What’s to Love About Calgary?
Calgary, with 1.336 million people in 2017, is ranked by Mercer Human Resources consulting as the cleanest city in the world for health and sanitation four times in six years and again in 2022!
Calgary is one of Canada’s youngest cities with an average age of 36!?
Calgary is the sunniest city in Canada, as determined by Environment Canada with, can you believe it, 333 sunny days and 2,396 hours of sunshine per year – out comes the sunscreen!
Calgary has been on the radar of the Economist Intelligence Unit’s list of the most livable places in the world for many years; in 2022, Calgary was named the third most livable city in the world, tied for third place with Zurich, Switzerland.
In 2022, Austria’s capital, Vienna, was ranked the most livable among the 172 cities surveyed by the Economist Intelligence Unit. Auckland was ranked the most livable city in 2021.
We are in good company!
Calgary also has an active and dynamic film and television sector. Calgary production companies led nominations for the annual Alberta Film and Television Awards, the Rosie Awards in 2022. The Rosie Awards began in 1974 and continue to this day.
Calgary filmmakers Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby have been nominated for an Oscar for their animated short The Flying Sailor, a surreal film about a British sailor being blown into the sky during the Halifax Explosion. The Flying Sailor is also screening as part of the Sundance Film Festival as a jury winner for Best Animated Short! Congratulations, Calgarians!
Calgary is the third most diverse city in Canada with more than 120 languages spoken! Nearly 25% of Calgarians are foreign born!
Calgary has the Greatest Show on Earth: the Calgary Stampede, visited by more than a million people every year! Summer isn’t summer without the Calgary Stampede!
Calgary is one of the best winter cities in the world where it can snow every single month of the year. Calgary is very unique. Our plus 15 pedestrian skywalk network is the largest in the world where you can walk 18 kilometres without going outside; it has 86 bridges that connect 130 buildings. Architect Harold Hanen, who worked for the City of Calgary Planning Department from 1966 to 1969, conceived the idea. If you’ve ever worked downtown, you will have loved it! It’s fast, efficient, and toasty warm in winter!
Calgary’s Peace Bridge was built by the City of Calgary to connect the Bow River Pathway with downtown. It was conceived by Santiago Calatrava, the renowned Spanish architect. The challenges were that it had to withstand Calgary’s one-in-a-hundred-year flood, meet a minimum 75-year lifespan, and allow barrier-free access for people with all mobility types. It also had a height restriction to allow helicopters to use the helipad on the park. His usual designs were soaring, asymmetrical shapes anchored by high masts. Calgary is different and is special!
Banff National Park, that enhances every season for winter and summer sports, is a mere 100 kilometres away.
Barbra Streisand says it best in her song: we are “the luckiest people in the world” to live here!
Drink a toast to Calgary! Cheers!
