Calgary councillors hold urgent debate on Stampede noise amid spat with province

The Cowboys Music Festival in Calgary.

City councillors began an emergency debate Tuesday on late-night sound levels at the Calgary Stampede festival amid a tit-for-tat spat with the province that has morphed into a full on standoff.

“This issue has gained national attention. We need to show leadership in finding a solution,” Coun. Kim Tyers told fellow politicians as she introduced a motion to roll back on some of the curbs on sound levels and closing times for shows. 

Mayor Jeromy Farkas, who has championed keeping the existing rules to show respect for Calgary residents who live within earshot of the noise, said the current rules are more than fair.

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“This is not about Stampede,” he said. “It’s about reasonable rules that reflect the expectation that no business is above the law and gets a free pass to treat their neighbours like garbage.”

The issue surrounds how much noise levels should be reduced and when outdoor events should be shut down on weekdays.

The current rules call for a five-decibel cut and concerts end by midnight on those days.

That has caught the ire of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who said on social media over the weekend the new rules suggest a “fun police” approach that will harm business and the festival.

That launched a snarky back and forth on social media with Farkas.

The mayor replied that if anyone is cracking down on fun, it’s the province given that its liquor regulators recently hiked the minimum price for booze of all types sold at bars and restaurants.

On Monday, Service Alberta rolled back that booze price hike. That was followed by a letter from Smith and other cabinet ministers to Calgary councillors urging they rethink the noise rules by June 30 or face intervention by her government.

This year’s Stampede is set to begin July 3.

“Residents deserve to have their concerns heard and addressed,” Smith wrote.

Farkas replied late Monday night in a new social media post.

He accused “out-of-town” politicians such as Smith and federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of participating in a smear campaign.

Poilievre has taken Smith’s side, saying gatekeepers at city hall are “smothering country music culture.”

Not so, said Farkas.

“I was elected to stand up for Calgarians, not to take orders from wealthy donors, lobbyists or politicians protecting their friends,” he said.

“We are not cancelling Stampede. We are protecting it.”

Alberta Opposition NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi, a former Calgary mayor, has said the spat highlights Smith’s failed priorities.

He said if Smith put as much effort into fixing other issues — such as health care or fighting against separatism — as she has on Stampede rules, then Alberta would be much better off.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 23, 2026.

— By Lisa Johnson in Edmonton