July 17, 2004
Calgary, Alberta

SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER

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It’s great to be back in Calgary and back at the Stampede. Here in debt free Alberta.

Let me begin by thanking you all for coming to this terrific breakfast. I understand that many of you have been at events like this one throughout the week.

These breakfasts certainly make things convenient for visitors: To get here, you just fly into the airport and follow the aroma of sausages.

I want to extend a special greeting to Mayor Bronconnier, who is with us this morning.

We’ve worked closely in developing our agenda for municipalities, and he’s a tremendous advocate not only for his own city but for cities and communities everywhere in Canada.

He has taken the lead in urging us all to bring to the 21st century better sources of financing for municipal governments.

I look forward to sitting down with him and the other mayors to negotiate the transfer of the gas tax and to work together to make Calgary and all municipalities even better places to live, work and raise a family.

Every time I come here, no matter how short a time it’s been between visits, the city seems to have grown. It’s a remarkable sight to behold, both from the air and on the ground.

The civic energy here is breathtaking, the sense of determination is palpable. And there’s a real openness here, a welcoming attitude.

As Anne McLellan can attest, it doesn’t take a transplanted Maritimer long to become a dyed-in-the-wool Albertan.

The Stampede keeps growing, too, and that’s fitting because the Stampede and Calgary have for so long been deeply entwined.

The growth and success of Calgary is a testament to the singular appeal of the city and this province.

And the growth and success of the Stampede, this showcase of frontier history, is a testament to the culture of civic pride and the spirit of volunteerism that thrive here.

The Stampede has become a defining symbol the world over not only of Calgary and Alberta, but of Canada.

It has become that rare sort of event that not only commemorates history, but makes history itself.

One of the reasons the Stampede has been such a success is that it’s a celebration not only of a way of life but of a way of living: Boldly, confidently.

Seeing a challenge and embracing it, working hard to transform opportunity into success. Those qualities are manifest in the rich history of Calgary and Alberta. And they are abundant today in this city and this province.

It doesn’t take long to see it, to measure it.

Sometimes that success is measured is collective progress over a period of years, and sometimes, especially on these Stampede grounds, it’s measured in individual survival on a bull over a period of eight long seconds.

Now, I know that we’ve just been through an election, and this is summer, and politicians ought to be constitutionally obliged to take a vow of silence, but I do want to touch on a couple subjects that I consider important.

First, I know that many people here at this breakfast and across Alberta continue to suffer because of the effects of BSE on the beef industry and the fact that the U.S. border remains closed.

I have raised this topic with President Bush. I have raised with Congress. I have raised it more than once and I will raise it again.


In fact, I raised it with a group of prominent U.S. businesspeople when I was down in Idaho a week ago.

Let me assure you: I won’t have a meeting or even a conversation with an American official in which I am silent on this.

I am going to continue to stand up for our feedlot operators, our ranchers, our cattle producers.

Quite simply, the United States must reopen their border, and the time to do so is now.

What the Americans are doing is wrong, and it has to stop. The border should be open now.

Second, I want to speak about Canada and Alberta’s place in it.

During the course of the election, and in the months before, I spent a fair bit of time in Alberta. On the final day of the campaign, I flew from Nova Scotia to British Columbia and back to Montreal, dipping my feet in the East’s ocean and in the West’s ocean. It was a 24-hour sprint to the finish.

But for me, traveling right across this vast land, touching the Atlantic Ocean and touching the Pacific Ocean on the same day, was important.

It was important to showcase the unique and diverse elements of our unique and diverse nation.

It was important to celebrate the remarkable privilege we have as Canadians to move about this country and experience its many wonders.

It was important to emphasize all that we share despite the distances between our coasts.

I said something during that final day that I want to repeat now. I am totally dedicated to governing for this whole country – for every region, for every province, for every Canadian.

And let me tell you: That pledge is not contingent on the number of seats the Liberal Party has in this or any other province.

The role of PM and of the deputy prime minister is to work hard to help build a stronger Canada, a more united Canada, a Canada in which every region and every province feels that its vision of the future and its values are an essential and valued part of the country we share – because, in fact, every province is an essential and valued part of the country we share.

We are united not only by a flag and by a Constitution but by our hopes and our dreams, and by the desire to work together as Canadians to achieve them.

Canada is indeed greater than the sum of its parts.

We will soon be celebrating Alberta’s centenary.

Even back then, on the eve of the province joining Confederation, the sense of optimism for Alberta and the contributions that it could make to Canada was evident.

The Calgary Herald of August 31, 1905, the day before Alberta would become a Canadian province, declared, and I quote : “The impending events are pregnant with possibilities for Alberta’s progress.” End of quote.

The fact is that Alberta has fulfilled its promise, and in doing so, it has enabled Canada to fulfill its promise.

The Herald prophesized well, but it was not always right. The fact is that the next page of that 1905 paper featured a harsh critique of the Liberal party. Of course they never did that again.

In conclusion, let me just say this: You don’t have to live in central Canada to be central to Canada’s success.

Alberta has proved that, and proves it again day after day.

From the oil sands to the Badlands, from its great universities to its great hockey teams, Alberta is Canada at its best. And there is no more famous or fitting celebration of Calgary and Alberta than the Stampede.

On these grounds, we come each year to recall the stirring history of this city and this province. And when the Stampede ends, thoughts turn to the future – a future that’s rich beyond measure in possibility and prospect.

A future in which Alberta plays a pivotal role in building the Canada of tomorrow.

That’s what this is all about.

Enjoy your breakfast.

Enjoy the day.

Thank you.