[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

I've spent a fair bit of time in both cities and it's not even close. Calgary . Edmonton.

I spent a fair bit in each city as well, and outside of the blue collar nature of Edmonton I didn't see a helluva lot to give the edge to either. Both are nice enough cities but they both suffer from pretty much the same problems. I will always love Calgary, and call it "home", but after getting out in the rest of the world Calgary is "small town." Edmonton is no different, and it really hurts me to say that.

You can't look at economics in a snapshot. Historically Calgary has been an economic driver. It has had, for the last 30 years or so, the second most corporate head offices in Canada (after TO). It has way more direct flights to and from major cities in the world than Edmonton. This speaks to foreign travel to this Calgary compared to Edmonton. Calgary has a slight size and income advantage, and I suspect a larger percentage of the population has higher education. Calgary has a significantly lower violent crime rate (Edmonton's is second only to Winnipeg and just ahead of Vancouver while Calgary is second lowest after Ottawa). Calgary's downtown makes Edmonton's look silly.

How is that head office advantage working out right now? Head offices don't mean much if you don't have industry to support them. Small town thinking is what causes Calgary to go through massive swings in economic stability. What is the city doing to diversify the economy? What other interests are looking at Calgary as a place to setup shop and sustain the best economy? What is the city doing to encourage innovative thinking to drive people to the one product that drives the local economy?

Number of high rise buildings don't make a city big or world class. Los Angeles has one of the weakest skylines you'll see, but it is still one of the top cities on he planet. I used to think that the skyscraper was a sign of economic prosperity and a display of a world class city, but after living in other cities around the continent and visiting many off continent I came to realization that those skyscrapers don't mean anything.

I don't know where you get the notion that U of A is a far better university than U of C. For my three degrees it wasn't more highly regarded, and I'm pretty sure the Business and Engineering faculties in Calgary are more highly regarded.

Does working in higher education and knowing the reputation of schools count? University of Calgary doesn't even crack the top 100 schools in the world for either faculty. They don't even crack the top 10 in Canada for business schools, while U of A comes in at #8. U of C ranks top 10 in Canada for engineering, coming in at #9, but that trails U of A who is ranked #4. U of A ranks #6 in Canada for medicine, and is considered a top 100 school for that faculty in the world, coming in #85. As much as I would like to say that U of C was a good school, the reality it isn't much more than a middling state school in the US.

Facilities? The Jack Singer is better than Edmonton's concert hall. Sports? Well sure, they got their new arena and McMahon is a dump. But that's kinda the whole point, no?

I love Jack Singer. Spent many a night in that concert hall. Great for what it is, a small venue for very specific events. Definitely better than Edmonton, but still not top shelf. Neither have a theatre or theatre district that would be of notice. oberall facilities to draw big acts and shows is definitely in Edmonton's advantage, and it isn't close. Calgary is sorely lacking in that regard.

Bottom line is Calgary and Edmonton aren't that much different. Calgary has some advantages just like Edmonton has its advantages. Balance them out and there isn't that much difference. But if you're looking as a whole, Calgary does have ground to cover to catch up to Edmonton when it comes to the facilities required to host these big shows and big events. I think we can agree on that?