| "Calgary by itself is a good, but not a great city," said MLA Ted Morton recently. "What makes Calgary a great city – the best in Canada as far as I'm concerned – is what surrounds it. The working farms and ranches, the foothills, mountains and rivers." His words raised the ire of mayor Dave Bronconnier and they coincided with my own musings on some recent signposts that have marked a rise in the city's prominence.
It is not surprising that Morton would reference the city's outskirts when discussing its greatness. Notwithstanding the fact that Morton is an MLA of the Rockview-Foothills riding that borders Calgary to the north and west, Calgary's link to the surrounding splendour is unquestionable. More than once I have heard winter sports enthusiasts proclaim that the quality of life in Calgary is inextricably linked to its proximity to the ski resorts of the Rockies. As a fly-fisherman, I have often passed on the (unsubstantiated) claim that the Bow River is the only blue-ribbon trout stream in the world to flow through a metropolis. If not the world’s only such river, it is certainly a rarity to find top-notch fishing in the middle of a city. And when Calgary was recently picked as the world's cleanest city by Forbes magazine it only helped to reinforce the image of wide-open spaces and clean mountain rivers.
Recently, however, Calgary has been establishing itself as a growing cultural centre, with a surging economy leading the rise. The oil industry and the resulting strong economy have also spawned cultural growth in the city. Norman Foster, the world-famous designer of London's Gherkin, and restorer of Berlin's Reichstag, is currently designing EnCana's new headquarters. Soon to be the tallest building the in the city, The Bow has been controversially billed as a potential home for the National Portrait Gallery of Canada. If the decision goes ahead, it will be the first national gallery outside of Ottawa.
As a teenager, I constantly bemoaned Calgary's inability to attract concerts, faithfully watching the websites of my favourite bands only for them to announce the usual "Canadian tour" – Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal. But in recent years, Calgary's growing population and booming economy have seen it draw an ever-increasing number of shows. With the new Sled Island Festival bringing Spoon to town on the same night as the White Stripes, it is my first time facing a dilemma that is only too common in bigger centres.
Walking into a music store in Auckland, New Zealand, last week I was confronted with a large front-and-centre poster of Leslie Feist complete with a list of high-ranking chart debuts throughout Europe and Asia. Calgary has produced its share of hockey players and athletes, and a few successful country musicians have come from the area, but it seems as if Calgary may have its first global star. It should be noted, however, that in recent years Feist has chosen to live in Paris, a city whose greatness is less disputed. As a cultural centre Calgary is still a place that successful artists are more likely to move away from; it does not have the magnetic attraction of world-class cultural centres, such as a Paris.
One factor that tips Calgary as a natural, rather than cultural, destination is the city's vast area. With no real barriers to growth, other than the Tsuu T'ina First Nation in the southwest, Calgary is now only slightly smaller than New York (boroughs included), but with less than an eighth of the population of New York City proper. The downtown core, which serves as a cultural centre in many cities, has very few residents in comparison to its peripheral neighbourhoods and it is largely empty after business hours. Calgary has become a city of commuters, and with skyrocketing real estate values suburban sprawl will continue. How Calgary deals with its growing population will shape the city’s cohesion in the future and will determine if the city has a vibrant centre or becomes a confluence of suburbs.
Perhaps, it isn't fair to compare Calgary with the great cities of the world. London was founded in 43 AD, while Calgary is only 130 years old. The city is still experiencing growing pains, and it will be some time before things stabilize. It has only been 20 years since a much smaller, and unknown, Calgary appeared on the world stage with the 1988 Olympics. But with its powerful economy and rapid growth the city is poised to become one of the cultural centres of Canada. It may be some time before Calgary can stand with the world’s greatest cities without calling upon the surrounding mountains and prairies, but its direction is ascendant. |
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