Edmonton and Calgary: Reflections on the rivalry, by Muriel Kurchison

The rivalry of Alberta's two largest communities viewed through the eyes of someone who has lived in both cities; moving to Edmontonin 1961.

One very serious aspect of this rivalry - perceived or real - is that Calgary receives a more generous amount of political favors from the Provincial Government than Edmonton does. Calgary is the head office city and therefore more politically and economically influential. Satya Das wrote that Calgary is an American city and Edmonton is a Canadian city. Money vs. culture - perhaps not versus - but very different philosophies on how the world should run. For many years, Calgary's image was tied to the independent, wild west attitude, whereas Edmonton had a quieter, gentler attitude. There are times when it appears that Edmontonians have an inferiority complex - the situation being almost akin to the US/Canada Relationship. Sports teams definitely benefit from the promotion of events. Edmonton vs. Calgary = packed houses. Calgary and Southern Alberta could spawn the Alliance Party because of the rugged individuals who want to get the government out of the way of business. Edmontonians are more likely to seek consensus and team building.

The two cities are often compared and compete on the basis of location. Calgary is located near the foothills with the mountains as a gorgeous backdrop. Those who do not reside here consider Edmonton less beautiful. After living here for 37 years and visiting in Calgary, for all that time, I think our river valley provides an equally beautiful, precious space. Our skyline is different from Calgary's, but each has its charm and its ugly feature. This comes from someone who was totally insufferable (pro-Calgary), when she first moved to Edmonton as a more permanent resident in 1961. As a university student, in the mid 50's, I was totally unaware of any rivalry between the cities.

Upon speaking with various members of my family who live in Calgary, Edmonton has a much richer theatre experience. There are numerous theatres with an abundance of local play writers and actors as well as internationally acclaimed actors and plays. I was highly incensed when the new, young, Eastern Canadian artistic director of the Edmonton Opera stood before us at the most recent opera and pronounced that we were going to be "treated" to one of our most beloved operas..."Western Style." Maybe in Calgary - but please - NOT HERE!! Both cities benefit from a very eclectic music scene. Our universities are excellent centers of learning as are our colleges and technical schools.

It seems to me that the rivalry serves the purposes of a very few people and is, in most cases, destructive politically and economically. It would be much healthier from a people perspective, to support each others' strengths and build on them for the betterment of the entire province, instead of pitting city against city; north against south; business against labor; education against health care; rich against poor. In the words of our younger generation, "There is definitely something the matter with this picture!"

We live in a province blessed with much wealth in natural resources, built by strong, independent, socially conscious people, nurtured by people of vision. Let's not let rivalries, politicians, and some businessmen, destroy what we, "severely normal" Albertans have worked very hard to achieve.