Calgary & Southern Alberta

Introduction | Bison Economy | Kootisaw | Fort Calgary | Ranching | Agriculture
1895-1946 | 1947-1970 | 1971-1991 | Oil & Gas | Diversification | Ethnicity | Labour | Women

Calgary's 8th Avenue in 1912
Courtesy of the Glenbow Collection

Calgary’s dependence on the ranching frontier until 1906 guaranteed that the city’s population would not expand rapidly. However, following the opening of the agricultural frontier to settlement, Calgary’s population rapidly expanded from nearly 12,000 in 1906 to almost 44,000 by 1911. In 1907, Calgary’s boosters promoted the city as the "commercial metropolis of Western Canada." Yet, the period between 1905 and 1947 revealed the instability of Calgary’s dependence on beef and agriculture. Although the city’s population reached the 100,000 mark by 1946, the period was distinguished by frequent boom and bust cycles. During the Depression, for instance, Calgary’s population witnessed out-migration for the first time in its history.

As the agricultural frontier developed, the Canadian Pacific Railway built branch lines from Calgary to carry local grain to potential markets. These branch lines contributed to Calgary’s growth as the regional headquarters for agricultural implement dealers, commercial dwellers, and financial houses. Because the city’s physical landscape reflected growth in the agricultural sector, buildings in Calgary began to reach six stories. Calgary’s street railway system, built in 1909, also influenced the city’s physical landscape: commercial districts began to emerge outside of the city centre and new residential districts developed along the streetcar’s route.

Although ranching quickly gave way to agriculture in economic importance, ranchers and the Mounted Police continued to influence the city’s class structure. Calgary’s business and social leaders included many individuals from Eastern Canada: William Pierce, Judge Charles Rouleau, James Lougheed, and Pat Burns. Until mid-century, Calgary remained largely of British background, most residents arriving from Eastern Canada, the United States, and Britain. In 1941, for instance, 87 percent of Calgary’s population listed English as their first language.

Chart: Ethnic Origins of Calgary's Population: 1901-1961

Calgary's ethnic population and the dominance of the ranching industry promoted the early establishment of a strong conservative element in the city. This conservatism expressed itself repeatedly through the city’s support of the federal Conservative Party and, after 1905, the provincial Conservative Party. Given that the Liberal Party ruled the province from 1905 until 1921 and the country from 1896 to 1911, 1921 to 1930, and 1935 to 1957, Calgary’s residents came to believe they had little voice in political affairs. Perhaps because of its disadvantaged political situation, Calgary became the birthplace of political alternatives in this period: the United Farmers of Alberta (1921), the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) (1932), and the Social Credit Party (1935).

	Economy
	Social and Cultural Developments
	Politics