What would Guy Weadick and Frank King do?
Calgary mustn’t let go of its inherited visionary spirit, George Brookman says.
A small prairie town in 1912 with big ideas and even bigger dreams — that was all that Guy Weadick found when he proposed the “Stampede” to a group of local businessmen.
“The Big Four” grabbed that idea, promised to invest $100,000 in this ridiculous scheme and the die was cast. Weadick asked the store owners to dress western, to decorate their stores and to make it a big party. He invited the First Nations to be in the parade; he called on the best rodeo cowboys everywhere and he invited the country to come to the fair.
The rest is history and the Calgary Stampede has brought millions of people and hundreds of millions of dollars into our community over its 106-year history. It was created by people who believed in the future and we have been the beneficiaries of their legacy ever since.
Then in 1982, with the economy in shambles, the National Energy Policy devastating the energy industry and hundreds of people out of work, along came Frank King and another group of visionaries. They included Mayor Ralph Klein and Premier Peter Lougheed.
They faced debt, rising taxes, a hostile federal government and a very negative media.
But they persevered.
They called on Bill Pratt to build a new hockey arena and when it went over-budget, the public screamed, but today they are screaming because it is time for a new one. They fought a doubting media and an economic malaise, but slowly the community began to turn. Slowly the Olympic fever caught hold and suddenly everyone was on top of the world.
In 1988, Calgary staged the most successful Olympics ever held. It came in on time and on budget and there was lots of money left over. On top of that, we had legacy infrastructure like Canada Olympic Park (now WinSport), the Saddledome, the Olympic Skating Oval, Nakiska and the Canmore Nordic Centre.
Every house, every bridge, every street was carved out of the mud and the prairie grass by people who believed that they could do anything they set their minds to.
Hundreds of thousands of Calgarians, Canadians and tourists have used those facilities regularly for over 30 years.
Today it is time to do it again.
Today it is time once again to reach down and find the courage to invest in our great city. It is time for us to find the people that Calgary has always been blessed to have as its leaders. We cannot be held back by hand-wringing naysayers who can find the No in every possible opportunity. We are looking for the visionaries, the men and women who believe in the future of Calgary, of Alberta and of Canada.
This is our Calgary, yours and mine. It is the city of “handshake honesty,” the open latch string, the smile for every stranger and the greatest volunteer city in the world.
Every house, every bridge, every street was carved out of the mud and the prairie grass by people who believed that they could do anything they set their minds to. We inherited their spirit and we must never let it go.
We still can do anything we set our minds to. We still have the pioneer spirit, the “can do” attitude that has served us for over a hundred years.
Today, we have another opportunity for greatness, another chance at an Olympic dream for Calgary and for Canada. It is Canada’s turn to host the Games and it is Calgary’s opportunity to say once again, “We believe in the future and nothing can hold us back.”
On Nov. 13, be proud, be excited, have a vision for the future and vote Yes for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.
When one of your children or grandchildren stands on that podium, you can say, “I stood up for Calgary and I stood up for Canada.”