Alberta’s premier isn’t a big fan of the province’s largest city’s new slogan.
Calgary Economic Development announced Wednesday they are retiring the city’s old band ‘Be Part of the Energy,’ replacing it with ‘Blue Sky City.’
The agency claimed the old slogan was not inclusive for everyone and pigeon-holed Calgary as an oil and gas city.
Premier Danielle Smith was asked about the re-banding during her news conference on electricity prices Thursday and says he prefers the old one.
“I personally like ‘be part of the energy,’” she says. “I though it was really clever, because not only was it a reference to energy sector, but it also conveys the vibrancy of the City of Calgary.’”
She said the new brand, ‘Blue Sky City’ “could be anywhere.”
The premier took issue with some of the reasoning from Calgary Economic Development, which claimed their surveys showed not all Calgarians felt included in the old brand.
“If it is the case that somebody is embarrassed by that, that’s pretty disappointing,” she says. “I’m not embarrassed at all. I love the fact that I can go around the world and talk about that we are an energy superpower.:
Calgary Economic Development says the new name also references Calgary being the sunniest city in Canada, with 333 days of sunshine a year.
More than 129 organizations were consulted on the change.
The new branding is expected to cost $4.8 million with a new logo expected in the coming months.