Calgary / Canada

The City of Cowboys, Canadian Rockies, and Energy Resources

Junji Morinaga / Calgary Branch of Marubeni Canada Ltd.

Many people may only associate Calgary with the 1988 Winter Olympics, the one that was featured in the movie Cool Runnings, about the Jamaican bobsled team. The climate in Calgary is very severe. The temperature rises to nearly 30 degrees centigrade in summer, and drops to minus 35 degrees or less in winter. Since oil was discovered in a southern part of Calgary named Turner Valley in 1914, Calgary experienced rapid development as a center for the oil, natural gas, oil sand, and coal industries. With a population of approximately one million, Calgary has currently the second biggest economy, only to Toronto.

Represented by Banff National Park, one of the world's most prominent resorts, Calgary is also well known as a gateway to the Canadian Rockies. Agriculture and cattle breeding developed on the fertile plains, which spread to the eastern foot of the Mountains. This left behind the deeply embedded culture and traditions of a cowboy town.

The biggest event in Calgary is the Calgary Stampede, the world's biggest cowboy festival, held for ten days starting on the second Friday in July every year. A total of 1.2 or 1.3 million visitors gather from all around North America. Rodeos, prairie schooner races, and many other events are held at the Stampede, day and night. You can enjoy your summer in Calgary filled with the excitement of the frontier spirit. During the Stampede period, no one wears a suit or tie in the downtown. Dressed up in western boots, jeans, cowboy shirt, and a ten-gallon hat, cowboys and cowgirls go wild all day long at a party called the Stampede Breakfast.

In winter, you can enjoy skiing and snowboarding at a large skiing ground on the outskirts of Banff. Located at the eastern end of the Rocky Mountains, the ground has dry and powdery snow, unlike that of Whistler, another ski resort located at the western end. Moreover, the weather in Calgary is generally fine in winter. Slide down from the top of the Canadian Rockies and see the panorama of Lake Louise below. This is a matchless experience.

Calgary is a city imbued with a frontier spirit cultivated with a wonderful natural backdrop and a challenging environment.

Calgary Stampede View of Victoria Glacier from the Lake Louise Skiing Ground Banff Springs Hotel, a Banff landmark The morning glow reflects downtown Calgary