountains. The surrounding
landscape is part of the ecoregion also known as Aspen Parkland.
The larger Bow River flows through Calgary from west to south, bounding
downtown at its northern end. The Elbow River crosses the city from the
south to confluence with the Bow River east of downtown at Fort Calgary.
Summers in Calgary are warm, while winters can be very cold, with temperatures not exceeding freezing for long periods. This cold phase can suddenly be replaced by a warm phase with temperatures of almost 20 °C. This is caused by the Chinook, a warm foe-like wind that blows down from the Rocky Mountains of Calgary. On the other hand, it is also possible that snowstorms will break out as early as the beginning of October.
Overview
Despite the diversification that has been promoted since
the 1980s, Calgary's economy is still heavily influenced by the gas and
petroleum industries. Companies such as BP, Canadian Natural Resources,
EnCana, Enerplus, Imperial Oil, Pembina Pipeline, Petro-Canada, Shell,
Suncor Energy, Precision Drilling, Crew Energy and TC Energy are
headquartered in Calgary. Major corporations in other industries such as
Canadian Pacific Railway, Dow Chemical, NOVA Chemicals, General Dynamics
Canada, Shaw Communications and WestJet Airlines also do business from
Calgary.
In 2007, the Calgary metro area had approximately
703,200 jobs and an unemployment rate of 3.2 percent. The unemployment
rate rose to seven percent in December 2009.
In a 2018 ranking of
the world's top financial centers, Calgary was ranked 38th.
The
important CANAMEX Corridor runs through Calgary. This trade route was
defined as part of the North American Free Trade Agreement and is used
for transport between Canada, the United States and Mexico.
Education and Research
Calgary is home to 223 public schools with
more than one hundred thousand school-age children through grade 12
(high school). The schools are regulated by the Calgary Board of
Education.
The University of Calgary is the largest university in
the city. The university was founded in 1966, making it one of Canada's
younger universities. In the 2010 academic year, about 30,000 students
were enrolled at the university. The second largest university is Mount
Royal University with around 15,000 students. Smaller universities
include Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT), Bow Valley
College, Alberta College of Art and Design (ACAD), Ambrose University
College, St. Mary's University College and DeVry University.
Media
The Calgary Herald and the Calgary Sun are the major newspapers
in Calgary. In addition, the television stations Global TV, CityTV, CTV
and CBC have their local studios in Calgary. There are also several
radio stations such as Country 105 FM, X 92.9 FM, Virgin 98.5 FM and
Kool 101.5 FM.
Shopping centers
Downtown Calgary offers
several shopping malls and streets with restaurants of different
cuisines, bars, cafes, as well as discos and clubs. One of these centers
is The Core Shopping Centre, which, in addition to cafés and
restaurants, houses around 160 shops on four levels. Another shopping
option is Stephen Avenue and Eau Claire Market in a neighborhood just
outside of downtown and bordering the Bow River. Calgary's largest mall,
the Chinook Center is located about three miles south of downtown and
features 250 stores, a movie theater, and several restaurants and cafes.
Public facilities
The 2,000 officers of the Calgary Police
Service are responsible for security. They are spread across eight
police stations. The officers are assisted by the Royal Canadian Mounted
Police (RCMP), which have provincial headquarters in the city. The
Calgary Fire Department is responsible for firefighting with 39 fire
stations. First aid is provided by Alberta Health Services (AHS)
Emergency Medical Services (EMS).
Calgary has five major
hospitals. Foothills Medical Center is the largest hospital in the city.
Other hospitals include the Peter Lougheed Centre, Rockyview General
Hospital, Alberta Children's Hospital and the South Health Campus. These
five largest hospitals have more than 2100 beds and employ more than
11,500 people. All hospitals are managed by Alberta Health Services -
Calgary Health Region.
Tourism is one of the fastest growing economic activities in the city. More than 4.5 million people a year visit the city, attracted by its many festivals and other attractions, such as the Calgary Stampede. The tourist towns of Banff, Lake Louise and Canmore, located nearby in the Rocky Mountains, are also increasingly popular with tourists, creating economic spinoffs for Calgary that contribute to the growth of other sectors such as services, transport and culture.
According to Statistics Canada's last federal census in 2001, there
were 878,866 people living within Calgary's city limits, of which 49.9%
were male and 50.1% female. Children under five make up 6% of the
population; in Alberta, the proportion is 6.2% and it is 5.6% for all of
Canada.
In 2001, 9% of Calgary residents were of retirement age
(65+), compared to 13.2% Canada-wide; thus, the average age in Calgary
is 34.9 years, compared to 37.6 for all of Canada.
From 1996 to
2001, Calgary's population grew by 15.8%. For comparison purposes,
population growth was 10.3% across the province of Alberta during the
same period. The density in Calgary averaged 1,252.3 people per km2; the
average is 4.6 for the entire province.
A population estimate,
conducted by the city on an annual basis, gave a population of just over
991,000 in 2006. The population of the Calgary metropolitan area was
over 1.06 million and the Calgary economic region Calgary has a
population of nearly 1.15 million in 2005.
A majority of Calgarians self-identify as of European descent; this
group forms 79% of the population (688,465 people). Approximately 2.3%
(19,765 people) of the population claim to be of Aboriginal origin. In
addition, the city hosts a relatively high number of people belonging to
cultural minorities. Included in these groups are mainly people of
Chinese origin (51,540 people, or 5.9% of the population); South Asian
(36,370 or 4.2%); Filipino (16,245 or 1.9%); African-Canadian 13,370 or
1.5%) and Latin American (8,525 or 1%).
In the 2006 census, the
city of Calgary had approximately 16,000 Franco-Albertans and nearly
80,000 bilingual people (English-French). There are several
French-speaking schools including the Lycée Louis Pasteur.
According to the Canadian population census conducted in 2011, the
most common mother tongues (out of 1,061,960 unique responses) are:
English: 752,525 (70.9%)
Punjabi: 27,330 (2.57%)
Tagalog: 25,685
(2.42%)
Spanish: 21,875 (2.06%)
Cantonese: 19,925 (1.88%)
French: 16,900 (1.59%)
Although French is one of the two official
languages of the country with English, it is only the 6th most spoken
mother tongue in Calgary, far behind English but still quite close to
the following four. That said, 7.58% of the inhabitants of the city of
Calgary (7.50% of the inhabitants of the Calgary metropolitan region20
or 7.31% of those in the economic region) declared that they had
knowledge of French (97.6 % in English).
Calgary is traditionally considered a conservative city, dominated by
fiscal conservatives advocating economic liberalism. As the city is a
business hub, a large percentage of the population are white collar
workers. During the 1990s, the city's political culture was dominated by
the Reform Party of Canada at the federal level (the Reform Party was
founded in Calgary) and by the Progressive Conservative Party at the
provincial level.
However, as Calgary's population grew,
political life became more diverse. Several activist groups are active
in the city, including a branch of the Anti-Capitalist Convergence; in
2003, in response to the war in Iraq, thousands of protesters from
across Alberta converged on the US Consulate. Left-wing politicians in
the provincial and federal Liberal parties tend to keep their distance
from activist movements that also identify with the left. The Green
Party of Canada has made gains in Calgary: in the 2004 federal election,
the party won 7.5% of the vote in the city and 11.3% in the Calgary
Center North riding.
Municipal administration
The city is
headed by a mayor and fourteen councillors, elected for a five-year
term. In the elections of October 18, 2021, Jyoti Gondek was elected
mayor by 45.13% of the votes. She is the city's first female mayor.
Provincial policy
Prior to the 2004 provincial election, all 21
Calgary-area MLAs were Progressive Conservatives. Ralph Klein, the
province's Progressive Conservative premier for 14 years, has
represented the riding of Calgary Elbow since 1989. In the 2004
election, two new ridings were created, bringing the total to 23; the
Alberta Liberal Party then managed to win three ridings in the city of
Calgary. Since the 2015 elections, the region has been represented by 26
MPs, including 12 for the city of Calgary alone.
Federal politics
Since 2015, Calgary has been represented by ten members of the House of
Commons of Canada, rather than eight. The Conservative Party of Canada
(CPC) won eight seats, and the Liberal Party of Canada won two;
traditionally, the majority of seats are won by members of the CPC or
its predecessors.
The constituency of Calgary Heritage, created
in 2015, was represented until 2016 by former Prime Minister of Canada
and former leader of the Conservative Party, Stephen Harper. Harper
served as Member of Parliament for Calgary Southwest at the same time as
Prime Minister of Canada, making him the second Prime Minister to hold
that office while representing a Calgary constituency; the first was
Richard Bedford Bennett, Prime Minister from 1930 to 1935, who served as
Member of Parliament for Calgary West. The riding of Calgary Southwest
was held before him by Preston Manning, founder and leader of the Reform
Party, one of the ancestors of the Conservative Party. Finally, Joe
Clark, former Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the defunct
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (also an ancestor of the
current Conservative Party) represented the riding of Calgary Center
from 2000 to 2004.
Post-secondary
There are four centers for post-secondary
education: the University of Calgary (in English: University of
Calgary), the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT
Polytechnic), the of Fine Arts (the Alberta College of Art & Design) and
Mount Royal University.
The city of Calgary is considered a center for transportation in
Western Canada. Calgary International Airport (YYC) in the northeast of
the city is the fourth busiest in Canada. The airport offers non-stop
flights to most cities in Canada, America, Europe, Central America, and
Asia (freight only). Calgary's presence on the Trans-Canada Highway line
and the Canadian Pacific Railway make it an important center for freight
transportation.
Calgary has a road network that includes major
streets and highways. Most of the system is built into a numbered grid,
with avenues running east to west and streets running north to south.
Streets in predominantly residential areas, as well as highways,
generally do not conform to this grid and therefore are usually not
numbered. In addition, Calgary Transit operates a public transportation
network serving the entire city by bus and streetcar. Calgary's train
system, called the C-Train, was one of the first systems of its kind in
North America and consists of three lines (two routes) totaling 42.1 km
of track. The bus network includes more than 160 routes and uses 800
vehicles.
In addition to the network of bike lanes on streets,
totaling over 260 km, the city also has an extensive network of paved
trails for multiple uses (cycling, walking, roller-skating, etc.) which
totals over 635 km24 . The Bow River is crossed by a pedestrian and
cycle bridge, the Peace Bridge.
Calgary currently has three major hospitals: Foothills Medical Center, Rockyview General Hospital, and Peter-Lougheed Centre, all under the Calgary Health Region. A medical evacuation helicopter operates under the control of the Shock Trauma Air Rescue Society. Also in Calgary are the Tom Baker Cancer Centre, the Alberta Children's Hospital, and the Grace Women's Health Centre, which offer a variety of care in addition to several hundred smaller medical and dental clinics. The University of Calgary Medical Center also works in partnership with the Calgary Health Region.
In the city of Calgary are quartered five different regiments: the
14th Service Battalion (CFB Calgary, 41st Combat Engineer Regiment, The
Calgary Highlanders, The King's Own Calgary Regiment (CBRC) and the Area
Support Unit Calgary.
All of these units belong to the armed
reserve force, with the exception of the area support unit Calgary,
which is a regular force. The city is also home to two band units: The
King's Own Calgary Regiment (CBRC) Band and the Regimental Pipes and
Drums of The Calgary Highlanders.
Tesho Akindele, Canadian footballer.
Jay Beagle, Canadian hockey
player.
Braydon Coburn, Canadian hockey player.
Karen Connelly,
Canadian poet and novelist.
Susanne Craig, reporter for The New York
Times and The Wall Street Journal.
Ted Cruz, American politician.
Elisha Cuthbert, Canadian actress.
Esi Edugyan, Canadian novelist.
Taylor Hall, Canadian hockey player.
Owen Hargreaves, former English
international footballer of Canadian origin.
Bret Hart, Canadian
wrestler.
Owen Hart, Canadian wrestler.
Nancy Huston, Canadian
writer and essayist.
Ralph Klein, Canadian journalist and politician.
Grant MacEwan, Canadian writer, scholar and politician, former Mayor of
Calgary and Lieutenant Governor of Alberta.
Cale Makar, Canadian
hockey player.
Cory Monteith, Canadian actor and singer.
Geraldine
Moodie, Canadian photographer.
Natalya, WWE wrestler.
David
Starenky, Canadian hockey player.
Mike Vernon, former Canadian hockey
player.
Andrew Schnell, Canadian squash player.
James T. White,
Canadian entrepreneur.
Catholicism
Originally, Calgary belonged to the Diocese of
Saint-Albert, created in 1871, part of which was split in 1912 to create
the Diocese of Calgary, whose mother church is Saint Mary's Cathedral.
Traditionalism is also present in Calgary in the district of Shaganappi,
by the Saint-Denis church, also called Saint-Michel church, dependent on
the priestly Fraternity Saint-Pie-X.
Due to the growth of the city, Calgary now borders directly on the
Sarcee Nation Indian reservation in the southwest.
With the
thriving energy sector and oil sands production in northern Alberta,
demand for real estate in Alberta and Calgary in particular has
increased significantly. As a result, property prices skyrocketed. As of
November 2006, Calgary was Canada's most expensive city for downtown
offices and second most expensive (after Vancouver) for residential real
estate.
The cost of living and inflation are now the highest in
the country. In April 2007, inflation was six percent.
In March 2008, the city council approved a pilot project to add
surveillance cameras to certain areas of downtown. The project began in
spring 2009. A total of sixteen CCTV cameras were initially installed in
three downtown areas (including Stephen Avenue).
Although the
city has a relatively low crime rate compared to other North American
cities, gang and drug-related crime has increased with economic growth.
In 2009, 62 additional police officers were deployed downtown as foot
patrols.
Calgary is a transportation hub for the province of Alberta and
western Canada. Calgary International Airport is Canada's third busiest
airport and acts as a hub for several airlines. Calgary is connected to
the road network via the Trans-Canada-Highway, among other things, and
in rail freight mainly via the Canadian Pacific Railway.
Within
the metropolitan area, Calgary Transit provides public transit services
in the form of the C-Train light rail and bus routes.