By Andrew Ng
I’m not big into musicals but I was definitely swept up by the hype surrounding Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton. I listened to it start to finish over and over for years. When it was announced a filmed version of the Broadway show was coming to Disney+, I had July 3 circled in my mental calendar. Add to that some awesome luck in finding the book written about the musical during a trip to Value Village (only $6!), and it was one really great weekend.
Chapter IV, in particular, stood out to me and explains why I’m so engaged with Calgary on Purpose. It’s titled “In which the character of New York City is considered in its musical & scenic aspects.” And after reading it, I thought about the character of a city like New York and how it’s so easily defined by the people born and raised and currently living there. They know exactly who they are and what they are. They have no problem declaring in song and dance that they live “in the greatest city in the world.”
That had me thinking about other Canadian cities. Toronto is mocked as the centre of the universe but Torontonians are proud of it as a multicultural metropolis. Ottawa is the nation’s capital. Edmonton is the festival city. Vancouver is Hollywood North in more ways than just its film industry. I have friends who actually prefer to live in a smaller town but if they had to move to any city, it would be Montreal without a doubt.
So, what is Calgary? Can we be confident about our city, and ourselves, like folks in other places?
The Olympic plebiscite in 2018 was a major flashpoint for our city, a time when differing viewpoints were really challenged. There was a time Calgary was proud to be a host city and the mecca of winter sports in Canada, maybe even the whole world. But saying no to hosting again and instead worrying so much about what it would cost made some of us think, “Okay, so what do we want?”
Do we want to be known as the oil and gas city when the energy industry has recently signaled a huge shift away from non-renewables?
Will we still be proud of our western Stampede culture when a lot of people my age joke that you know you’re a Calgarian when you leave the city for those 10 days in July? Or if it no longer reflects the diversity of our city? (Side note: I think that’s a little projection. Someone in one of our recent conversation circles pointed out Stampede is embraced by newcomers as a thing to do to feel like they’re part of the larger community.)
The next year is going to be pivotal for Calgary. The election is potentially the first big step in a new direction. It could also be a stomp in the ground fully affirming this is who and what we are. Either way is fine. We’re just here to get Calgarians thinking and talking about it.