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ORIGINS The rivalry between the two cities dates back to the 1880s when the Canadian Pacific Railway suddenly shifted its planed route across Western Canada from a northern one (via Edmonton) to a more southerly path (via Calgary). The next major battle between the two cities was to see which would be Alberta's capital when the province was created in 1905. Edmonton was the eventual victor, and as well Edmonton's neighbour, Strathcona won the right to host the University Of Alberta (see below). The last important battle was over economic leadership, especially in the Oilpatch . Calgary's nearby Turner Valley deposits were discovered in 1914, well ahead of Edmonton's Leduc #1 field in 1947. This in part accounts for the preponderance of corporate head offices in the city of Calgary. OILERS VS. FLAMES One of the most intense and passionate expressions of this rivalry is the frequent matchups between the professional NHL hockey clubs based in each city - the Edmonton Oilers and the Calgary Flames . The Oilers joined the NHL as one of the teams making the switch from the World Hockey Association in 1979, soon followed by the Atlanta Flames moving to Calgary in 1980, suddenly making the question of who would be #1 in Alberta pro hockey a hot topic. At first it was the Flames who were the dominant squad (making it to the Stanley Cup conference final in their first season), but the Oilers were already making headlines with their rising star, Wayne Gretzky . It was the Oilers who became champions first, building an NHL dynasty with a lineup that included legends like Grant Fuhr , Paul Coffey , and Mark Messier . Edmonton defeated Calgary in the playoffs in 1983, 1984, 1988, and 1991, winning the Stanley Cup in 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, and 1990 . Calgary responded by advancing in the infamous 1986 series, which was decided by a fluke goal by Oiler Steve Smith, only to lose to the Montreal Canadiens in the Cup final. The Flames eventually won the Cup in 1989 with Lanny McDonald , Doug Gilmour and Mike Vernon leading them. The last time the two teams met in the playoffs was in 1991, and it is often cited as one of the most exciting playoff series of all time. With the fortunes of both teams hitting a relative nadir during the 1990s, the rivalry cooled. The passions ignited in the 1980s playoff sagas would only make brief appearances during the regular season. During the Flames' Cinderella Run to the Stanley Cup final in 2004, the Oilers missed the playoffs; but with both teams considered contenders in the 2005-06 season, the rivalry has been re-ignited. A new Battle of Alberta in the 2005-06 playoffs is a very real possibility. ESKIMOS VS. STAMPEDERS The rivalry between the cities' professional CFL football teams is equally intense, and predates the Oilers-Flames feud. The Edmonton Eskimos and the Calgary Stampeders face each other several times each season, most notably in the Labour Day Classic in Calgary, followed by the rematch the following week in Edmonton. U OF A VS. U OF C Another prominent rivalry exists between the major universities in each city, notably the University Of Alberta , in Edmonton, and the University Of Calgary . This dates back to the early 20th century, when Calgarians were put off by the building of the University of Alberta in Edmonton in 1908. As the story goes, the location of the university was to be decided along the same lines as that of Saskatchewan . (The province of Saskatchewan shares the same founding date as Alberta, 1905.) Saskatchewan had to please two competing cities when deciding the location of its capital city and provincial university. Thus, Regina was designated the provincial capital and Saskatoon received the provincial university, the University Of Saskatchewan . The same heated wrangling over the location of the provincial capital also took place in Alberta between the cities of Calgary and Edmonton. In the end, Edmonton was designated as the capital of Alberta. A city south of Edmonton did end up with the provincial university. However, it was not Calgary. Instead, the city of Strathcona, located south across the river from Edmonton, received the provincial university. The municipalities of Edmonton and Strathcona were later amalgamated in 1912 into what is now known as the city of Edmonton. To this day, Calgarians feel frustated by this political sleight of hand.( {Link without Title} ) Calgary was not granted a university until 1966. Competitions between the two universities have taken place over who has possesion of a painted rock. Currently Calgary has it though several University of Alberta students attempted to blow it up, resulting in damage to the windows at the Calgary campus. HOSTING INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIONS The rivalry in sports also extends outside of team sports to multi-sport events as well. Both cities have hosted numerous nation and international championships and sundry other tournaments. As well both cities have hosted extremely large world-class events. Edmonton hosted the , the West Edmonton Mall Grand Prix Of Edmonton . Calgary hosted the 1988 Winter Olympics , and the 1997 World Police And Fire Games . POLITICAL LEANINGS The origins of and effects of the political leanings of the two cities are intertwined with and as old as the rivalry itself. When the CPR shifted its route southward, Canada was governed by the Conservatives who had generously supported the railway - this helped entrench a loyalty to the Tories in Calgary that persisted even during the early days of Confederation when most of Western Canada was solidly Liberal . Few federal Liberal MP's have ever gained election from Calgary, and none have served more than a single term. However, when the Liberals gained power they championed not one but two more transcontinental railways, both of which passed through Edmonton. The result was boom times and massive immigration in and around Edmonton, which quickly displaced Calgary as Alberta's largest city and became solidly Liberal. As a direct result of these leanings, the Liberal government in Ottawa designated Edmonton the provincial capital in 1905. These political leanings have persisted over the years. Undoubtedly, Calgary's conservative politics have been entrenched by the migration of corporate head offices to the city. Although Labour and Social Credit made inroads in the 1920s and 1930s, it was the Progressive Conservatives who dominated federal elections in Calgary, with few exceptions, until the Reform Party swept the federal Tories out of Alberta in 1993 . Reform and its successor, the Canadian Alliance continued to dominate in Calgary (and Alberta) until merging with the PC's to form the Conservative Party Of Canada , which continues to dominate in Calgary's eight ridings. Meanwhile, the stronger government and university presence in Edmonton has helped to keep the city on the political left, at least by Albertan standards. In federal politics, Edmonton remained friendly to the Liberals in early decades, although in recent decades Edmonton's federal ridings have tended to follow the trend set by the rest of Alberta, usually electing Social Credit, PC, Reform, CA and finally Conservative MP's although usually by much reduced pluralities than those found in Calgary. However, the federal New Democratic Party won their only Albertan seat As Of 2006 in Edmonton in 1988. The Liberals then achieved their first real success in Edmonton in decades in 1993 when four Liberals were elected compared to three Reformers. Two of these Liberals, Anne McLellan and David Kilgour managed to win re-election in Edmonton three times each before being defeated and retiring, respectively in the face of the Tory sweep of Alberta in 2006 . In provincial politics the political differences are more noticable. The Social Credit Party Of Alberta dominated most of Alberta's ridings, including Edmonton and Calgary, for most of the time it governed from 1935 until 1971 . When the Progressive Conservatives won election in 1971, they would go on to dominate nearly all Albertan ridings themselves until 1986 , when the Alberta New Democrats and Alberta Liberal Party made a breakthrough in Edmonton. Since then, the provincial Tories have continued to win a majority of seats in every election both provincewide and in Calgary but have only gained a majorty of Edmonton's seats once (in 2001 ). In 1989 sitting Albertan Premier Don Getty was defeated in his Edmonton district and forced to run outside the city in a by-election. The current Premier, Ralph Klein is a former Mayor Of Calgary . The Liberal Leader Of The Opposition , Kevin Taft represents an Edmonton district while the provincial NDP leader Brian Mason is a former Edmonton City Councillor . OUTSIDE LINKS The Battle of Alberta Blog |
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