■ The Calgary Stampede, which just recieved $10 million from the federal government, is going all out for the

Organizers expect about a million people to attend

The biggest party in Canada’s oil patch is staging a comeback this year, fueled by an injection of funds, soaring energy prices and a population eager to mark the end of two years of pandemic lockdowns.

The Calgary Stampede has received more than $10 million from the federal government to help it bounce back after last year’s event was scaled down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Daniel Vandal, the federal minister for Prairies Economic Development Canada, says the money aims to support a full-scale Stampede to deliver the “authentic western experience” this year.

He says it would also help to reignite Alberta’s visitor economy.

The 110 year-old Calgary Stampede is pulling out every nostalgic stop, from chuck wagons, to rodeos, to tapping movie cowboy Kevin Costner as parade marshal. Long a barometer of the Canadian oil sector’s health, this year’s festivities take place as oil trades above $100 a barrel, helping the province of Alberta post its first budget surplus in seven years.

Whether it also marks a last hurrah for the industry is an open question. Longer-term, Canada’s oil sector is facing an existential challenge as the world shifts away from fossil fuels and investors shun the spending excesses of the past.

“I am expecting this stampede will be good because people are tired of being cooped up,” said Vern Kimball, who served as chief executive officer of the stampede during the most recent oil run-up from 2006 to 2015. But oil companies understand that high prices “come and they go,” sometimes in a matter of months, he said. “People in the oil patch are talking about paying down debt and returning money to shareholders.”

That’s a far cry from past decades, when global energy companies invested billions in the oil sands and investment banks vied to host the biggest and best stampede events. Invitation-only parties like FirstRowdy, hosted by FirstEnergy Capital Corp. — now Stifel FirstEnergy — became legendary for attracting thousands of boisterous attendees, rivaled only by Firewater Friday, thrown by Peters & Co. Ltd.

Entry donations went to charities, helping the community as well as generating business at a time of massive deal flow, Brett Wilson, a FirstEnergy founder, said by phone. “We were raising hundreds of thousands of dollars off what was usually just a drunk-fest.”

Today things look a bit different. Stung by years of depressed oil prices, Calgary-based companies are being disciplined even as commodity prices roar higher. FirstRowdy hasn’t returned since it was canceled in 2016 although Peters & Co.’s event will be back this year.

A report to the city this week showed the Stampede had an operating loss of $8.3 million in 2021. Last year’s Stampede ran at half capacity because of COVID-19 public health measures and was cancelled all-together the year before.

“Festivals large and small were hard hit during the pandemic,” Vandal said in a news release. “They are events where families and friends come together and take in the exciting atmosphere.

“The tourism industry is facing a strong comeback providing quality jobs across the country, showcasing stunning landscapes and offering exciting experiences right here in Alberta.”

The federal government also provided about $1.8 million for four other tourism projects in southern Alberta: Charmed Resorts, Cochrane Tourism Association, Heritage Park and Tourism Calgary.

Stampede organizers are expecting more than a million visitors in 2022, in line with pre-pandemic stampedes.

But hotel bookings and room rates indicate that this year’s event will be the biggest in six or seven years, said Sol Zia, executive director at the Calgary Hotel Association. Many domestic visitors are expected, especially from Quebec, as well as more US travelers although impacts from the pandemic will mean fewer overseas visitors, he said.

“We are not seeing anything like 20 or 30 years ago,” he said. “Corporate government and what is considered acceptable has changed.”

Stanley Park Investments Ltd., joint venture partners in six Holiday Inn hotels in Calgary, expects to be fully booked by the time the stampede starts. However, higher labour, energy and insurance costs will likely mean the event will be less profitable than in the past, said Nellie Dhanji, vice president of operations and legal counsel.

Blazing Saddle Western Display, which decorates parties with fire retardant straw bales and other western-themed decor, hired fewer staff than in the past after seeing business evaporate during the pandemic, owner Sheena Tetley said by phone. As a consequence, they were unable to meet demand and now have a waiting list for the first time since the business opened in 2008. “We are turning down people left, right and center,” she said.

Companies including oil sands producer Suncor Energy Inc. and pipeline giant TC Energy Corp. are sponsoring fairground days as well as parties and pancake breakfasts for employees. Cenovus Energy Inc. signed a new four-year sponsorship agreement that includes sponsoring the “Saddle Bronc,” in which a rider tries to stay on a bucking horse at the daily rodeo, and is holding its first in-person event for staff in two years.

The average auction bid to put a corporate logo on one of the chuck wagons that are raced each night at the fairgrounds was almost $78,000, the ninth highest average in the 42 year history of the auction, according to the World Professional Chuckwagon Association. And the Best Damn Stampede Party will likely see the earliest ticket sellout in more than 30 years, with 3,500 people expected to attend, said organizer Robert Laidlaw, of Acumen Capital Partners.

“There is a huge buzz going on in the city,” Laidlaw said. “Things are better for the energy sector and people have been pent up for three years now and can finally go out and have some fun.”