This is Calgary

Two Ukrainians who immigrated to Calgary after the 2022 Russian invasion talk about their lives in our city, what they think about the ongoing war in Ukraine, and what it's like to feel torn between two homes. Captain Mykhailo Lomov is the senior ship captain of the S.S. Moyie paddlewheel boat at Heritage Park, and Snizhana Bora is the co-founder and director of ARTis Theatre, a Ukrainian theatre group.

Plus, the struggles of the Northern Hills Community Association. In Calgary, some community associations are making a play to revive their numbers, after volunteers and memberships have dwindled.

Most Calgarians remember the 1988 Olympics as a success for the city — and for what they got built. Hello new CTrain line, Saddledome and Olympic Oval! But when the city had the chance to host the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, Calgarians said no. In this episode, we explore why the No Calgary Olympics campaign prevailed and what it might take to become an Olympic city for a second time.

Tariffs, separatism and federal election speculation — this episode has it all! West of Centre podcast host Kathleen Petty joins This is Calgary to break down some of the big stories from the weekend's Conservative Party convention held right here in cowtown.Listen to our past episode on this city's tendency to vote blue, here.

The biggest night in Calgary varsity sports is here — the Crowchild Classic. This week, we set the stage for the matchup, look at how the event has evolved over the years, and hear from standout players on both the University of Calgary Dinos and the Mount Royal University Cougars hockey teams.

When it comes to Calgary's infrastructure, there's a big gap between what needs to be done and the money needed to do it. In the wake of a second major water main break, we look at why municipalities across the country face similar issues, and we hear from former Ward 12 councillor Evan Spencer, who tried to raise alarms about this very issue while on council.

It's easy to focus on what's been torn down, but what about what's been saved? This episode explores Calgary's approach to preserving historic buildings through adaptive reuse. We also preview a new project that could transform two downtown heritage buildings, the historic Fire Hall No. 1 and the North-West Travellers Building.Curious what options exist for the downtown Hudson's Bay Building? Listen to that episode here.

An underground city pipe — that carries about 60 per cent of Calgary's drinking water — has had a second catastrophic break in two years. CBC reporter Brendan Coulter joins us to talk about what fixing it might take, and what that means for accessing water in the meantime.UPDATE: The highly anticipated report about the 2024 failure of the city's key water feeder main is out now, read CBC's coverage here.

Sixteenth Avenue is a major gateway road in this city, but the way it looks leaves a little something to be desired. We are replaying one of our favourite episodes from this year exploring why this roadway looks the way it does, it's unique history and if there's any hope for a better, more colourful future.This is Calgary will return with new episodes on January 7th, happy holidays!

In an era of e-books and online shopping, Calgary is embracing something unexpected: genre bookstores. From romance to horror, two new brick-and-mortar shops are proving that a niche can be powerful. Host Jenny Howe explores why these stores are opening now, the 'feral' appetites of their readers and what they tell us about the future of local bookstores.

Calgary is seeing a record rise in pedestrian deaths, raising tough questions about safety in a car-centric, sprawling city. We talk to the City of Calgary about how they're responding — and to an urban planner with a vision for a more walkable, people-first future.

At city hall, there has been a marathon discussion by council over how it will spend Calgary's more than $8-billion annual budget. Yes, we'll talk about property taxes but also hear why the latest showdown between urban councillors and their suburban counterparts matters. CBC senior producer Josh Pagé joins us to make sense of it all.

At the west end of 17th Avenue SW lies one of Calgary's most notorious intersections — a corner where businesses struggle and vibrancy dulls. We explore the history of 14th Street and 17th Avenue's persistent challenges, and meet the man who believes he can finally transform this troubled corner for good.

Two recall petitions are underway in Alberta — one targeting Calgary-Bow MLA Demetrios Nicolaides (who is also the minister of education and childcare), and another aimed at Airdrie-East MLA Angela Pitt. In this episode, we speak with organizers behind both efforts.

There's a struggle for stage space for Calgary's independent theatre companies. Local venues are downsizing, undergoing transformation or closing altogether. In this episode, we talk to the person building a new downtown venue, The Erratics Indie Arts Club, as well as a local actress about why keeping Calgary's theatre scene alive matters.

Ramsay is a small but distinct southeast Calgary neighbourhood — known for its heritage homes, murals and even a once-roaming turkey. But as the community evolves, some of that history is being lost. We talk to a longtime resident and a local business owner about how they're keeping Ramsay's original spirit alive amid all the change.

She broke barriers as Calgary's first female mayor — and faced backlash in her term including a petition calling for her to step down. After Calgarians voted not to re-elect her, Jyoti Gondek joins This is Calgary host Jenny Howe for a conversation about leadership, loss, and lessons learned from four years at City Hall.

In a special Tuesday edition of the podcast, we're zeroing in on the (unofficial) results of Calgary's mayoral race — the winner, the numbers, and what it all means for the city's future. Political scientist Duane Bratt joins us to break it down.

We're still zoned in on the municipal election, and on this episode we hear from the front-runner mayoral candidates about what they plan to do about the wedge issue of blanket rezoning: repeal it, tweak it, or double down.

Just before municipal election season, a fiery debate broke out in council chambers over Calgary's Climate Emergency Declaration. We go back in time to explore what that says about Calgary's political future.

Safety is top of mind this election. From hiring more cops to creating more integrated social services, we get into what candidates are saying about the problem, what the stats say and what some solutions may be.

The provincial government has spoken, and so the city must listen. An election law overhaul means candidates can join a party and see how it fits. And already a poster campaign is ruffling feathers. We dive into that in the first of our election episodes.

Calgary has a new professional women's soccer team and a new women's sports bar with a catchy name. We'll hear if seats at McMahon Stadium and Goal Diggers pub are filling up.

Strike on, strike off? Book ban, books back? School sports forms? There's a lot going on in public schools in Alberta right now. Reporter Janet French brings us the latest.

The building has stood in downtown Calgary for more than a century, but after Hudson's Bay closed its doors, its future is murky. What options exist for the “grand lady” along Stephen Avenue? We bring in the experts!

On This is Calgary we get into the stories that define this city and break down the big, weird and wild things you need to know. Join us each week for chats with Calgarians at the heart of the stories that matter to you. Find new episodes in your feed with host Jenny Howe every Wednesday.

After Katie Ouriou died of cancer at 16, a book of her letters was published titled "Love Ya Like a Sister.” We'll learn more about Katie's life, and hear about a beloved mother who has three bench dedications in Calgary, in our final summer episode.

First up, a chat with a wedding content creator about landing the gig of a lifetime and having her work featured by a global fashion authority. After that, the local tie to the missing person documentary everyone's talking about, Amy Bradley Is Missing.

Extra extra, fresh summer content! If you want to explore Calgary by walking, Lori Beattie is your gal. She has just published the 5th edition of her book “Calgary's Best Walks”. Today, she takes Jenny Howe on one of them, through the northeast community of Bridgeland.

We're putting up new episodes every two weeks as we settle into the summer! Today, a curated pick from Saskatchewan that has deep Calgary ties. Every July, more than 20,000 people move into Craven, Saskatchewan for the Country Thunder music festival. The same one that comes here in August. Owner Troy Vollhoffer reveals how he turned the small town event into an international company that brings in millions of dollars every year.

It's many things to many people. A rodeo, a midway or maybe even a headache... but would you call it a music festival? On this week's episode we tease out the identity of the Calgary Stampede, and its outsized impact on music in this city.

This city loves to queue up for hype. Take the recent opening of a popular American doughnut chain as an example. Get in line, because we're getting to the bottom of this phenomenon.

World leaders are in our backyard for a few days this month trying to solve big global problems. But what about the bears? We've got you covered for this year's G7 summit.

The summer forecast is HOT, the air conditioning frenzy has begun and one tenant advocacy group wants landlords on the hook for keeping their homes from becoming a sauna.

It's almost closing time at the Danish Canadian Club. To help the club stay alive, its members are joining the Austrians in early June. We hear why they're making the change, and how Roots Collective is keeping people grounded in their cultures.

For the first time, the Calgary Marathon is spread out over two days because running is now wildly popular here. Join Jenny Howe as she tests out her shin splints and gets into the buzz behind the boom.

Karla Marx is a fixture on the local drag and comedy scene and a character created by Victoria Bucholtz. She joins host Jenny Howe to talk about her new comedy album Fruity and why she'll defend Alberta until her bedazzled heels come off.

We talk to a professional house flipper about the art of the flip and get a forecast from a local real estate agent about if our hot market for flipping might be cooling.

Where will Calgary plant nearly a million trees? We put that question to the city's top tree guy, and also ask if communities with historically fewer trees will get finally get spruced up.

It's federal election season and if we look at past voting trends in Alberta we see a lot of blue. The CBC's Rob Brown breaks down how our province became known as a conservative stronghold, and political scientist Lisa Young zooms in on Calgary ahead of Monday's vote.

Newcomers in Calgary count on free language classes provided by the federal government to give them language tools to make the city home. But often they're stuck waiting months for a chance to learn. And with immigration targets being lowered, the funding taps for these classes are turning off.

Talk about 50 shades of grey! Sixteenth Avenue is a major gateway road in this city, but it leaves a little something to be desired aesthetically. We'll explore why this roadway looks the way it does, its unique history and if there's any hope for a better, more colourful future.

Starting on April 9th, Jenny Howe is the new host of This is Calgary. She can't hop in front of the mic though without a few words of wisdom from outgoing host Anis Heydari. New host, same obsession with the things we love about Calgary and the things we just don't understand (yet).

Saddle up and head on down to Cowboys - the park! In downtown Calgary, Millennium Park is no longer. It's now Cowboys Park, and not everyone is happy about it. Ride along with us as we find out how this all went down.

This city's curling scene has a lot of 2SLGBTQ players these days. There's an entire league dedicated to the community that rocks the North Hill Curling Club every Saturday - and the city will soon host what might be the largest gay curling bonspiel in the world. We catch Apollo Curling on the sheets this week.

Downtown Calgary used to be nothing but the hustle and bustle of thousands of office workers. But not so much. Between the work-from-home movement and oil crashes, commercial towers emptied out in this city - and now they're being turned into condos. So what's it like to live in a converted office? We talk to some residents and a developer about life on the inside of an office conversion.

Yeah, we know everyone is talking about it. Tariffs. It's not just about the big players though. We talk to Calgary underwear company Devon + Lang and trade expert Carlo Dade about what the changing relationship with our neighbours means for business in this city and province, and why the Canada-U.S. relationship isn't about friendship.

The seat known around the world will be gone and Calgary's skyline will forever be changed sometime around 2027, after the Saddledome is demolished. Our city keeps growing up - literally. So is Calgary outgrowing its traditional postcard views, as we move past icons like the Calgary Tower and the soon-to-be-departed Saddledome? We talk with architect David Down about how our literal view of Calgary has changed, and will change.

After one term, Councillors Courtney Walcott, Jasmine Mian and Evan Spencer have announced they won't run again in the upcoming municipal election. From feeling gross to maxing out a pain tolerance, hear about their experiences and why they're out.

In late January, former city councillor Joe Magliocca was found guilty of fraud. It all comes back to expense claims around meals and drinks from his time in office. Stick with us as we hear about his trial, and learn more about Magliocca's sometimes colourful time on council.

New home developments are often opposed by people who say "Not In My Backyard" — and Calgarians are sometimes labelled as NIMBY when they want to avoid more dense housing near their existing properties. We hear from a Calgarian frustrated by a new project he thinks doesn't match his neighbourhood, and a developer who talks about how to avoid residents saying "no" to anything near their backyards.