Western Standard - July 05, 2025


STAMPEDE KICKOFF： Shania Twain marshals 2025 parade, more than 700 horses this year


Episode Stats

Length

4 minutes

Words per Minute

126.287415

Word Count

609

Sentence Count

58

Hate Speech Sentences

1


Summary

Shania Twain is the parade marshal this year, and she's also headlining the stampede at the Saddle Dome. We see dancers, baton twirlers, a symphony, First Nations wagons, and all kinds of different music and cheer and enthusiasm so far. We have kids in the stands wearing their cowboy hats and cowboy boots and the little kids were the ones that actually kicked off the parade with a march of their own.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Well, this is Jen from the Western Standard down here at the kickoff of the 2025 Calgary Stampede Parade.
00:00:25.880 Shania Twain is the parade marshal this year. She's going to be leading the parade and she's also headlining the stampede at the Saddle Dome this year.
00:00:34.900 There's going to be 700 horses and we hear 35 floats and hundreds of other acts.
00:00:40.120 You can see people already going by in their cowboy gear. We have kids in the stands here wearing their cowboy hats and cowboy boots.
00:00:47.680 And the little kids were the ones that actually kicked off the parade today with a march of their own.
00:00:52.060 So we see the parade coming up behind us now, so stay tuned for more coverage.
00:01:22.060 And so as you can see, we have Shania Twain leading the parade, followed by dancers, bagpipes, the First Nations wagons.
00:01:31.580 We see dancers, baton twirlers. You can see there's a symphony going by.
00:01:38.720 So all kinds of different music and cheer and enthusiasm so far today.
00:01:43.740 So we have Mr. Polyev here on the horse. So you've been out here campaigning in Alberta and the riding that you're running for. Tell us about that.
00:01:56.800 It's been going great. We started in Drumheller on Canada Day and we went up to Hanna, Dinalda, Killam, Statler.
00:02:04.620 We went up all the way to Camrose and a bunch of other wonderful communities in between.
00:02:11.240 And people want to fight for oil and gas, for farming, for our soldiers in Wainwright.
00:02:16.680 And it's so great to be back in my home province to fight for the values and the people that I love.
00:02:21.900 That's great to hear. What are you hearing from people when you knock on their doors?
00:02:25.580 Well, they want us to produce more of our oil and gas.
00:02:28.680 Hardesty, which is in Battle River Crowfoot, is probably the biggest energy hub in Canada.
00:02:34.360 Maybe in North America.
00:02:36.100 And they could be pumping more oil into more pipelines if we could get them built.
00:02:40.440 That's what something needs to happen.
00:02:41.740 We need to repeal the gun laws.
00:02:43.400 Let people legally enjoy their property in a responsible way.
00:02:48.060 They also want to lock up the repeat offenders.
00:02:50.400 Rural crime is on the rise.
00:02:52.740 People are, you know, they're stealing copper wire.
00:02:54.580 They're going onto people's farms in the middle of the night, stealing other property.
00:02:59.060 And it's not safe like it used to be.
00:03:00.960 They want safety, freedom, and prosperity.
00:03:05.180 And it's the greatest people.
00:03:06.760 It's a community that feeds, powers, and protects the nation.
00:03:09.880 And it would be an honour to represent those wonderful people in Canada's Parliament,
00:03:15.080 God willing, if they should so choose.
00:03:17.420 Amazing. Great to hear.
00:03:18.440 Thank you very much, Mr. Polly.
00:03:19.740 I'd like to be back home.
00:03:21.060 Wonderful.
00:03:21.840 You too.
00:03:22.240 All the best.
00:03:22.740 Thank you.
00:03:23.460 Well, the 2025 Calgary Stampede has come to an end
00:03:52.340 after a full two hours, not including the pre-parade activity.
00:03:57.240 We saw Premier Danielle Smith, Mayor Jody Gondek,
00:04:00.680 and Conservative leader Pierre Polly have even stopped to chat from atop his horse.
00:04:05.980 We also saw Michelle Remble-Gardner and several city councillors
00:04:09.740 and other politicians going by.
00:04:12.240 We saw First Nation floats and vehicles and horse-drawn carriages going by.
00:04:17.860 And also representative from nations across the world.
00:04:21.980 There was a Chinese section, an Indian section, Peru, all across South America.
00:04:28.480 We saw different communities coming together with their floats and bringing their culture.
00:04:33.680 We also saw a lot of talent.
00:04:35.480 Baton twirlers, bagpipes, symphony-style orchestras even going by.
00:04:41.820 So lots to see here today, this Friday morning, July 4th, at the 2025 Calgary Stampede.
00:04:48.480 Thanks for tuning in.