From Indigenous Roots to the Heart of the New West
Slide to transform the 1875 frontier into the 2026 downtown skyline
For millennia before European settlement, the land at the confluence of the Bow and Elbow rivers was a vital gathering, hunting, and trading place for the Blackfoot Confederacy (Siksika, Kainai, Piikani), the Tsuut'ina, the Îyârhe Nakoda Nations, and later the Métis. The Blackfoot called the area Moh-kins-tsis.
The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) arrive to establish a fort to curtail the illegal American whisky trade and prepare the western plains for future railway expansion. Originally named Fort Brisebois, it was officially renamed Fort Calgary in 1876.
The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) reaches Calgary. The arrival of the train effectively ended the frontier isolation of the settlement, transforming it overnight into a booming agricultural and commercial hub. The town's commercial center immediately shifted west of the Elbow River to surround the new train station.
A devastating fire destroys much of Calgary's downtown wooden commercial district. In response, civic leaders mandate that all large new downtown buildings be constructed from local Paskapoo sandstone. This building boom earns Calgary the enduring nickname, "The Sandstone City."
Calgary is officially incorporated as "The City of Calgary" in what was then the North-West Territories (Alberta did not become a province until 1905). By this time, it is firmly established as the cattle-ranching capital of the Canadian West.
American trick roper Guy Weadick organizes the first Calgary Stampede. Supported by four wealthy local ranchers known as the "Big Four," the six-day rodeo and festival is a massive success, forever cementing the city's identity with western cowboy culture.
The massive Leduc No. 1 oil strike occurs in central Alberta. While the strike itself was near Edmonton, Calgary's existing infrastructure and aggressively pro-business climate lead the vast majority of international oil and gas companies to establish their corporate headquarters in YYC.
Calgary hosts the XV Olympic Winter Games, becoming the first Canadian city to do so. The highly successful event puts the city on the global map, leaves a massive legacy of world-class athletic facilities, and transforms the city's volunteer culture.
Catastrophic flooding of the Bow and Elbow rivers forces the evacuation of over 80,000 Calgarians and submerges the downtown core and Stampede grounds. The city's resilient response—summarized by the rallying cry "Hell or High Water"—becomes a defining modern moment.
Now a city of over 1.3 million people, Calgary is rapidly diversifying beyond oil and gas into tech, aviation, and clean energy. With mega-projects like the Green Line LRT and the new Scotia Place event centre underway, the Heart of the New West continues to build for the future.