These were the views expressed by some of the provincial politicians and government dignitaries, who spoke at the recently held Open House organized by the Centre for Newcomers, a Calgary-based premier non-profit immigrant serving agency last week.

The Centre, whose mission is to achieve the integration of newcomers in the community through services and initiatives that promote diversity, participation and citizenship, recently relocated at a prime location and hosted an Open House to showcase the new venue and a bouquet of services that it offers to immigrants and newcomers to Canada.

Calgary MLA Teresa Woo Paw speaks at the Centre for Newcomers Open House on November 17. She brought in messages from Alberta Premier Alison Redford and Alberta Minister Heather Klimchuk and spoke about the good work that Centre for Newcomers is doing in Calgary.

Speaking on the occasion, Ms Teresa Woo-Paw, MLA, Calgary McKay, who brought in messages from Alberta Premier Alison Redford and Alberta Minister of Culture and Community Services Heather Klimchuk said: “We, from the government understand that supporting the work of the Centre for Newcomers is good for Alberta, as new Canadians who come are anxious to make their contributions.”

Calgary’s growing economy and cultural diversity continues to draw immigrants from all over the world.  In 2010, 16,100 of the 32,640 immigrants in Alberta came to Calgary.   The government at the local, provincial and federal level continues to support immigrant serving agencies in enhancing the services provided to newcomers.

Deputy Mayor Alderman Jim Stevenson was impressed by the facility but more so with the “model of welcoming people from around the world.”  He further stated: “Diversity is a sign of international city and Calgary is often cited as a model of diversity and education.  It is important for the city to help them (immigrants) integrate into the community.”

With the projected increase in the number of immigrants, the role of immigrant serving agencies is crucial to the integration of newcomers.  Projections show that in five years, Alberta will have a shortage of manpower to meet the demands of the labor market, build the economy and sustain its population.

The Open House ceremony, thronged by many government dignitaries, was marked by a guided tour through the new facility, an interactive display of the Centre’s services, children’s program, multicultural dance, speeches by partners and service-users and a lot of bonhomie.

The Centre for Newcomers Executive Director Dale Taylor and Board Chairperson Ken Doerksen said they look forward to future partnerships and collaborations and demonstrate how our collective efforts contribute to enhancing the lives of all Calgarians.

The Centre’s new address is 1010, 999 36 Street NE, Calgary, Alberta.

Writers Bio: Peeyush Agnihotri is a writer with 14 years of international journalistic experience, mostly reporting on social and sustainable development issues. A National Foundation of India fellowship holder, he is currently based in Calgary

To that end, Goldsmith and her colleagues partnered with the Immigrant Sector Council of Calgary to establish the Immigrant Employment Partnership Project. The project’s mandate is to “promote employment for newcomers and other immigrant stakeholders in Calgary, and to educate these groups about the careers available with The City of Calgary,” says Goldsmith.

One-stop shop for skilled immigrants

The project has been an outstanding success. This is partly due to the emphasis on employment forums — a “one-stop shop” for new Canadian professionals interested in a career with the City.

Typically, each forum features direct interaction with City of Calgary hiring managers. The forum begins with a general presentation on the recruitment process, followed by individual hiring managers presenting information on how their profession is practiced within the municipality. During these programs, the managers discuss what types of jobs are available, as well as what qualifications and qualities they’re looking for.

Finally, the managers sit down one-on-one with the immigrants, who will get a chance to ask questions. “This is valued as one of the best parts of the forum,” says Goldsmith.

She cites the work of the Immigrant Sector Council of Calgary in helping to co-ordinate the agencies to work with the City at these forums. “We always make sure to keep a balanced focus on our partners in the immigrant employment and settlement sector,” she says.

Employer forums on the horizon

In the past, the forums have focused on the immigrant professionals and immigrant employment counselors. Looking ahead, the partnership hopes to also focus on employers.

An “employer forum,” says Goldsmith, would share the model of the Immigrant Employment Partnership and highlight the importance of:

• Working as a partner: sharing the leadership and training responsibilities between the employer and the immigrant-serving agencies.
• Sharing expertise: gaining essential knowledge from immigrant-serving agencies about interviewing immigrants and analyzing their résumés.
• Being creative: participating in career fairs targeting immigrants and reducing barriers in electronic recruitment.

“Partnership is such a viable model because of the learning opportunities,” says Goldsmith. “Peer-to-peer and cross-sector learning has opened so many doors for the City as an employer. Our hiring processes have been greatly improved because of our partnerships.”

The upside to this multifaceted approach to immigrant recruitment has been an overall improvement in human resources services at the City of Calgary. The City now has International Qualifications Assessment Services guides available online, which allows both HR and hiring managers to quickly check international credentials.

“At present, there is a much higher internal awareness of how international credentials factor into the hiring process,” says Goldsmith. “Before this information was provided on our intranet, résumés with such credentials might have been screened out.”

The City of Calgary has more than 14,000 employees.

As for the causes of this large gap, the authors pinpoint three economic factors: the supply of rental accommodation, the state of the labour market and the rate of in-migration. However, the authors argue that the overriding factor is the supply of rental accommodation or affordable housing.

As Calgary’s labour market expands, more and more people are attracted to the city, therefore increasing the demand for rental accommodation. Data used in the study indicates that there are 38 rental units per 1,000 people in Calgary.

“With a small and falling supply of rental accommodations and the local housing market’s failure to expand supply, this results in upward pressure on shelter use,” the authors write.

Meanwhile, in Edmonton there is a larger supply of affordable housing at 86 units per 1,000 people. The authors argue this allows the city to adjust more easily to in-migration and curtails their homelessness numbers.

The authors note with concern the possibility that the recent fall in shelter use is due to the recent slowdown in the Calgary economy and that shelter use will increase again when the economy recovers.

Therefore, the authors recommend that ways be found “to engage the energy and efficiency of the private sector” to increase the supply of rental accommodations in Calgary. In this way shelter use might permanently be reduced. Based on previous research by The School of Public Policy, possible measures could include implementing a housing tax credit modeled on the US Low Income Housing Tax Credit; relaxing current rules for investors in multi-unit rental buildings on the use of the capital cost allowance when there is a rental loss; and controls on demolition and condominium conversions.

The paper can be found at http://policyschool.ucalgary.ca/publications

Fiskars, a global leader in hand tools for home, garden and outdoors, zoomed in on Calgary this year to install a community garden. In the South East community of Albert Park Radisson Heights, to be precise.

Fiskars, under its Project Orange Thumb initiative, provides groups across the US and Canada with tools, materials and resources they need to create beautiful and productive community garden spaces. Since 2002, Project Orange Thumb has lent over $1 million to more than 115 community groups.

Photo Caption: From left to right Jay Gillespie, vice-president, brand marketing, Fiskars Americas; Duncan Reith, senior vice-president, merchandising, Canadian Tire; Paul Tonnesen, president, Fiskars Americas and Kelly Stock, a community volunteer pose for a photograph

As many as 100 volunteers turned up at Calgary’s inner city neighbourhood on Wednesday (July 27) to install a garden in welcome sunshine after a day of heavy downpour. The Albert Park Centennial Garden, as it has been named, is one of three North American sites selected for 2011 makeovers. Only one for Canada, other being at Madison, WI and Far Rockaway, NY.

“The decision to bring Project Orange Thumb to the Albert Park Radisson Heights community has been met with much enthusiasm,” says Fiskars Americas President Paul Tonnesen. “It’s a rewarding aspect of our business to help communities learn about and embrace the benefits of growing their own nutritious food for years to come,” he adds.

“People are increasingly appreciating the value of outdoor spaces, nutritious food, conservation of resources, and neighborhood and community development. Whether they are new to the area or lifetime residents, the Albert Park Centennial Garden will give community members an opportunity to come together and get to know their neighbors while embracing the benefits of growing their own fruits and vegetables,” the president says.

Putting down a financial figure, Tonnesen says in addition to many planning hours, the garden itself costs approximately $50,000, including the cost of materials, tools, live goods, and planning resources. He says the garden will serve as a good community engagement vantage point.

Local community members will be able to enjoy the beautified gathering space, rent plots to grow their own food, or utilize the larger in-ground beds for communal food production. A portion of the produce grown in the communal beds will be donated to communities in need.

Algernon Wilson, garden committee lead at the Albert Park Radisson Heights Community Association says there is a lot of confidence to be gained by becoming a productive gardener, not to mention pride in the community. “The community interest we’ve seen so far has been tremendous, and plans for garden expansion are already being considered,” he says.

Community members have welcomed the new garden as an opportunity to come together to grow their own fruits and vegetables. Algernon says the community residents worked tirelessly over last few months to engage the area residents and prepare the land for garden installation.

The new 12,765 square-foot Albert Park Centennial Garden, will contain four raised beds, two pedestal beds and 16 in-ground beds to serve a variety of gardening styles.

The centre of the garden will contain a gathering space surrounded by rose bushes and covered with a 16 foot pergola. In addition to a beautified community gathering space, community members will have the opportunity to rent garden plots or utilize communal beds, and a portion of the produce grown in the communal beds will be donated to communities in need.

For this park in Calgary, Fiskars partnered with the Calgary Horticultural Society, The City of Calgary and Canadian Tire to plant the seeds of community pride and transform an empty field in community into beautiful garden.

All in a day. The fruits of which will be reaped over the years to come.

Writers Bio: Peeyush Agnihotri is a writer with 14 years of international journalistic experience, mostly reporting on social and sustainable development issues. A National Foundation of India fellowship holder, he is currently based in Calgary

In 2010 the Stampede took extreme up one more notch: adding an event called “Cowboy Up,” which is based on a popular Western trend called the Extreme Cowboy Race™.

Photo Credit: Calgary Stampede

Cowboy Up adds to a two-week schedule that’s already loaded with extremes:

• Extremely exciting rodeo with a million dollars in prize money on one Sunday alone.
• Extremely fancy boots and hats Calgarians pull out the closet each year.
• Extremely popular mini-doughnuts on the midway (get your own bag, once you taste them you won’t want to share!)
• Extremely dazzling nightly fireworks (following an always over-the-top song ‘n dance show).
• Perhaps greatest of all, the extreme-adrenaline chuckwagon races – an event rarely seen outside Alberta.

For fans of the rodeo and all-things western, Cowboy Up adds perfectly to what the Stampede started out to be 99 years ago: a big, fancy, rodeo where cowboys from the surrounding Prairie ranches could show their stuff and maybe earn a bit of prize money. Locals and visitors alike love the annual show; in 2010 over 1.1 million people passed through the Stampede’s gates.

Cowboy Up takes place inside the Saddledome Arena (it actually looks like a saddle), and involves cowboys/girls working their horses through a variety of Western tasks and obstacles. The course changes from race to race; possibilities for the 14 obstacles include horseback archery, leading a blindfolded horse, backing the horse uphill, and even events that require the rider to stand on the saddle or navigate water obstacles, all in eight minutes.

While Cowboy Up showcases many cowboy skills, the rodeo – and especially the chuckwagon races – is still the true heart of the Calgary Stampede.

Chuckwagon races are based on the history of cowboy camping, where a campsite would have a “chuck wagon” for their kitchen. In the race, horseback cowboys called “outriders” must toss camp equipment into the wagon before the wagon can begin racing a figure eight and a full lap of the racetrack – with the outriders completing the course too. It’s truly extreme, and rules have been changed this year to make it safer for the athletes and animals. The crowd goes wild for these races, and the stands tend to sell out.

“Cowboy Up” Extreme Cowboy Race, July 9, 10, & 11 at 3:00 p.m.

Calgary Travel Information, www.visitcalgary.com

Article courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission Media Centre

Writers Bio: Writer Randall Shirley lives in Vancouver, BC, a place he thinks is paradise. Nevertheless, the travel bug causes him to leave often, penning works for The Boston Globe, The Calgary Herald, The South China Morning Post, and more. Shirley edits the Canadian gay and lesbian travel magazine Out In Canada and frequently appears as “resident globetrotter” on Vancouver’s Shaw TV Studio 4. Rare accomplishment: He’s one of a rare group: those who have visited all 13 Canadian provinces and territories.

Meet Amar Chandel, a royal by descent, a journalist by profession and a holisitic healer by passion. This scion of India’s erstwhile Chandel Rajput dynasty, who has authored a couple of books on healthy living, is on a 10-day visit to Calgary to deliver discourses on breathing exercises, meditation, yoga and managing a healthy lifestyle — holistic healing as it is called.

It all started with hands-on advice to family and close friends when Chandel, a yoga proponent since childhood, noticed many illnesses and body diseases could be thwarted by a mix of pranayam exercises and dietary regimen. He then started delivering discourses on a charitable basis (which he continues to this day) except that if he is discoursing abroad (read out of India), the class has to bear his travel and lodging expenses.

The word about his style of healing has spread by mouth internationally. Keen disciples from across the globe pool in money to call him to various parts of the world every year. It was the turn of the US and Canada in 2011. His previous visits to the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Sweden, Luxemburg, Belgium, the Netherlands, Israel, Egypt and China speak a lot about the worldwide popularity of his courses.

Holistic healing classes are held for five days for two hours a day.  Chandel combines millennia-old yoga practices with state-of-the-art nutrition research to increase the body’s immunity manifolds.. Not only do his healing classes teach how to manage a few chronic diseases but the comprehensive stress-reduction programme has also helped a large number of people get rid of their emotional difficulties like depression, tension, mood swings, excessive sensitivity and anger.

“These five days can transform one’s life. The course makes the students look better, be younger, live longer, healthier and happier. Human body is a beautiful creation of God. The body (human) has an inherent capacity to set right within six months all the damages that have been done upon it over up to over six decades,” he says.

Holistic healing classes have in-built component of the right food-water intake, breathing exercises, meditation, sleep cycle and body awareness and a module on positive attitude. “A person can digest anything in youth but the results and the brunt on the body may manifest after a decade. The physical destruction on body starts showing as soon as a person hits the middle age. Sedentary lifestyle of the West compounds the problem,” he says.

All that is expected of a ‘student’ is to learn the techniques thoroughly and practice them religiously. He already has a dedicated email id, asknature@gmail.com, wherein anyone may ask and carry forward a holistic healing discussion.

“Wonderful results don’t come by magic overnight. One has to spend at least six months (practicing what has been taught) to repair the damage done over a lifetime. That is a very small period for curing dreaded diseases without any medicine or hospitalization,” he comments.

A strong votary of maintaining one’s ideal body weight, he says many of the modern-day physical problems are weight related.  Chandel will be in Calgary up to June- end.

Writers Bio: Peeyush Agnihotri is a writer with 14 years of international journalistic experience, mostly reporting on social and sustainable development issues. A National Foundation of India fellowship holder, he is currently based in Calgary

I had just finished my plumbing apprenticeship and had gained employment with a local firm where Barb worked as a clerk. Our relationship started out as purely friendship and developed into boyfriend/girlfriend after about six months. After a year together we decided to get our own house, well a rented house as neither of us was earning much back then. Two years after that we got married.

Our lives plodded along like most people’s and after six years of working for the same company I decided to start my own plumbing business. This ended up being one of the best decisions I made (apart from marrying Barb of course) as I was suddenly working the jobs I wanted, in the hours that suited me and was soon earning more money than before. After only eight months I was in a position to take on another plumber to help out, along with an apprentice.

It was at this point that we bought our first home together, having lived in rented accommodation until this time. We purchased a small town house in a reasonable area of Calgary, close to where my business was based. Barb decided she wanted to leave her employment and she came to work for me (or was I working for her?) She was a godsend as by now business was very buoyant which meant that I had little time for taking phone calls or doing paperwork. Barb effectively became my personal assistant, booking in all the jobs, allocating the work, doing the bookkeeping and generally keeping us three guys in order.

In 2002 we moved house again, this time to a bigger property in a better area of  Calgary. Business was booming and we now had five employees working for us. During 2003, what is now known as the Alberta boom started to impact our lives. At first it was a very positive thing as it meant that there was plenty of work for us and the business was going from strength to strength. We were having a hard time keeping up with the number of jobs coming our way. We took on two more plumbers and everything was great.

This upward trend carried into 2004 and basically anyone who was in the construction trades was doing pretty well for themselves, including us. In June 2004 we moved house once again. This time we moved to the edge of the city to a lovely four bedroom detached property with a pool. It was the biggest and nicest property either of us had ever lived in and we felt very proud of ourselves for achieving so much in a relatively short time.

In 2005 three of my plumbers were offered jobs in other towns, which were also seeing the effects of the boom. Although they said they preferred to stay working for me, the other companies were offering more money, as they were so short of workers. Although our business was going well, we could not afford to pay the wages that other larger companies were paying and so they left.

This was a very strange time as work was plentiful, but I only had half my workforce and trying to recruit new workers when they could basically name their price in other companies and locations was very difficult. During 2006, although the company was still making a good living and we had no major complaints we still considered ourselves failures for having downsized the business albeit against our control. We saw other similar companies also experiencing the same issues and it became a major problem in the area. There was tons of work everywhere but no one to do it.

In the summer of 2006 Barb was talking to one of our neighbours who was thinking of moving to British Columbia to be near her daughter. Her husband had died the previous year and she lived alone. She told Barb the quote she had been given for the value of her house and we were both stunned. Although both our properties differed slightly, they were very similar and so would be worth similar amounts. If this valuation was correct it would mean we had made a lot of money from our house even though we had only lived there two years.

This put the idea of downsizing into our heads to free up some equity. We even broached the subject of taking a vacation, which we had not done in years. Barb decided to get our house valued and it turned out to be worth even more than we anticipated. The realtor suggested that the prices were increasing almost hourly and that he would have no trouble selling it.

The next few weeks we had to sit down and decide what we wanted to do. I was fed up with working all the hours of the day and so was Barb. One of my plumbers had previously asked about buying my business and we had laughed it off at the time, but now we had to decide if this was what we wanted to do. Basically we could carry on as we were, working all hours, living in a nice house and earning good money but having no time to enjoy ourselves. Or, we could sell the business and the house and walk away with a lot of money and free time. The trouble was we were still quite young and so the money would not last forever and also the house prices were rising all the time so even a property like we owned five years ago would cost a small fortune now.

After many weeks of sole searching we came to the conclusion we would be able to afford a much better property for a much smaller outlay in another province. Alberta was getting too expensive to live in and we felt we would get much better value for money and lower living costs elsewhere. My sister, Marcy lived in London, Ontario and we had often visited her and thought the area nice, so we decided to see what type of property we could afford and whether I could set my business up there.

Marcy did a lot of legwork for us looking at the business side of things and basically found out that I should have no trouble setting up a business in the area. There also seemed to be plenty of work about, so we made the big decision to move to Ontario.

Over the next few months we got the business valued and made arrangements to have it transferred to one of my employees. We spent two weeks in London with Marcy and spent most of the time house hunting. We found a really nice property in a small subdivision on the northern side of town that we really loved. It was a little smaller than our home in Calgary, but was still big enough for our needs. It also had a pool which we had gotten used to so did not want to have to loose, so that was a bonus. We put in an offer, which after a little haggling was accepted.

After this we went back to Calgary to tie up everything there. Fortunately Marcy kept an eye on everything for us in London, including overseeing the house inspection and keeping in touch with the realtor.

Our house went on the market in Calgary and amazingly we sold it within a week for more than the market valuation. In the end three parties wanted it so they ended up bartering between themselves and the price went up which was great news for us. The people that secured the house had already sold theirs and so they wanted a completion in three weeks. Although we would not be getting our London house for three weeks after this date we decided to accept this and Marcy said we could stay with her in the meantime.

We arrived in Toronto and Marcy collected us from the airport, we were now officially Ontarians. As arranged we stayed with Marcy whilst we waited for our house to complete and for one week after so that we could do some decorating before moving in for good. We spent our first night in our new house in October 2006.

We decided that we would not do anything regarding the business until after Christmas and so spent a couple of months getting used to the area. It is very flat around here compared to Calgary where we could see mountains in the distance. This took quite a lot of getting used to, there just isn’t any scenery here and not so many winter sports. We both love skiing and were used to driving a short distance to many different ski areas, but here we have to travel longer to find them. The fact that we are only a short distance to either Lake Huron or Lake Eire is really nice. There are quite a few really nice beeches about and so our summer activities have increased.

In 2007 I finally set up my business again and started off as just myself and Barb as my right-hand-woman. The equity we released from the sale of the Calgary house and business has been invested for our retirement, apart from some we kept back to live on and have holidays with.

In February 2009 we went back to Alberta for a skiing trip and Marcy and her partner Pete came with us. We had a great time but were not too disappointed to leave, so felt content that we had made the right decision to move.

In late 2010 we had our first child, Sarah, who was a bit of a surprise as we hadn’t actually planned to have children, but once we knew she was on the way we were really pleased.

As I write this Barb is pregnant with our second child. We don’t know the sex and don’t want to know until the birth, but a boy would be nice. I don’t think we are planning any more children after this one, but as we have found out, you never can tell what is in the future.

My business is doing well and I have one other person working for me. I could expand, but we decided a couple of years ago not to do that again and to stay smaller. We now seem to have the work-life balance about right. In Calgary it was all work and no time to have fun, but here life is more relaxed.

All in all we are very happy with our new house and new location. If we could throw in a few mountains it would be the icing on the cake, but you can’t have everything in life, can you? I feel much more relaxed in my work, although in Calgary I had lots of work and was earning more money, I didn’t realize how stressed out I had become until it all stopped.

I think our story proves that things can be just as frantic and frightening moving from one side of the country to another as moving from overseas. We were lucky to have Marcy to help us, I really feel for people who move to Canada and don’t know anyone, it must be really hard.

Most of the people who have heard of the Stampede will immediately think of cowboys riding crazy horses round an arena until they get thrown off. Well, yes this is part of the stampede, but there is also so much more.

The Calgary Stampede dates back to 1912 when the first rodeo took place with a prize of $20,000 at stake. This, at the time made it the richest rodeo competition in North America and over 100,000 people came to watch. A few years later in 1923 the rodeo was combined for the first time with the Calgary Exhibition and has done so ever since. The event takes place over ten days and attendance is over one million.

The Stampede takes place at the 137 acre Stampede Park, just east of downtown Calgary. The opening ceremony consists of a parade led by the Calgary Stampede Showband who march 4.5 km through downtown Calgary. The parade usually attracts around 400,000 people alone. In addition, the television audience is around two million.

So, what can you expect if you decide to attend the Stampede?

Music: There are many music related shows on during the Stampede. The three main music venues are the Coca Cola Stage, Nashville North and Saddledome. Every day each stage hosts a number of different acts, so make sure you know who your favorites are and where they will be so you don’t miss anything.

Rides & games: The Midway is the location of the many rides available at the Stampede. Last year there were over 35 major rides and 22 kids rides as well as lots of smaller rides to keep everyone entertained. There are also lots of games to play such as beer smashing, duck pond and ring toss.

You can pay per ride or purchase money saving Midway Magic Pass Credits. Each ride requires a different number of credits to ride. You can also purchase day passes, so you pay a one- off price and can ride all day.

Entertainment: You can also find lots of other entertainment available throughout the Stampede duration. Past events have included BMX riding, skateboarding shows, exhibits, dog shows, auctions and many more.

Rodeo: Of course there is the rodeo and this consists of six major events:

Bareback: Physically very demanding as the cowboy holds onto a handhold and is disqualified for touching the animal or equipment with the other hand. The ride lasts eight seconds, if they haven’t been bucked off before then.

Bull Riding: This is the most dangerous event and the rider is strapped to the bull by a special handhold. Like the bareback the rides lasts eight seconds and riders are disqualified for touching the bull with the free hand.

Ladies Barrel Racing: This is the only event for ladies at the Stampede. Riders circle three barrels in a cloverleaf pattern and the ride is timed. Barrels can be touched but a five second penalty is incurred if a barrel is knocked over.

Saddle Bronc: The rider moves his feet from the horse’s neck in a full arc toward the back of the saddle in time with the bronc’s action. The rider needs to hold on for eight seconds and cannot touch the animal or equipment with his free hand.

Steer Wrestling: The steer wrestler starts behind a barrier and gives the steer a head start of ten seconds, otherwise penalties are incurred. There are many rules relating to this event which are too numerous to list here.

Tie-Down Roping: This is the most technical event and like the steer wrestling a ten second head start for the animal is required. After roping the tie-down animal, the cowboy must run down his rope and ay the animal down by hand. If the tie- down animal is down when he reaches it, he must allow the tie-down animal to get up then lay it down. Again there are many rules, too numerous to list relating to this event.

Other events which taking place include:

Novice Bareback: The same rules apply as per the bareback event but this is for riders under 20 years of age.

Novice Saddle Bronc: The same rules apply as per the saddle bronc event but this is for riders under 20 years of age.

Junior Steer Riding: This event is for kids aged between 10 and 14 years. One half of the score is awarded for the contestant’s ability to ride and the other half is for the stock’s ability to buck. The cowboys are allowed to ride with one hand or two. If they elect to ride with only one – they must abide by the rules for bull riding – whereby they will be disqualified for slapping the animal, themselves or double grabbing with both hands during the eight seconds.

Wild Pony Racing: Teams of three youngsters ages 8 to 12 try to tame a wild pony long enough to get a rider aboard for a two jump ride. The team with the fastest time wins.

Chuckwagon: The chuckwagon races are very exciting and adrenalin pumping. A team of four horses are hitched to a chuckwagon and race round a series of barrels at breakneck speed. Four wagons take part in each race, so that means 36 horses and 144 hooves all taking place in less than a minute.

Fireworks: The fireworks show is a spectacular event involving some of the world’s best pyrotechnic display teams. The show can be seen not only from the Stampede arena itself but from most of downtown Calgary.

Food & Drink

Like all good events there are lots of places to get food and drink. You can enjoy anything from full service menus at Mavericks Dining Room and Lounge to hot dogs from the stand.

There are food and drink locations throughout the Stampede in every area so you will never be too far from a quick snack or full meal. Choose from buffets, full service lounges, concession stands and of course beer gardens amongst others.

Tickets

Tickets can be purchased at the gate, but it is advisable to purchase tickets well before the event.

Grab your tickets by clicking on this link

The 2011 show takes place July 8 -17 details can be found here

Beekeeping has been a sweet passion with Eliese, a history postgraduate. So much so that she has now started a social entrepreneurial venture, ABC (Apiaries and Bees for Communities) in Calgary that focuses on the development of educational opportunities for community members in regards to pollinators and healthy urban habitat development.

When Eliese moved from Crossfield, Alberta, to Calgary, Alberta, in 2005, she was overcome by a sense of being city-bound, and began to miss her country roots. She wanted to do something to make Calgary a greener and more diversified habitat. Bees, for some reason, fascinated her since childhood and she started focusing on urban beekeeping projects.

“In 2008, I was hearing about urban beekeeping projects happening all over the world, primarily in France, and decided that I would keep bees in Calgary. I began to do some research on beekeeping, and became attached to the Top-Bar Hive method of beekeeping, a method that has its origin in Kenya. Gradually beekeeping became a full time avocation,” she narrates.

Today, Eliese, through ABC, is committed to develop sustainable communities of urban beekeepers through the support of conventional and Top-Bar Hive management practices.

“Did you know that Alberta is the largest honey producer in Canada, and the fifth largest producer of honey in the world?” she informs with an air of expert.

“Beekeeping is a huge part of the Alberta agribusiness as it plays a significant role in canola pollination. There is currently an incredible increase of demand over supply, forcing beekeepers to look for ‘stock’ (GM bees, resistant varieties) from New Zealand and Australia,” she says.

Eliese is deeply involved in bringing small-scale and controlled apiaries to community and residential gardens. Through educational programming, mentorship and workshops, her venture seeks to support the urban beekeeping hobbyist by increasing the health and quantity of honeybee populations.

Telling a bit about her social venture, Eliese says her organization is focused on the development of educational opportunities for community members in regards to pollinators and healthy urban habitat development. “This is done through educational programming, hands-on opportunities, free or discounted workshops for the public, and collaboration with other sustainable initiatives within the community,” she says.

She is currently involved in providing educational courses and day-long hands-on workshops to those interested in apiaries. She is also involved with many communities, including some in Red Deer, in dissemination of beekeeping information, besides being an active member in biodiversity organizations.

“I strongly believe that by engaging the public in the development of skills, which support self-sufficiency and independence, may lead to a more resilient and vibrant community, “she declares.

Article by Peeyush Agnihotri

Writers Bio: Peeyush Agnihotri is a writer with 14 years of international journalistic experience, mostly reporting on social and sustainable development issues. A National Foundation of India fellowship holder, he is currently based in Calgary

This lady from North India is an inspiration to many. An All- India Radio (AIR) announcer, who came to Canada nearly 10 years ago, with many dreams worked hard to realize them. Today, she owns a string of diverse businesses that include an ethic media production house, cosmetics clinic and an education plan agency. Deepshikha plans an electoral debut, now.

A popular face in the South Asian community, this Alberta Centennial Award winner, 2005, is seeking nomination as an MLA from one of the Calgary north east constituency on the Wildrose Alliance ticket.

“Since childhood, I was keen on co-curricular activities. My leanings towards poetry and writing brought me into media. I hosted my first radio show in India in 1996. Three years later, we (me and my family) moved to Edmonton, Canada, and to Calgary in 2003, she recalls.

The move didn’t come with many surprises as she and her husband were pretty ready to face the Canadian way of life.

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Original article by Peeyush Agnihotri

Having lost both his arms, in 1994, when he came in touch with 11,000-volt live electrical grid wires in Nepal, Sudarshan, then 14, saw the worst.

“A kite that I was flying got entangled in the overhead electricity transmission wires. I tried getting it with a metal pole. Next thing I remember is getting a huge shock and waking up at a military hospital in Kathmandu with both my arms amputated,” he recalls.

Yet he didn’t resign to fate.

Left with no arms and little option, Sudarshan reinvented himself. He started using his feet to eat, write and perform daily chores. He would practice 14 hours a day and gradually made them work like hands.

Eleven years later, in 2005, Sudarshan scaled 5,700-m Mount Yala peak, as if to bring home a point. He thus became the first disabled individual to do so thereby creating history. For him now, disability is not an inability.

Bad political conditions in Nepal, where he was kidnapped twice, made him move to Canada. He fled the Himalayan kingdom in 2006. He and his wife landed in Toronto but a year later decided to settle in Calgary because of vast open land, majestic Rockies and the Bow (river).

READ THE REST OF THIS INSPIRATIONAL STORY HERE

History, here, has taken youth and spirit into its embrace. The Bow skyscraper, designed by the London, UK-based firm Foster + Partners, rises up over Chinatown and the old downtown core like a modern cathedral. Its unusual crescent shape might seem to resemble a bend in the river it looks over, alongside which it is possible to run, cycle and walk. No one forgets the river here. On Prince’s Island, in the middle of the Bow River, thousands gather for concerts in summer, while the excellent River Café provides coziness and haute Canadian cuisine with local accents to diners eleven months of the year (closed January). The High Performance Rodeo, the arts festival administered by the theatre company One Yellow Rabbit, enlivens the city every January. At the corner of 7th Ave. and 1st St. in the centre of the city, the 50 artists’ studios, galleries and bistros of the Art Central building offer local art, photography and jewellery. The Stephen Avenue Walk a National Historic Site. Here, the trademark sandstone buildings of turn-of-the-century Calgary have been revived, housing shops, restaurants, wine bars and Fashion Central (the sister project to Art Central). Some buildings, such as the old Bank of Nova Scotia, have exceptional friezes of Western life cut into them—wheat sheaves, bison, cowboys and Indian chiefs—that stand out as modest reminders of the city’s Western past and pedigree.

But this is not a city just for cowboys anymore—far from it (though you can take in plenty of that, two prime examples being the Calgary Stampede and the Alberta Boot Company). Perhaps CHARCUT restaurant in the new Hôtel Le Germain Calgary is one of the best icons of the new city. On the one hand, you’d expect good meat dishes here. On the other, CHARCUT has rocketed its way into the select tier of Canada’s best restaurants thanks in no small part to a fermenting room in which its sumptuous range of homemade charcuterie is made, and its “Eating Bar,” where diners can watch as their meats, fishes and vegetables are expertly prepared. Co-owner and co-chef Connie DeSousa (who trained at Alice Waters’ pioneering farm-to-table restaurant, Chez Panisse, in Berkeley, CA, USA) and her staff are young and keen, and represent the new city, sending out tweets and Facebook messages to alert the faithful when they are serving “alley burgers” with house-made pickles in paper bags out the back of the upscale restaurant for five dollars each. They don’t do it for profit. They do it for fun. The fun this new version of Calgary is all about.

www.travelalberta.com

Article courtesy of the Canadian Tourism Commission Media Centre

Writers Bio: Noah Richler is a CBC radio documentary maker and the prize-winning author of This is My Country, What’s Yours? A Literary Atlas of Canada. He is a regular contributor to the Globe and Mail, theNational Post, The Walrus magazine and the BBC World Service.

Calgary started off as Fort Calgary with the railway industry playing a major role in the economy and at attracting settlers to the area. The city received its name from Colonel James Macleod. Calgary is a Scottish name originating from Calgary Bay on the Isle of Mull, Scotland. Officially proclaimed a city in 1884 with a population of 4,000, Calgary started out like most western towns. The city featured a series of wood frame houses, wooden church steeples and a city hall clock tower.

The great fire of 1886 changed the look of Calgary from wood to the more fireproof sandstone. The Sandstone City became Calgary’s new nickname and set it apart from other cities. Calgary has a rich history with landmarks and districts that tell of its continuous evolution. The city however, hasn’t done much to preserve it’s history. Many historical landmarks and buildings have been torn down to make room for new ones. Calgary’s image is more new and modern rather than nostalgic. All is not lost though, there are certain districts that have worked hard at preserving history with hopes of passing it on to future generations

Fort Calgary

Fort Calgary was established in 1875 by the F Troop of the North West Mounted Police. The fort was built at the forks of the Bow and Elbow Rivers and under the instruction of Inspector Ephrem Brisebois, the Mounted Police were to suppress whiskey traffic along the Bow River. The fort was constructed out of pine logs and the pole roofs were covered with earth, while the walls were mudded with clay. It took approximately six weeks to build and the living conditions in the fort were far from comfortable.

In 1882, the fort was torn down and new buildings were built and the site became known as Calgary Barracks. A few years later these buildings were destroyed by fire and were replaced by a remarkable two-storey building that could house 100 men. In 1914, the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway purchased the land and demolished all fort buildings except for Superintendent Deane’s house. In 1975, the city of Calgary celebrated its Centennial and reclaimed the land. Archaeologists working in the area over the years have uncovered remains of the original fort and several other buildings. Due to these findings, the location is now designated as a National and Provincial Historic Site. Today visitors to the area can view a replica of the 1875 fort site and can walk through an interpretive centre with exhibits that illustrate Calgary from 1875 to the 1940s.

Inglewood

The first community formed in Calgary was Inglewood. The area features over 200 pre-1914 buildings, including homes, office buildings and retail shops. Inglewood is located on 9th Avenue South East, across the Elbow River from Fort Calgary. The district was occupied as early as 1871 by American traders and became a permanent settlement with the 1875 construction of Fort Calgary. It was originally thought that the Canadian Pacific Railway would build its main station in Inglewood but instead chose to construct it on the other side of the river.

Inglewood was home to some of the city’s major industries such as the Burns meat packing plant and the Calgary Brewery. During the community’s economic boom in 1910, many multi-storey brick buildings and houses emerged. With the start of the Great War in 1914, the housing boom came to an end and by 1960 Inglewood was rezoned as an industrial area. As years went on the community became plagued by social problems but has managed to overcome these difficulties and is now an attractive and fashionable business district with restaurants, pubs, various retail shops and office spaces.

Victoria Park

The Victoria Park area is home to the world famous Calgary Exhibition and Stampede. It is located southeast of downtown and lies between 10th and 18th Avenues and is bounded by the Elbow River and Second Street Southwest. The land was purchased in 1889 by Colonel James Walker and members of the Calgary Agriculture Society who later became founders of the Stampede. For many years this outdoor show attracted huge crowds to the Victoria Park community but as the Stampede expanded it eventually led to the downfall of the area. Many residents have had their homes put in jeopardy in order to accommodate the Stampede’s expansion. However, the area was not always plagued by such problems. Victoria Park was once populated with working class families, business people and small factories. Due to social issues, caution should be used when visiting this area. The area has gone through a revitalization process which has resulted in several new condo developments as well as the renovation of a number of older buildings. Several older buildings have been transformed into high-end condo lofts.

Connaught Beltine

The Connaught-Beltine area of Calgary is located in the city’s southeast between 8th and 14th Street and was home to some well-known people. The location was once bare prairie land and James Loughheed, Alberta’s first Senator, built his large home in the area in 1891. In 1901, the community was home to a beautiful sandstone mansion that belonged to Calgary’s first millionaire, Patrick Burns. Unfortunately, it was demolished in 1956 for the expanding Colonel Belcher Hospital. During the housing boom between 1905 and 1914, the area was home to some sophisticated homes that featured adaptations of the Queen Anne style and tall decorative chimneys. Apartment buildings such as the Devenish, are still around today and is now home to businesses such as fashion boutiques, salons, an art gallery and jewellery shop. In 1911, Philanthropist Andrew Carnegie financed the first public library in Alberta, located in the Connaught-Beltline. Famous author, activist, and teacher Nellie McClung lived in the Connaught-Beltline community from 1923 to 1932.

Bowness

Bowness is located in northwest Calgary and is well known for its park that is often used for skating in the winter and swimming in the summer. Originally, the area was not a part of the City of Calgary but was a separate piece of land located in the Bow River valley. An Englishman by the name of John Hextall came to Alberta in 1908 and was enchanted by the natural beauty of Bowness and decided to develop the land into an exclusive residential community. At his own expense, Hextall subdivided the land into large treed lots and built a bridge connecting Bowness to Calgary. As a means to attracting wealthy investors, he also had a park and golf club constructed. In 1911, Hextal signed an agreement with the City of Calgary in which he agreed to give up the islands of Bowness Park in exchange for a municipal streetcar. This was done to ease future expansion plans but by 1914, the year Hextall died, only five of the impressive homes he foresaw had been built. With the arrival of the First World War, financial investment for the area dried up and the growth of Bowness slowed down. By 1951, the community officially became a town and in 1964, it was officially annexed by the City of Calgary.

Mount Royal

Situated in Calgary’s southwest and bounded by 17th Avenue and 14th Street, Mount Royal has become known as one of the city’s most distinguished residential districts. It features large lots with plenty of trees, an abundant amount of open spaces for parks and gracefully curved streets. The elegance of the area is due to a plan that was put in place in 1905 by the City of Calgary and the Canadian Pacific Railway that owned the land, both of whom wanted to attract wealthy prospective settlers to the area. The plan was successful and the district experienced a building boom with many grand estate homes being built. Soon after, the area was officially named Mount Royal after the community in Montreal which was home to Canadian Pacific Railway President William Van Horne.

Stephen Avenue Mall

Located along Eighth Avenue Southwest in downtown Calgary, this outdoor pedestrian mall was named after the Canadian Pacific Railway’s first president, Lord George Mount Stephen. In 1886, a fire nearly destroyed the buildings lining Stephen Avenue. As a way to prevent another such tragedy, the city put a fireproof plan into action. Locally quarried sandstone was used in the construction for the commercial buildings that lined the avenue and Calgary quickly became known as the Sandstone City. During this time a person could come down to the avenue and purchase all their necessities, from food to postage stamps. By 1914, the use of sandstone slowed down and the cheaper alternative of bricks became the new supply of choice in construction. Across the street from Calgary’s Old City Hall, located at the east end of the avenue, is the Olympic Plaza. Built in 1987, the plaza was used for medal ceremonies during the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. Over the years many buildings along Stephen Avenue have been torn down to accommodate newer buildings such as the Glenbow Museum and shopping malls.

Today the area has been declared a National Historic District by the federal government and many structures have been restored to their original conditions. Visitors to Stephen Avenue Mall can now walk through a beautiful historic setting and enjoy a variety of fine dining, do a little shopping, stop in at a coffee bar or spend some time in a selection of art galleries.

The City of Calgary has several noteworthy landmarks that have stood the test of time. Through restoration processes and constant maintenance, there are a few landmarks worth visiting such as the Centre Street Bridge, St. Mary’s Cathedral and the Calgary Tower.

Centre Street Bridge

In 1906, the original Centre Street Bridge was built by A.J. McArther. He owned some land that he wanted to sell on the other side of the bridge, the area that is now known as Crescent Heights. The City of Calgary purchased the bridge in 1912 but in 1915 the Bow River flooded and wiped out the bridge. A new Centre Street Bridge was built and opened in 1916. It is this bridge that has survived the test of time and is now used daily by thousands of Calgarians. The majestic lions seen today, however, are replicas of the originals.

The most prominent features of the Centre Street Bridge are the four stone lions that guard the entrances. City worker James Thompson, who was once a Scottish mason, created the majestic lions. These impressive creatures were modeled after the lions found at the base of Admiral Nelson’s monument at Trafalgar Square in London. The main difference between the two is that the English lions are made of brass whereas the ones in Calgary are made of concrete. Each lion features an image of the English rose, an Irish shamrock, the Scottish thistle and the Canadian Maple leaf. In 1993, the bridge was named a Historic Resource, partly due to the regal presence of the lions.

St. Mary’s Cathedral

The original St. Mary’s Cathedral came to be after a meeting in 1887 with Father Lacombe and Calgary parishioners. It was decided that due to the growing congregation, a new stone church should be built. Located on 18 Avenue Southwest, the church opened its doors in 1889 and in 1912, the Calgary Diocese was formed and Pope Pius X declared St. Mary’s a Cathedral. No changes had been made to the structure until 1913 when Bishop McNally rearranged the sanctuary and sacristy. In 1955, the Cathedral was demolished and construction of the present day St. Mary’s began. The new Cathedral opened its doors in 1957 and was consecrated by Reverend Francis P. Carroll, Bishop of Calgary. St. Mary’s contains an amazing 5 m (16 ft) statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, cast in stone and mounted over the main doors. Over the years, St. Mary’s has gone through extensive renovations and the original interior that was designed by Calgary architect, Maxwell Bates, has been greatly altered.

Calgary Tower

The Calgary Tower is located in the city’s downtown on 9th Avenue Southwest. Once known as the Husky Tower, it was built in 1966 on the site of the demolished Canadian Pacific Railway station. The Tower was opened in 1968 by Premier Ernest Manning, and in 1971 it became officially known as the Calgary Tower. At the time, the tower was the tallest free-standing structure in the city. However, the year 1983 saw the Tower lose this status with the completion of the Petro-Canada building. A special feature of the Tower is the torch at the very top that is lit on special occasions such as the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympic Games. The tower stands 190 m (626 ft) tall and it takes 62 seconds to get from ground level to the observation deck.

The City of Calgary is a founding member of the World Federation of Great Towers. Other world famous structures that are part of the federation include the CN Tower and the Eiffel Tower.

For more information about Calgary click here to visit the official tourism website

Chateau Frontenac

An architectural marvel constructed in 1893, this luxurious resort hotel defines Quebec City’s European-styled urban design. Steeped in history, Chateau Frontenac was designed to evoke renaissance-era castles and cathedrals. As such, the resort is defined by its several towers, thick foliage and brick facades. Visitors exploring the grounds cannot help but be amazed to know they are walking within the same confines that have housed celebrated guests such as King George VI, Queen Elizabeth II, Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt.

The hotel is also home to Le Champlain, a premiere fine-dining establishment. Dinner guests of this restaurant can enjoy a menu composed by executive chef Jean Soulard, which features traditional and contemporary French-Canadian cuisine.

More information:

Rogers Centre

At an estimated cost of $570 million, this sports and entertainment venue located in Toronto is noteworthy for its fan-friendly experience and innovative design. Opened in 1989, the Rogers Centre was originally known as the Skydome, and designed by Rod Robbie and Michael Allen to be the home of Toronto sport franchises the Toronto Blue Jays and Toronto Argonauts. The stadium is noteworthy for being the first complex in professional sports to have a fully-functional retractable roof, a necessity in dealing with Toronto’s inclement weather.

Tourists visiting the Rogers Centre can stay in the dome’s adjoining hotel, the Renaissance Toronto Hotel. A four-star hotel, guests of this establishment have the opportunity to stay in a room with a view of the Rogers Centre field. The Renaissance also provides modern amenities such as babysitting, wet-bar and wireless Internet access.

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CN Tower

One of Ontario’s premiere tourist destinations, this freestanding structure has been a landmark of Toronto’s skyline since its erection in 1976. The architectural wonder stands 553 m (1814 ft) tall, making it the largest tower in Canada – by comparison the Calgary Tower measures in at 191 m (627 ft) – Originally constructed by the Canadian National Railway, the CN Tower was sold to the Canada Lands Company in 1995, but to this day it still maintains its primary function as a communication tower for several national broadcasters such as the CBC and Rogers Communications.

Travellers may be interested in making reservations to dine in the CN Tower’s fine-dining restaurant, the 360. An upscale dining experience, the restaurant is housed 351 m (1152 ft) up the tower and slowly revolves, giving guests a magnificent 360-degree view of Toronto and beyond.

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Calgary’s Plus 15 Walkways

An architectural wonder based on its functionality and the sheer area it covers, the Plus 15 system is a series of 57 suspended walkways that connect almost every building in Calgary’s metropolitan centre. Constructed to alleviate traffic congestion and provide pedestrians with shelter from Calgary’s extreme winters, the Plus 15 spans over 16 km (10 mi), and connects buildings as varied as the Calgary Tower and the Sheraton Suites. This substantive system has become ingrained in Calgary’s popular culture, inspiring the major motion picture, Waydowntown, by local filmmaker Gary Burns and starring Tony-award winner Don Mckellar.

View the walkway map (PDF)

Centre Block

The focal point for political discourse in Canada, this complex’s current rendition was constructed in 1927. Modeled around modern gothic design, this wonder can be found on Parliament Hill and spans an area of approximately 10,000 sq m (32,000 sq ft). Inside Centre Block is the House of Commons, the Senate, and the offices of several high ranking government officials, not the least of which include the Prime Minister of Canada.

Attached to the Centre Block is the Peace Tower, which was commissioned in 1919 to commemorate the end of World War I. Designed to mesh the rest of Parliament Hill, the tower is notable for containing the Books of Remembrance; a large document containing the names of all Canadian soldiers who gave their lives to military causes.

Halifax Citadel

28 years in the making, this historic military complex is a reminder of Halifax’s storied naval past. Completed in 1856, the Citadel is a classically-designed fortification that was originally commissioned to provide long-range defense against assaults from land and sea. Designated a national historic site by the government of Canada, the fort is now open to casual visitors, who will find military remnants such as ramparts, trenches, towers and shooting ranges.

Potential visitors to the Citadel should consider planning their trip around one of the Halifax Citadel Regimental Association’s living history re-enactments. Active year-round, this group enacts historically accurate activities such as gun firing, infantry maneuvers and military music performances.

Montreal’s Olympic Stadium

Known as much for its colourful history as it is for its design, Montreal’s Olympic Stadium is nonetheless an architectural wonder of Canada. Originally built for the 1976 Summer Olympics, due to a series of labour strikes and construction problems, the stadium was not officially completed until 1988. Barring its ample problems, the innovative design employed by French architect Roger Taillibert cannot be denied. In fact, the inclined tower attached to the stadium is still considered the tallest in the world.

While it no longer hosts Major League Baseball games, Olympic Stadium still books large sporting events and trade shows. In 2008, the stadium will host the Canadian Football League’s championship game, the Grey Cup.

More information:

Habitat 67

Designed by celebrated Canadian architect Moshe Safdie, Habitat 67 is an innovative residential condominium complex found in Montreal. Originally commissioned to demonstrate modern urban living for Montreal’s Expo 67, all 148 units were sold as private residences at the conclusion of the world fair. The design has been commended for its use of cubic structures – 354 in all – and its effort to include green space into each unit. To this day, Moshe Safdie regularly advises the Habitat 67 board on renovation and upkeep planning.

More information:

The Confederation Bridge

Completed in 1997, this bridge spans 12.9 km (8 mi), and connects the provinces of Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. Confederation Bridge is a wonder because of the social and economic impact it has had on the two provinces; its construction has been directly linked to an increase in tourism and trade.

Besides its value to PEI and New Brunswick’s economic well being, for tourists Confederation Bridge is a great way to travel from the island to the mainland. While driving along the bridge, travellers are presented with breathtaking views of the ocean, and the various sailboats and ships inhabiting it.

More information:

Canadian Museum of Civilization

One of Canada’s most popular museums, the Canadian Museum of Civilization building is a modern marvel designed by Douglas Cardinal. Completed in 1989, the museum covers over 100,000 sq m (328,000 sq ft), and has been heralded for its imaginative use of curved walls and abstract structures representing Canada’s diverse environments. Open year-round, visitors to the museum will find themselves immersed in permanent exhibits such as the Grand Hall which features an expansive collection of aboriginal artifacts, while the Canadian Personalities Hall, showcases rare photographs and memorabilia of some of Canada’s most influential residents.

More information:

The low cost of borrowing stimulated the housing market in 2010, and this trend is predicted to continue in the first half of 2011. The widely held consumer belief that rates will rise in the latter part of 2011 may prompt an increase in buying activity early in the year.

“Trends in the housing market continue to be driven by the lingering after-effects of the recession, Canadians realize that interest rates are unsustainably low and that homes will become effectively more expensive when mortgage rates return to normal levels.  We will likely see more price appreciation early in 2011 as some buyers complete transactions in advance of anticipated higher borrowing costs.” said a spokesperson

He went on to add, “2011 is expected to unfold much like 2010, when close to 60 per cent of sales volume occurred in the first half of the year in anticipation of interest rate increases that never materialized. However, housing market activity in the first half of 2011 will be modestly closer to the norm, as last year’s phenomenon was exacerbated by mid-year tightening of mortgage accessibility and the introduction of HST in Ontario and British Columbia.”

Canadian housing market looking strong moving into 2011

Regionally, the strongest price appreciation of the cities studied is expected in mid-sized urban centers where affordability is better than the national average. For example, in Winnipeg, St. John’s and Fredericton, two-storey homes below $300,000 are still widely available. Demand in these cities is expected to be strong, putting upward pressure on home values.

Click here to view the typical house price chart

Cities in Alberta are expected to be among Canada’s strongest performing markets in 2011. Woes in the historically volatile region’s housing market stretch approximately five years, when the Alberta housing market suffered a sharp correction following several years of double-digit price increases.  The province’s energy-driven economy staged a comeback in 2010, recovering from the recession-led plunge in oil and gas prices.  Major employers are expected to steadily increase hiring in 2011 which should attract new residents to the province and put upward pressure on the limited supply of housing. Royal LePage forecasts the average price of a home in Calgary will increase 5.4 per cent through 2011 while Edmonton home prices will increase 3.3 per cent. Home sale transactions are predicted to rise 6.7 per cent in Calgary and 9.1 per cent in Edmonton over the same period.

Across Canada, the average price of a home is forecast to rise 3 per cent over the coming year to $348,600 while the number of transactions is expected to drop 2 per cent.

During the fourth quarter of 2010, average home prices either increased or stabilized year-over-year, with Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal and St. John’s seeing the biggest gains.  Nationally, the average price of detached bungalows rose to $324,531 (up 4.6 per cent), the price of standard two-storey homes rose to $360,329 (up 4.4 per cent), and the price of standard condominiums rose to $226,746 (up 3.9 per cent), compared to the fourth quarter of 2009.

The spokesman continued, “Like many Canadians, we anticipated an end to the ultra-low interest rate era before year-end 2010.  Paradoxically, global economic weakness, particularly in the United States, allowed policy makers and financial institutions to keep borrowing costs low, resulting in a stronger Canadian housing market and a better than forecast fourth quarter.”

Regional Market Summaries

The residential real estate in market in St. John’s, Newfoundland saw strong year-over-year price gains across all three housing types surveyed every quarter this year. However, market has showed signs of cooling as inventory starts to rise.

Detached bungalows and two-storey houses in Montreal saw an 8.7 per cent year-over-year increase in the fourth quarter, while standard condominiums jumped 11.3 per cent. Average prices in Montreal are forecast to increase by a more modest 3 per cent in 2011 as a more balanced market emerges.

Ottawa’s housing market saw year-over-year price appreciation ranging between 6.3 and 10 per cent across all housing types surveyed this quarter. However, as inventory grows, Ottawa can expect price increases to be closer to 4 percent in 2011.

House prices surveyed in Toronto increased modestly year-over-year. Standard two-storey homes witnessed the largest increases at 5.6 per cent. Market activity slowed in the second half of the year as buyers rushed to the market in the first half of the year in anticipation of interest rate hikes and HST.  For 2011, price increases are expected to be very modest at approximately 1 per cent.

Detached bungalows, standard two-storey homes, and standard condominiums inWinnipeg witnessed strong year-over-year price gains this quarter. Detached bungalows performed the strongest, increasing 10.3 per cent compared to the fourth quarter of 2009. Although the market is showing signs of cooling, sellers are still seeing multiple offers and are often receiving higher than their asking price. Winnipeg is expected to maintain its momentum throughout 2011 with prices rising around 7 per cent.

Single family homes performed best in Regina, which saw standard two-storey homes increase 9.1 per cent, while detached bungalows rose 8.4% and standard condominiums increased 2.4 per cent. Prices in Regina are expected to increase an overall average of 5 percent in 2011.

Both Calgary and Edmonton are positioned for house price increases in 2011 with a rebounding energy sector. In 2010, Calgary witnessed moderate year-over-year price depreciation across all housing types surveyed. Edmonton saw more modest price depreciation for two-storey houses, while condominiums decreased 5.7 per cent. Detached bungalows witnessed the only price increase among housing types surveyed at 1.2 per cent.

Single family homes in Vancouver dominated house price gains as two-storey houses rose year-over-year by 9.8 per cent in 2010. Condominiums on the East Side performed particularly well and, on average, Vancouver’s standard condominium market rose 7 per cent.  Vancouver prices are expected to increase 3.7 per cent in 2011.

The quarterly House Price Survey shows the annual change of prices for key housing segments in select national markets.

Click here to view the chart

Back in 2002 the couple, then both in their early thirties moved to Canada as permanent residents. As they had had to wait a couple of years for visa approval they had done a good deal of research including two trips to Vancouver.

“We really loved the vibe of Vancouver,” says Cheryl, “everything about the city was wonderful to us and we decided that this would be out chosen destination. We had made a good amount of money from the sale of our London home and felt that money invested into property in Vancouver would be well spent, despite the high prices.”

During the summer of 2002 they moved to Vancouver

So in the summer of 2002 they moved to Vancouver and employed a Realtor to find them a property whist staying initially in a hotel. “We really needed to find somewhere to live as staying in the hotel was quite costly, even though I had accrued a lot of free nights with my loyalty card.” says Jimmy. In his work as a salesman in the UK he travelled extensively and made sure he had lots of hotel points before making the move to Vancouver.

In the end it took them three weeks to find a suitable property and another eight weeks before they could move in. “Our furniture and personal effects from the UK had arrived a  week after us and had been in storage, so it was nice to finally move into a home and have our belongings again.” says Cheryl.

They continued their lives and Jimmy found a job as a salesman, a very similar job to the one he had in London but this time covering southern British Columbia and Alberta. “The pay was not as good as I had been earning before, but our living expenses were lower, so it evened itself out. Also once Cheryl got a job things were going okay.”

“I got a job as a bookkeeper for a local company.” says Cheryl with a look of distaste on her face. “I had been an accountant in London on very good money and both the job and the money were a letdown, but I figured any job was better than nothing. I kept looking for other more suitable jobs whilst I was there.”

The couple had a passion for outdoor activities and all their spare time was spent either mountain biking, skiing or hiking. “We loved the fact that just a short journey from our home we could explore vast countryside, mountains and even beaches. Just about everything we wanted was nearby.” says Jimmy.

As part of his job Jimmy travelled around both BC and Alberta and in the summer of 2003 took Cheryl to one of his business locations – Calgary. “I had often travelled to Calgary and really liked the city. It was similar in some ways to Vancouver with the mountain backdrop but so different in many others. We spent five days in the city then travelled to Edmonton because Cheryl wanted to shop at the famous Edmonton Mall.”

“Oh my gosh,” exclaims Cheryl at the mention of this mall, “I have never been to anywhere quite like it. No one would describe me as a shopaholic. At best I am a “know what I want and run in and get it” kind of shopper, but this place blew me away. We spent about six hours walking around the mall and I still don’t think we covered it all. There is a theme park, ice rink and swimming pool in the middle of it, can you believe it? I had the most fun I had ever had shopping there.”

Unfortunately real life stepped in and the couple headed back to Vancouver living their lives as normal. By now property prices had risen again and the couple realized they could sell their home and make a decent profit. The trouble was all property in Vancouver had risen so the property they would purchase would also have risen. This led them to consider moving to another location that was cheaper, allowing them to sell for a profit and buy at a lower cost giving them financial security for a year or two. The questions was where?

Jimmy continues the story. “We looked around the Vancouver area but realized we could never afford the type of property we really wanted for a life-long home. We then looked outside Vancouver and still could not decide on the best place to live. So then we decided to look much further afield, even to another province. We spent hours on the Internet researching: It was like moving to Canada all over again”

Eventually in early 2004 they decided to move to Calgary, but to rent rather than buy, at least at first. “Housing prices were high but not as high as Vancouver, and Calgary still had many of the things we loved about Vancouver.” says Jimmy. “There was lots of outdoor activities and we could still mountain bike and hike nearby. I was able to continue with my existing job, but this time work from the Calgary office and Cheryl found an accountancy job she enjoyed in the city.”

But one thing the couple did not fully take into account was the weather

But one thing the couple did not fully take into account was the weather. “Our first winter was brutal for us.” says Cheryl. “By then we were both working in the city and lived on the outskirts and sometimes there were several feet of snow on the ground. We just weren’t used to that and didn’t really like it. In Vancouver we had gotten used to the rain, but could still carry on with life as normal. But in Calgary we could not go out on our bikes for several months of the year and even decent skiing was a couple of hours away. After about eight months we felt we had made a terrible mistake and started to look at moving again.”

It was around this time that Cheryl saw a job advertised within her company for an accountant in one of the Ontario locations. “The job was in London,” she says, “which was quite ironic as this was where we had lived in the UK. The job was for an accountancy position paying good money and so I decided to pursue it. Fortunately I did not have to visit London for the interview, instead I was interviewed via video conference from our Calgary office. After three weeks waiting I found out I had been offered the job and could start in a month.”

The timing was good for them because it coincided with their rental agreement ending and so after careful consideration decided to move to London, Ontario in July 2005. Jimmy gave in his notice and plans for the move were underway. “This was a much bigger move that the one from Vancouver to Calgary,” says Cheryl, “We had to have all our possessions shipped, but fortunately my company helped with the logistics and some of the costs. They also put us in touch with a rental agency to find temporary accommodation.”

So that summer they stepped foot for the first time ever in Ontario, landing in Toronto and spending a couple of days there before moving onto London and their new rental home. “Our new house was the largest place we had ever lived in, it even had a swimming pool in the garden.” says Jimmy. “We had a rental agreement for six months with the option to extend, but as Cheryl loved her job almost the instant she started we decided to look for a property to buy and set down some roots.”

They found that their dollars went a lot further here than either Vancouver or Calgary and instead of looking for small, two-bedroom town houses were looking at large four-bedroom properties with pools and basements. They soon found a property in a sub-division in the north of London and moved in just before their rental term ended. Jimmy also found a job he enjoyed during this time and so for the first time since moving to Canada the couple were enjoying their jobs and their home life.

“I really liked London,” says Cheryl, “we were very close to two malls and had ample grocery stores and other amenities so it worked very well for us. We did find the local countryside to be a little flat and certainly couldn’t truly mountain bike around here, but we liked to drive to the lakeside either to the north or south and cycle along the coastline. We were also told that there were many skiing opportunities nearby so looked forward to the winter months.”

Indeed the couple did find that London suited them very well. Both had good jobs they enjoyed, they had a nice house that they could call home and the location suited their needs, so a perfect end to their story? Well, no not quite.

After living there for three years Jimmy was offered a promotion which would include more money and more perks but there was a catch: It was in Ottawa. “We had visited Ottawa a couple of times since living in Ontario,” says Jimmy, “and we liked it. The job really was a great opportunity, but it was a big decision to make. Cheryl really didn’t want to move again and by doing so she would be out of a job, but my extra income from the promotion would almost make up for her salary. In the end we decided to go for it.”

So one again in 2008 the couple were on the move yet again. It was a tearful goodbye this time as they had settled far better in London than any other place. After a farewell party held by neighbours they moved to Ottawa, having not yet secured a sale of their London home which happened a few months later.

To cut a long story short, or at least a little shorter, they have been now been in Ottawa for two years and are looking to move again as they have never felt truly at home. They plan to move back to London, Ontario and as soon as the winter months are over will put their house on the market and sell. Fortunately Jimmy will be able to transfer his job and so will still have the security of good income coming in and a job he enjoys. Cheryl never really liked her job in Ottawa and so will be looking for employment once there.

“I will contact the company I used to work for,” she says, “but I doubt that it will work out that easily, but you never know. Now that we have made the decision to go back to London I feel much better as I never settled in Ottawa. As soon as we sell we can move because Jimmy can move between the two jobs with very little notice. Hopefully this time we will settle there for good as I really want to stop all this moving around. It gets very stressful.” she giggles.

Hockey is a booming business in Canada with numerous leagues, teams, monuments, memorials and stores all dedicated to the game. Canadian leagues range from amateur leagues for children barely old enough to walk to the revered National Hockey League (NHL).

Whether it be an informal game of shinny on a backyard pond or the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Canadians embrace this game that makes the cold months of winter pass with a little more ease.

A Brief History of the Game

Hockey is a way of life for many Canadians

The origin of this game is widely contested; there is some evidence of hockey-like games conducted on ice throughout Europe between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, as well as claims that Windsor, Nova Scotia or Great Bear Lake in the Arctic are home to the first recorded instances of organized hockey. However, Kingston, Ontario was officially touted as the birthplace of ice hockey by the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association in 1943. This was primarily due to an account of a game between Queen’s University and the Royal Military College of Canada in 1886.

The groundwork for what is known as today’s game was laid in Montreal, Quebec in the late 1800s. The first recorded indoor game was played in this French-Canadian metropolis in 1875 at Victoria Skating Rink. Enthusiasm for the game burgeoned as the McGill University Hockey Club was formed in 1877 and the first ”World Championship” was held at the annual Winter Carnival in 1883.

In 1888, the Governor General of Canada, Lord Stanley of Preston, attended the Montreal Winter Carnival and was noted by newspapers to exude a great deal of exuberance for the sport. After noticing there was no official trophy for the winning team, Lord Stanley bought a bowl, which was titled the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup and later renamed the Stanley Cup. It was first awarded to an amateur team from Montreal in 1893 and thus began the longstanding tradition of the Stanley Cup. After a long season of high-intensity battles and four rounds of playoffs, the Stanley Cup is presented to the NHL’s reigning victors each year. While there are many individual trophies presented to players and coaching staff, the Stanley Cup, which was redesigned in 1963, remains the most coveted of prizes to be won.

The National Hockey League is Born
In 1917 the NHL was formed in Montreal, Quebec. Beginning with only four teams, the league expanded to 10 teams in its infancy, but was reduced to only six teams by 1942 due to devastation caused by the Great Depression and the second world war.

The NHL Lockout

In 2004, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced a lockout after unsuccessful contract negotiations between the National Hockey League Players’ Association and the NHL. The source of the 310 day lockout centred around a salary cap, which intended to limit the amount of money each team could spend on players’ salaries. The NHL became the first professional sports league to miss a full season. A collective bargaining agreement was eventually reached and play resumed for the 2005-2006 season with record attendance levels.

The Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, Chicago Blackhawks, Montreal Canadiens and Detroit Red Wings remained the only six teams in the league for nearly a quarter of a century, resulting in the reference to these teams as the “Original Six.” In the 1960s, the league resumed expansion plans after taking notice of rumours that the Western Hockey League was considering declaring itself a professional league. For the first time since the 1920s, new teams were added and the number of teams continued to climb to the reach its present-day total of 30.

Ice Hockey At The Olympics

Sidney Crosby holds the 2010 Gold

Making its debut at the summer Olympics in 1920, men’s hockey was appropriately moved to the winter games in 1924. Winning six of the initial seven gold medals, Canadian teams excelled for the first decade, but suffered in years to come, because Olympic rules did not permit professional hockey players to participate. It wasn’t until 1988 that these skilled players were afforded the opportunity to play in the games and even then scheduling conflicts between the NHL and the Olympics were problematic. It was in 1998, for the Nagano Olympics, that the NHL first paused its schedule to allow the league’s elite to compete in the games.

Women’s Ice Hockey

In the 1890s Lord Stanley’s daughter, Lady Isobel was photographed playing hockey at Rideau Hall in Ottawa. Over a century later, women’s ice hockey is now rapidly gaining popularity throughout the world.

In recent years, the sport has made significant strides with the development of the National Women’s Hockey League in 1999, as well as its incorporation into the Olympic Games in 1998. For many years, Canadian and American teams dominated the sport at professional levels and were the only two teams to ever reach a women’s world championship final until 2006 when Sweden unsuccessfully attempted to take gold from the Canadian team in Italy.

The Hockey Hall of Fame

Dedicated to the history of the game, this sanctuary of hockey paraphernalia is located in Toronto, Ontario. The league’s ultimate prize, the Stanley Cup, spends half of the year displayed in the Great Hall of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Established in 1943, the Hockey Hall of Fame was originally located in Kingston, Ontario, but moved to Toronto and opened its first permanent location at Exhibition Place in 1961. Still at home in Canada’s largest city, the hall of fame is now located downtown and draws 300,000 visitors each year.

There are 15 exhibits, which provide information about the history of the game and its past players, as well as current statistics, teams and players. There are also interactive displays, such as the Source for Sports Shoot Out, which allows visitors to shoot a puck at a computer simulated version of goalie Eddie Belfour.

Canadian Hockey Heroes

Wayne Gretzky

Achieving celebrity status, Canada’s favourite hockey players have sprouted up all over the country, from small towns in Saskatchewan to major cities in Ontario. There is a long list of past and present Canadian-born hockey heroes, including but not limited to Maurice “The Rocket” Richard, Mark Messier, Bobby Orr, Mario Lemieux, Doug Harvey, Patrick Roy, Gordie Howe and most notably, Wayne Gretzky.

Born in Brantford, Ontario, Wayne Gretzky is nicknamed the “Great One” and is commonly considered the best hockey player of all time. The game’s only player to tally over 200 points in one season, Gretzky led the Edmonton Oilers to win the Stanley Cup four times in the 1980s before a controversial trade to the Los Angeles Kings on August 9, 1988 sent him to the United States. An upsetting day for Canadians, the trade was highly criticized. The leader of the New Democratic Party at the time, Nelson Riis, even went so far as to demand the government stop the move.

There are numerous monuments honouring the hockey icon, including a statue that stands outside of Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta where the Oilers currently play. Additionally, one of Edmonton’s busiest streets, which passes by the Oilers’ arena, was renamed Wayne Gretzky Drive in October of 1999. In his hometown of Brantford, Ontario most of Park Road is now officially titled Wayne Gretzky Parkway.

Hockey Day In Canada

Commonly falling in mid-February, Hockey Day in Canada has become an unstoppable phenomenon since its inception in 2000. This unofficial holiday celebrates the “triple header” featuring all six Canadian teams in action, as well as the culture of hockey across Canada. Recently, due to the NHL schedules, the day often features American-Canadian match-ups.

In addition to broadcasting the NHL games, Hockey Day in Canada highlights various tournaments, leagues and hockey players across the country. Each year, infamous Canadian hockey broadcaster Don Cherry and his better-half, Ron Maclean, report from a different remote area of Canada to promote the hockey efforts of smaller communities. In the past, Hockey Day in Canada has featured all-night pick-up hockey games from Red Deer, Alberta and Windsor, Nova Scotia.

The Canadian NHL Teams

Over the years, some Canadian cities have mourned as their teams have relocated to larger American markets, while other parts of the country have feverishly fought for a franchise of their own. Today, there are six NHL teams in Canada: Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens.

Vancouver Canucks
Joining the league in the 1970 expansion, the Canucks are one of two Canadian teams that have never won the coveted Stanley Cup. Advancing to the finals in 1982 and 1994, the franchise was unable to emerge victorious from either contest. The Canucks play at General Motors Place on Griffiths Way in downtown Vancouver near the waterfront.

Calgary Flames
After a stint in Atlanta, Georgia as the Atlanta Flames this team moved to Calgary in 1980 and in 1989 they acquired the Stanley Cup for the first time. In 2004, Calgary Flames fans erupted in manic excitement as the team made a historic, but unsuccessful bid for the hallowed prize. Cheering the team on as they made their way to the final game of the final round of the playoffs, the city came alive with elated fans who filled the Saddledome with a sea of red jerseys.

Edmonton Oilers
Dominating the NHL in the 1980s, the Edmonton Oilers were home to some of the greatest players of all time, including Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier. In their first season (1979-1980) the Edmonton Oilers made the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but ultimately lost the championship to the Philadelphia Flyers. Following that loss they would prove themselves to be fierce competitors winning five Stanley Cups in the 1980s. The Oilers’ prominent rival is the Calgary Flames with the contest between the two teams termed the Battle of Alberta.

Ottawa Senators
The original Ottawa Senators team was formed in 1883, but eventually floundered and was no longer a professional team by the 1930s. Returning to professional level ice hockey in the 1992-1993 season, the Ottawa Senators made it to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2007, but were unable to topple the Anaheim Ducks.

Toronto Maple Leafs
One of the original six teams, the Toronto Maple Leafs is one of the most popular teams in the league despite its inability to win the Stanley Cup since their 1967 triumph over the Montreal Canadiens. The Leafs have battled fiercely against the Canadiens, as well as the Ottawa Senators, providing the league with some of the most heated battles and closely watched games. The Toronto Maple Leafs play at the Air Canada Centre, which is connected to Union Station on Bay Street in downtown Toronto.

Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are commonly referred to as the “Habs” derived from the French-nickname Les Habitants (inhabitants). This original six team has won more Stanley Cups than any other NHL team and is the last Canadian team to have claimed the cup with their victory over the Los Angeles Kings in 1993. The Canadiens play at the Bell Centre in downtown Montreal.