What began as tongue-in-cheek fight over the world’s biggest moose statue, has led to the so-called “moose summit” between Moose Jaw, Sask.’s mayor and the deputy mayor of a Norwegian town who both said they’re hoping the dispute leads to a boom in tourism.

After holding the record for 31 years, Moose Jaw, Sask.’s Mac lost his title of world’s tallest moose in 2015 to Norway’s silver elk in Stor-Elvdal, Norway. Norway’s statue stands at 10.1 m tall -- just 30 centimetres taller than Mac.

Since January, there has been an ongoing tit-for-tat spat between Moose Jaw Mayor Fraser Tolmie and Stor-Elvdal Deputy Mayor Linda Otnes Henriksen, but the two agreed to meet for an international “moose summit” in Moose Jaw, Sask. this weekend.

After several flight delays, Henriksen arrived in Moose Jaw on Friday and told reporters she came because “we need to get together and talk… and to show that world that we want to make a positive thing out of this.”


Moose arms race began in January

Henriksen, who’s never been to Canada before, hopes the two towns can build a tourism campaign to figure out how to “market our moose in the best way we can.”

Tolmie agreed and said they even want to acknowledge the Norwegian statue in the official history of Mac the Moose: “We want to recognize both communities.”

He added they’re even thinking of mentioning Norway’s statue as part of a proposed “Norway week,” which could highlight the relationship between the two countries. This could be especially appreciated given the Norwegian population in the region, Tolmie said.

Henriksen added that in Norway there’s been ongoing development to create children’s books about their moose, but that part of their series could include a book that includes both moose in a story. “There’s endless possibilities with this,” she said.

Two months ago, Moose Jaw Mayor Fraser Tolmie began a push to fundraise money to upgrade Mac so he could regain his title. “I’m doing this on behalf of Canada. Our pride is on the line here,” he told CTV News channel back in January.

To date, the town has raised nearly $50,000 in total.

But this campaign egged on deputy mayor Henriksen to release a series of videos calling out Moose Jaw’s challenge.

“Sorry to disappoint you guys. We are going to continue our work to make sure that our moose is the biggest moose in the world -- for many years to come,” she said in a video sent to CTVNews.ca back in January.

Even when she drove into town with Tolmie on Friday, when she spotted Mac she couldn’t help but quip: “It’s so tiny.” But on Saturday, she had to admit, “It’s huge. I think he looks really nice.”

CTV Regina’s Stefanie Davis said engineers were scheduled to come in next week to begin making recommendations as to how to upgrade Mac -- including giving him larger antlers.

Henriksen acknowledged that because Norway’s elk is a “piece of art” they wouldn’t be able to upgrade their statue, which meant “one day Canada might have the biggest moose in the future and we’re totally fine with that.”

But if that were to happen, both Tolmie and Henriksen have agreed that Norway’s silver-plated statute would be the “prettiest moose.”

While she’s in Saskatchewan, Henriksen is planning to see a Moose Jaw Warriors game, visit tourist spots around the city and tour local schools. She praised the town and told reporters Moose Jaw, Sask. was a “pretty little town… and that the people have been so friendly and welcomed me with open arms.”