Eye on the Future: Business People in Calgary and the Bow Valley, 1870-1900

David W. Leonard is the project historian (Northern Alberta) in the
Historic Sites and Archives Service, Alberta Community Development. He
is the author of Delayed Frontier: The Peace River Country to 1909 and
coauthor of The Lure of the Peace River Count

In Western Canada, when historians think of Calgary, the theme that most
commonly comes to mind is the predominance of big business. Thus, if any
city is deserving of a thoroughly documented and well-written business
history, it is Calgary. As Henry Klassen points out in his introduction,
“in its origins and evolution, this society of white newcomers” who
first came to the area “was market oriented.” Ranching, farming,
banking, and railway development all attracted people to the area, and,
as a result, this work, presented from the perspective of the economy,
has turned out to be the best history yet produced on early Calgary
overall. Just about everyone of influence is included, except the
clergy.

Eye on the Future is not just about Calgary, however: it is also about
the Bow Valley. The most interesting part of the book deals with the
interplay between the burgeoning metropolis and its immediate
hinterland. By the early 1880s, there was no predominant community in
the region, and yet there were strong market forces, most having to do
with ranching. When the Canadian Pacific Railway arrived in 1883,
however, it subdivided the Calgary townsite, subsequently controlled it,
and then saw to it that the district around it would be dependent on it.
As early as November 1884, Calgary was incorporated as a town with over
1000 people.

The circumstances surrounding Calgary’s economy are presented very
much from the human perspective. As the subtitle explains, the book is
about “business people,” and the book’s subchapters are frequently
sketches of individuals, although depicted in economic settings. Nor is
the concentration exclusively on the rich and powerful. For example, the
chapter “Women in Business” features subchapters on dressmaker Mary
Macleod, milliner Margaret Leishman, and boardinghousekeeper Frances
Marie Carr.

Unfortunately, Eye on the Future stops in 1900, and, given that Calgary
was then still in the throes of an economic boom, one gets the feeling
that the author was limited to a specific page count. One hopes that
there will be a continuation of this excellent study.