Calgary Minute: Stampede Started, Employment Growth, and Downtown Safety Table

Calgary Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Calgary politics

This Week In Calgary:

• There are no Council or Committee meetings this week, on account of it being Stampede Week.
  
  
• Speaking of Stampede, there’s no shortage of things to do this week. The Calgary Stampede runs until July 16th. Whether you’re interested in the rodeo at the Grandstand, an agricultural event at the Nutrien Western Event Centre, or going on some rides on the midway, there’s something for everyone.
  
  
• Calgary is leading the country in full-time employment growth over the last year. StatsCan’s new numbers show that Calgary is also leading in labour participation rate. The city’s unemployment rate is up a little from last year, coming in at 6.3% compared to 5.8% in 2022. However, population growth has exploded in Alberta, with a net gain of 50,000 people in the first three months of 2023.

Last Week In Calgary:

• The City announced the creation of the Downtown Safety Leadership Table - a panel of local agencies tasked with improving safety in the downtown core. Over the next 120 days, the panel will look at ways to better coordinate agencies to provide assistance for those who need it. Apparently, the panel will also address “perceptions” of downtown safety.
  
  
• The Province signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Tsuut’ina Nation to build a $30 million recovery facility on the nation. The facility will have 75 beds and treat up to 300 patients a year. Chief Roy Whitney said he thinks the Premier is on the right track with her government’s recovery-oriented addiction strategy, and condemned safe-supply and harm reduction methods. The recovery centre should open sometime in 2024.
  
  
• Calgarians and tourists alike enjoyed the first weekend of the Calgary Stampede. Despite the rain, Thursday night’s Sneak-a-Peek event drew 35,747 people to the grounds - one of the largest kickoffs in the last 10 years. Friday morning’s parade saw some of the highest attendance numbers on record, with around 305,000 people lining the streets. Hotel occupancy is around 90% for the duration of the event, and Tourism Calgary says there’s been an influx of American tourists.

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