Battle of Alberta - University of Alberta Vs. University of Calgary

University of Alberta Vs. University of Calgary

Another prominent rivalry exists between the major universities in each city, notably the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, and the University of Calgary. This dates back to the early 20th century, when Calgarians were put off by the building of the University of Alberta in Edmonton in 1908. As the story goes, the location of the university was to be decided along the same lines as that of Saskatchewan. (The province of Saskatchewan shares the same founding date as Alberta, 1905.) Saskatchewan had to please two competing cities when deciding the location of its capital city and provincial university. Thus, Regina was designated the provincial capital and Saskatoon received the provincial university, the University of Saskatchewan. The same heated wrangling over the location of the provincial capital also took place in Alberta between the cities of Calgary and Edmonton. In the end, Edmonton was designated as the capital of Alberta. A city south of Edmonton did end up with the provincial university. However, it was not Calgary. Instead, the city of Strathcona, located south across the river from Edmonton, received the provincial university.

The municipalities of Edmonton and Strathcona were later amalgamated in 1912 into what is now known as the city of Edmonton. To this day, Calgarians feel frustrated by this political sleight of hand. Calgary was not granted a university until 1966. Competitions between the two universities have taken place over who has possession of a painted rock. In 2011, the University of Alberta was recognized as the 100th best university in the world, while the University of Calgary placed 218th.