This year, Canadians started to dip their toes back into the waters of historical pride. We saw it with the restoration of Sir John A. Macdonald’s statue at Queen’s Park, (Ontario’s provincial legislature) after five years trapped in a box. For a country that has spent the last decade tearing down its own story, it was a small but meaningful sign. There’s a real sense that we might finally be ready to talk about our history again, not just bury it.
But we still have a knack for stepping on the brakes just as we’re building up speed. Calgary, of all places, should know about momentum. Yet here we are, sitting on a milestone—150 years since the founding of Fort Calgary—and you’d be forgiven for not noticing. No banners on street corners. No city-wide celebration. For a town that prides itself on being bold, we sure decided to keep this one quiet.
If you ask most Calgarians, they’d probably be surprised to learn it’s been a century and a half since Fort Calgary was established at the meeting of the Bow and Elbow rivers. The fort wasn’t just a collection of buildings. It was the federal government planting its flag in what was then the Northwest Territories, determined to bring order to the chaos of the whisky trade and start a relationship with Indigenous Peoples that would shape the West for generations. Treaty 7 emerged from that push. There were promises made—some kept, far too many broken. There’s no use pretending otherwise.
History is always a mixed bag. The mistakes matter. But importantly, so do the achievements. And if you look at what Calgary has accomplished in the 150 years since Fort Calgary was established, there’s a tremendous amount for the city (and the country) to be proud of.
This is a city built by people who didn’t wait for someone else to solve their problems. When Canada needed help in the two world wars, Calgary stepped up. When the world wanted energy, Calgary delivered. When newcomers needed a fresh start, Calgary opened its doors. What you see here is a city that cares less about your last name and more about your work ethic and your ideas. It’s a place where you can show up with nothing but ambition and find a meaningful life.
Yet, when the 150th anniversary rolled around, Fort Calgary—recently renamed “the Confluence”—chose not to mark the moment with a big celebration—a notable departure from the 1975 centennial. Instead, they went with reflection. That’s their right, but it’s symbolic of a country still trying to drag itself kicking and screaming into a state of civic pride.
Across the country, we watch as cities continue to pull back from public celebrations. Montreal skipped the Canada Day fireworks and parade this year, to name one example. In a country as divided as ours, it’s easier to do nothing than to risk offending someone—anyone—with a show of patriotism.
And still, Calgary finds a way to celebrate, even if it’s not official. The Stampede is booming. The city is packed with visitors from every continent. There’s a hum in the air. Nobody waits for permission to feel good about where they live. If you want an example of a city that doesn’t need a government proclamation to have a good time, come to Calgary and look out your window in July.
But here’s the ask. Let’s make this the last time we apologize for our story before we tell it. Calgary has earned its pride. Not because everything went right, but because it kept moving forward. There’s value in acknowledging the hard parts of our past, but there’s also value in celebrating what’s been built. It’s possible to do both.
The next 150 years will have their own challenges. We’ll stumble. We’ll argue. We’ll make mistakes and, hopefully, learn from them. But we’ll also keep building, keep welcoming, and keep showing the country what happens when you bet on yourself.
So here’s to Calgary. Here’s to the city that never needed an excuse to get to work. Here’s to a place that cares more about your handshake than your family tree. And here’s to finally being proud of that story—without the need for caveats, and without the instinct to apologize before we’ve even started talking.
That’s my kind of Calgary celebration. And I think it should be the rest of the country’s too.
