Stampede dates to 1912 when firm founder R.B. Bennett went to Ottawa to secure Indigenous presence
It would seem appropriate that Bennett Jones LLP partner Will Osler is now president and chair of the Calgary Stampede, the annual event that turns the whole town "cowboy" for 10 days, this year starting July 7.
After all, Bennett Jones’ co-founder R.B. Bennett (later a Prime Minister of Canada) helped secure the future of “the greatest outdoor show on Earth” when it ran into financial difficulty in the 1920s.
“The Stampede got into some financial trouble, and they lost the title to Stampede Park,” says Osler, elected to a two-year term that began in March. “But Bennett came in and acquired the land in 1922, gifting it to the City of Calgary on the condition that the city leases it back to the stampede.”
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The move helped put the organization on a firmer financial footing, and Bennett and his firm handled the legal work. To this day, Bennett Jones remains the Stampede’s principal legal advisor, and the connection between the firm and Calgary’s biggest cultural event continues.
More on Bennett Jones’ connection with the Stampede
There’s an even earlier connection between Bennett and the Stampede, before it was even called that. Transplanted American Guy Weadick, who had performed in Calgary in 1908 with the Miller Brothers’ 101 Ranch Wild West Show as a trick roper, returned to the city with the intent to put on a similar show as a tribute to a way of life that was vanishing as railways came and fences went up.
E.L. Richardson, manager of the Dominion Exhibition, later the Canadian Industrial Exhibition, introduced Weadick to Patrick Burns, A.E. Cross, George Lane and A.J. McLean, prominent businesspeople and local boosters, to obtain financial backing.
Having an Indigenous presence at the event was part of his plan. The only problem was that most First Nations members lived on reserves, and in keeping with a policy to “civilize” Indigenous peoples, many of their traditions were banned off reserve. And there was even a regulation that Pikani or Blackfoot people couldn’t leave the reserve except with permission.
So Weadick started working with his local contacts, who interceded on behalf of the Stampede. This included Bennett, who went to Ottawa with others to make the case.
Permission was granted, and 1,800 First Nations people went to the first Stampede in September 1912. (The rodeo events were with Calgary Industrial Exhibition, and, in 1923, Weadick and Richardson co-founded the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede as an annual event.)
In 2012, the 100th anniversary of the Stampede, chiefs from the Treaty 7 First Nations rode as honorary parade marshals to mark the anniversary.
Blackfoot Elder Reg Crowshoe said at the time: “A hundred years ago, we had to hide our culture to practice it. Now a hundred years after, because of our ancestors that wanted to preserve our culture and people like Guy Weadick that had an interest, because of those partnerships today we’re developing institutions that we can be proud of our culture.”
Today, Osler adds, “It was really important for the founders of the Stampede to include First Nations people of southern Alberta.”
Osler’s priorities while Stampede President and Board Chair
Osler, who has been an active volunteer for over 30 years and joined the Calgary Stampede board in 2014, says, “There is no organization like the Calgary Stampede.” He also likes to think of the Stampede and Bennett Jones as having “grown up together,” given that the law firm celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2022.
“The stampede is still here, we’re still here, and both organizations have grown a lot and changed a lot,” he says. “We’re both national brands and institutions with a shared history, which appeals to me, so it’s a nice tie-in for my involvement with the organization.”
“It means so much to the community and embodies our spirit as a city. Having the opportunity to lead our volunteer board as we continue to drive economic growth for our city, our province and our country is an honour.”
Osler says his two priorities will be building on the momentum from a successful Stampede in 2022 and opening the half-billion-dollar expansion of the BMO Centre in 2024. He says that opening the one million square foot-plus facility will turn Calgary into a “tier one convention city.”
A cultural event for all
Among the qualities that have made the Stampede a success for more than 100 years is that it “means a lot of things to many people.” It’s an agricultural exhibition. It’s chuck wagon races. It’s the midway and food. (Among this year’s new entrants in that category is ketchup-flavoured ice cream.)
“If you want to look at champion livestock or what’s new in agriculture, we have it. If you like concerts and entertainment, then we have that if you. If you like crazy midway food, we have that too. I like to think of the Stampede as a cultural festival celebrating Western Canadian culture and lifestyle.”
And, of course, Osler says, you can’t talk about the Stampede without discussing all the pancake breakfast events during the festival.
“Pancake breakfasts are a big deal during Stampede,” Osler says, noting that the first one was held in 1923. So are cowboy hats and cowboy boots.
“I get a kick out of my Toronto and Vancouver partners when they come out, and I tell them to bring their cowboy hats because the city goes western for ten days. Some don’t believe me, but they find out soon.”
Osler adds that Stampede days are also a good time for doing business and networking, which is important for law firms like Bennett Jones. Not that it’s about signing deals or making big corporate announcements,” he says, “It’s more about laying the groundwork for those future deals and announcements.”
Osler admits those pancake breakfasts and other entertainment are thought out well in advance and are very strategic from a networking perspective. “Our invites went out ages ago.”
While working at Bennett Jones has made it easy for him to fulfill his duties as Stampede president and board chair, given the long connection, “I’d like to say I’m easing into the role, but it is more of a baptism by fire, doing all the things that need to be done. But thank goodness for a very capable and high-functioning management team I am working with.”
