Calgary is the largest city in the province of Alberta in the west of Canada. The city takes its name after a beach located on the Isle of Mull in Scotland. It is situated in a hilly region around 80km (50 miles) east of the Canadian Rockies. With almost a million inhabitants, Calgary is Canada’s third-largest city. It is very well known destination for winter sports and ecotourisim; a large number of popular resorts are located not far from the city.

In 1988, Calgary was the first Canadian city to host the Winter Olympic Games. The city also hosts a number of festivals throughout the year – amont some of the biggest are the FunnyFest Calgary Comedy Festival, the Folk Music Festival, the Greek Festival, the Calgary Fringe Festival, Summerstock, Expo Latino, the Lilac Festival, the GlobalFest, the Carifest, being the second-largest festival of Caribbean culture, and the Calgary Stampede, or Calgary Rodeo, which is held every July. The Stampede includes, among many other things, an internationally recognised rodeo, theatre productions, agricultural competitions, barbeque courses, a number of exhibitions and pancakes for breakfast served throughout the city. After its rennaissance in the 1990s, the city has become a hub for country music, being often called the "Nashville of the North".

Today, Calgary is a modern and cosmopolitan city, which has nonetheless kept a large part of its traditional culture, including western bars, saloons and, of course, hockey.

Accommodation in Calgary’s student residences

Calgary’s two largest universities are the University of Calgary and the Mount Royal University. During the summer vacations, many student halls are available as casual accommodation for people who visit the city. It should be understood that these residences are designed primarily for students and not children or adults expecting a high level of luxury. However, with this in mind, the halls do meet a level of comfort that we expect most visitors to be happy with, and we will welcome any feedback where this is not the case.

Getting around Calgary

Calgary is served by the International Airport of Calgary (YYC), located in the north-east of the city. It is also an important hub on the Trans-Canada Highway and the Canadian Pacific Railway. Most streets and roads follow a numbered grid pattern, formed by the streets running from east to west and north to south of the city. Roads in primarily residential areas tend not to be numbered, since they often do not conform with the grid layout. Calgary Transit runs the city’s public transport system, connecting the whole city wit a network of buses and trams.

Before the colonisation of the region by the Europeans, the whole area was part of the Blackfoot peoples’ domain, whose presence in the region dates back to over 11,000 years. The first European to visit the land was the cartographer David Thompson in 1787. It was, however, John Glenn, who was the first European to settle in the area in 1873. The area became an important outpost of the Police montée du North West Mounted Police, who sought to protect the western plains from whiskey merchants coming from the United States. Originaly called Fort Brisebois, the city was officially renamed Fort Calgary in 1876. When the Canadian Pacific Railway reached the city, Calgary became an important centre for commerce.

The first traces of crude oil were discovered in Alberta in 1902, however, it was not until 1947 when much larger deposits were discovered that the oil industry made real progress. The city’s economy was benefited greatly by the embargo that the Arab nations placed on their oil. During these years of expansion, the city centre, previously dominated by buildings of only a few floors, was rapidly drowned out by an unprecedented number of high-rise buildings, the construction of which carries on until this day. The introduction of the National Energy Program by the liberal government is cited by the oil industry as the main reason for the failure of the industry. This program was later discontinued in the 1980s, however, the increased oil prices meant that the city’s economy could not get back on its feet until the 1990s.

Since the energy sector is responsible for most of the employment in Calgary, the consequences of this recession were enormous. Towards the end of the 20th century the city realised that they could not rely so much on a single industry and the it has since branched out into many other areas. This transition was completed in 1988 when the city was host to the 15th Winter Olypmic Games. The oil and petrol industry still makes up the majority of the city’s economy, however, Calgary has now diversified and invested into a number of other sectors, such as tourism.