{"id":778876,"date":"2026-07-04T02:17:47","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T02:17:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/778876\/"},"modified":"2026-07-04T02:17:47","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T02:17:47","slug":"pancakes-pipelines-and-independence-politics-serving-up-new-flavour-at-this-years-calgary-stampede","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/778876\/","title":{"rendered":"Pancakes, pipelines and independence: politics serving up new flavour at this year\u2019s Calgary Stampede"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nearly eight decades have passed since Louis St. Laurent, Canada\u2019s 12th prime minister, rolled in an open carriage through downtown streets as the Calgary Stampede parade marshal, led by red-coated Royal Canadian Mounted Police.<\/p>\n

\u201cI shall always cherish this memory of Calgary,\u201d St. Laurent said later that day after being given a white buckskin waistcoat by city officials in 1950.<\/p>\n

St. Laurent is one in a long line of prime ministers who have gathered at the Stampede, ranging from R. B. Bennett to Stephen Harper to both Trudeaus.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Indeed, generations of Canada\u2019s political class have summited at the \u201cGreatest Outdoor Show on Earth\u201d to shake hands and flip pancakes, including premiers, MLAs, MPs and senators.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

WATCH | Pierre Trudeau poses for pictures at the Calgary Stampede:\"\"<\/p>\n

Pierre Trudeau poses for pictures at the Calgary Stampede<\/p>\n

Trudeau on horseback as part of the Calgary Stampede parade.<\/p>\n

The political dynamic often comes with a degree of intrigue as politicians take the temperature of what\u2019s traditionally been one of Canada\u2019s more conservative cities \u2014 and perhaps court backing from some of its deep-pocketed oil executives.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s perhaps been kicked up a notch this summer.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s festival arrives with a looming referendum on Alberta\u2019s future within Canada and, as of Thursday night, a multibillion-dollar pipeline bid<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

On the eve of the annual parade, Premier Danielle Smith and Prime Minister Mark Carney unveiled the first details of Alberta\u2019s pitch for an oil pipeline to British Columbia\u2019s southern coast. <\/p>\n

It coincided with \u201csneak-a-peek,” a first glimpse of the wild rides and games on the Stampede grounds.<\/p>\n

Barring breaking political news, it\u2019s the Stampede that looms atop the summer calendar as an opportunity for politicians to connect with voters through both social and legacy media, in the view of Lori Williams, a political science professor at Calgary\u2019s Mount Royal University.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For that reason, it\u2019s no surprise that politicians and advocates use it as an opportunity to fundraise, campaign and try to drive the narrative, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is going to be the big opportunity for both fundraising and messaging, setting the tone of the referendum discussion for the summer,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n

\"AU.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra plans to attend Chuckwagon races and the rodeo during the Calgary Stampede. (Darren Calabrese\/The Canadian Press)<\/p>\n

Dozens of Liberal MPs are expected<\/a> to attend. <\/p>\n

Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre waved to Calgarians as he rode a horse during Friday\u2019s Stampede parade<\/a>.<\/p>\n

U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra also plans to hit the Stampede circuit, attending chuckwagon races and the rodeo. He\u2019ll meet with Canadian officials, as well as business leaders from sectors like energy and defence.\u00a0<\/p>\n

During the parade, Smith rode in a horse-drawn carriage with members of her cabinet in tow. Smith\u2019s calendar is busy with\u00a0breakfasts, barbecues and receptions across the city during Stampede week.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Alberta has a great story to tell, and during the Calgary Stampede the premier will continue to promote and champion our province as Canada\u2019s premier destination to live, work, and raise a family,\u201d wrote Sam Blackett, the premier\u2019s press secretary, in an email.<\/p>\n

Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas said a lot of deals get done during Stampede and, when it comes to politicians, they tend to leave their agendas at the door.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is probably the world\u2019s premier politician petting zoo,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"TwoAlberta Premier Danielle Smith, centre, flips pancakes at the Calgary Stampede alongside federal Minister of Finance and National Revenue Fran\u00e7ois-Philippe Champagne, second from right, and Calgary Mayor Farkas, far right, on July 2, 2026. (Dayne Patterson\/The Canadian Press)<\/p>\n

Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi also took part in the parade, a route he walked many times as Calgary\u2019s mayor. He’ll attend an NDP pancake breakfast on Sunday.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the NDP wrote that the Stampede is \u201cone of the best opportunities all year\u201d to connect with Albertans and hear what’s concerning them.<\/p>\n

New groups join the circuit<\/p>\n

While the usual federal, provincial and municipal leaders will do their best to advance their message, so too will new groups vying to change the conversation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Calgary Stampede is for the exchange of political ideas,\u201d said Keith Wilson, a lawyer and advocate for separation with the third-party advertiser Let Alberta Decide.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe leaders of all political parties make it a habit and a ritual to attend. And we\u2019re going to be there as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AConstitutional lawyer Keith Wilson argued in favour of Alberta independence at a debate in Calgary held in late May. (New West Video)<\/p>\n

Not all separatist groups<\/a> will have a presence at the festival. Organizers with the Alberta Prosperity Project, for instance, said they\u2019re sitting this one out. Independence groups didn\u2019t have a float in Friday\u2019s parade, organizers with the Stampede said.<\/p>\n

But Wilson\u2019s group plans to hold a Stampede breakfast on the festival\u2019s final Sunday at the Ranchman\u2019s Cookhouse and Dancehall, where he said pro-independence organizers will deliver campaign-style speeches.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Stampede, of course, has long been delivered with a flair of Canadiana. The national anthem is played before every rodeo event, and the stars of the evening grandstand show are dubbed the Young Canadians. This year\u2019s parade marshals were Courtney Sarault and Mika\u00ebl Kingsbury, Olympians for Team Canada.<\/p>\n

\"TheOlympic medallists and parade marshals Mika\u00ebl Kingsbury, left, and Courtney Sarault lead the Calgary Stampede procession along the city’s downtown streets on July 3, 2026. (Amir Said\/CBC)Federalists with a footprint<\/p>\n

Forever Canadian, the organization that headed up a petition drive aimed at keeping Alberta in Canada, will host a pop-up at the Ruberto Ostberg Gallery on July 4, and will be present at the pancake breakfast for Corey Hogan, Liberal MP for Calgary Confederation, on July 5.<\/p>\n

Thomas Lukaszuk, a former Progressive Conservative deputy premier and head organizer of the Forever Canadian petition, said his organization will be focused on handing out lawn signs so people can display their stance about staying in Canada.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny speculations on what Stampede would be, could be or should be are simply a futile exercise, because the fact is that Calgary will always be a great city in Alberta, and Alberta will always be a great province in Canada,\u201d Lukaszuk said. <\/p>\n

\"AFormer deputy premier Thomas Lukaszuk speaks at a Forever Canadian rally in Edmonton on May 23 before kicking off a provincewide tour. (Amanda Erickson\/The Canadian Press)<\/p>\n

CBC News requested comment from Stampede organizers about whether they had held any meetings to discuss its approach to hosting Canadian celebrations amid the approaching referendum.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a not-for-profit organization and city-wide celebration, the Calgary Stampede is looking forward to bringing people together from across Alberta, Canada and around the world for Stampede 2026,\u201d reads a statement attributed to the Calgary Stampede.<\/p>\n

The Stampede went on to say that its focus \u201cis on delivering an unforgettable celebration that showcases the very best of our city, our western hospitality and our community spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Calgary Stampede runs until July 12. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nearly eight decades have passed since Louis St. Laurent, Canada\u2019s 12th prime minister, rolled in an open carriage…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":778877,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194293],"tags":[49,2798,48],"class_list":["post-778876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-calgary","tag-ca","tag-calgary","tag-canada"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/778876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=778876"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/778876\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/778877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=778876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=778876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=778876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}