55 Facts About Calgary

Calgary became an official town on Nov. 7, 1884 under the North-West Territories Ordinance
The City of Calgary was incorporated on Jan. 1, 1894
Calgary got its name from Calgary Bay on the Isle of Mull in Scotland
Calgarians gave its city a nickname of “cowtown”
Cowtown lives up to its name with its annual Calgary Stampede held in July
Calgary Stampede was brought to the city by Guy Weadick with the financial help from Pat Burns, Archie McLean, George Lane, and A.E. Cross
There are a lot of free pancake breakfasts all over the city during the Calgary Stampede
An app was also created to easily navigate where to find a free pancake breakfast during the Calgary Stampede
Calgarians only pay five per cent tax on Goods and Services because there is no provincial sales tax in Alberta.
Calgary was among the cleanest cities in the world
Calgary is the sunniest major city in Canada
The city is also known as the Cultural Capital of Canada
There is a total of 499,222 dwelling units in the city
Calgary is located at 3,740 feet above sea level

TRANSPORTATION

More than half (67.34 per cent) of the population in Calgary drive to work according to the 2016 Civic Census Results
The next popular mode of transportation by Calgarians is taking public transit with 16.41 per cent of the population
Highway 1 opened in 1962
The first streetcar was introduced in Calgary in 1909
There were a total of 12 streetcars back then servicing a total of 30,000 Calgarians
The streetcars travelled along 25.7 kilometres of track
In 1950, the last streetcar ran, restored, and moved to Heritage Park
Gas-fuelled buses were introduced in 1932
Trolley buses were phased out in the early 1970’s
Trolley buses were then replaced by diesel buses
In 1972, Calgary Transit was born
The Ctrain construction began in 1978

HISTORY

Blackfoot natives were living in Calgary way before European settlers discovered the place
Europeans first came to Calgary in 1787
In September 1875, the first North West Mounted Police Detachment arrived
The Canadian Pacific Railway arrived in 1883
The Glenbow Museum first opened in 1966 after receiving a donation from the Harvie family
Eric Harvie and his family donated art, artifacts, and historical documents to the Glenbow Museum

ICONIC LANDMARKS

The Calgary Tower was built in celebration of Canada’s centennial
The construction of the Calgary Tower started in Feb. 19, 1967
The total cost of the construction of the Calgary Tower was $3.5 million
The building of the Calgary Tower was completed on June 30, 1968
The glass floor at the observation deck of the Calgary Tower was installed in 2005

SPORTS

It was the first Canadian city to host the Olympic Winter Games and that was in 1988.
In 1988, a natural gas-fired cauldron that resembled the Olympic torch was installed at the Calgary Tower in honour of the 1988 Olympic Winter Games

PEOPLE

Calgary has the best mayor in the world! Mayor Naheed Nenshi was given the World Mayor Prize in 2014!
Nenshi who was elected in 2014 was also “the first Muslim mayor of a major North American city.”
The median age in Calgary is 36.1 years old as of 2014
Over 120 languages are spoken in Calgary
Almost 50 per cent of the population in Calgary is between the ages of 25 and 54
The total population for Calgary as of April 2016 is 1,235,171
Harold Hanen was the architect behind Calgary’s +15
The father of Java computer programming language, James Gosling, is a Calgarian!
Sixty per cent of Calgarians graduated from a post-secondary institution

FOOD AND DRINKS

The Bloody Caesar was invented in Calgary
Walter Chell created created the Bloody Caesar at the Calgary Inn which is now known as the Westin Hotel
The Canadian-style ginger beef was also created at the Silver Inn in Calgary
Thanks to chef George Wong who created the ginger beef dish in the mid-1970s, Canadians and everyone around the world get to enjoy it

TOURISM