Alberta politicians betting on the Stanley Cup
Harmless fun or shameless stunt? Does it matter?! Go Oilers!
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As hockey fans pour into Rogers Place tonight to watch the Edmonton Oilers face the Florida Panthers in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, their focus will be on the rink. Most fans probably won’t be giving much thought about what their local or provincial politicians think about the game (as long as they are cheering for the home team).
Playoff season in Alberta is exciting and it also means that politicians have jumped on the Oilers bandwagon with the long-held tradition of making public bets with politicians from the city or state of the opposing team. Whether you believe it’s a shameless media stunt or just harmless fun, there’s no stopping them.
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Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi agreed to friendly bets with Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim, who wore an Oilers jersey and flew the Oilers flag outside of Vancouver City Hall after the Oilers defeated the Canucks, and Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, who had to wear an Oilers jersey in a social media video. Sohi now has an open bet with Sunrise Mayor Mike Ryan for the mayor of the city with the losing team to wear the winning team’s jersey.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith joined the fray by making public bets with the Premiers and Governors of the provinces and states of the teams the Edmonton Oilers are facing in the playoffs. It’s a bit odd, because Smith lives south of Calgary and Edmonton voters shut her United Conservative Party out of the capital city in last year’s election. But hey, it’s a bandwagon. Even former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi is onboard. So, go Oilers!
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Smith won public bets with British Columbia Premier David Eby, who had to wear an Oilers jersey and will make a pro-Oilers statement in the next session of the BC Legislature, and Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who had to post a video of himself on social media eating an Alberta steak.
Now, with the Oilers facing the Panthers, Smith made a bet with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. If the Panthers win, Smith will send some Alberta-made whisky to Florida. If the Oilers win, DeSantis will send Florida rum and a Key Lime Pie to Alberta.
Oilers fans, and Sohi and Smith, are hoping for a comeback on home ice tonight. The Panthers have outplayed the Oilers in the first two games of the series and fans in the former City of Champions are desperate for the taste of Stanley Cup glory.
It’s been 34 years since the Oilers last won the Stanley Cup. For both hockey fans and political watchers alike, that’s an eternity. When Mark Messier raised the Cup over his head in 1990, Brian Mulroney was Prime Minister, Don Getty was Premier, and the Meech Lake Accord were on the verge of failure.
Here’s a quick look at some of the public wagers Alberta politicians have made to support the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames in their bids to win the Stanley Cup:
1983 - Mayor Cec Purves sent Town of Hempstead Presiding Supervisor Thomas Gulotta a 10-pound prime rib of beef after the New York Islanders swept the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup finals.
1984 - After the Oilers defeated the New York Islanders to win their first Stanley Cup, Edmonton mayor Laurence Decore accepted 6 live and 14 frozen Long Island ducks from Hempstead Supervisor Gulotta. Decore spoke at a press conference where he held up a plump Long Island duck that he named “Billy Smith" after the Islanders goalie. The 6 live ducks were sent to live in the Edmonton Valley Zoo and a second batch of 14 frozen ducks had to be sent to Edmonton after the originals were mistakenly left out to thaw and rot. Decore would have had to send a live Canadian calf to Hampstead if the Islanders had won.
Earlier in the playoffs, Calgary Mayor Ralph Klein stood in front of Edmonton City Council while wearing a hockey jersey with the words “EDMONTON IS THE OIL CAPITAL OF CANADA” after the Oilers eliminated the Calgary Flames.1986 - After the Calgary Flames eliminated the Oilers, Decore wore a Calgary Flames jersey that bore the #2 as he hoisted a Calgary flag above the city’s tallest building, the 55-storey Petro-Canada Building. Standing next to Mayor Klein, Decore is reported to have read a proclamation in front of a crowd of jeering and cheering Flames fans: “Whereas I was dumb enough to bet the mayor of Calgary that the Edmonton Oilers would defeat the Calgary Flames in the 1986 Smythe final, and whereas any six-year old with a hockey puck could have told me it was going to happen and whereas it did happen, I Laurence Decore , mayor of the great city of Edmonton, home of the former Stanley Cup champions, do proclaim Calgary as the hockey capital of Alberta.”
1987 - As the Oilers faced the Philadelphia Flyers, Philadelphia Mayor Wilson Goode made a wager of three dozen Philadelphia-style pretzels, cheesesteaks, and hoagies with Deputy Mayor Jan Reimer (Mayor Decore was on a trip to China during that round of the playoffs). In return, Reimer bet a variety of six packs of Canadian beer and Alberta beefsteaks. The Oilers beat the Flyers in Game 7.
1988 - The Edmonton Journal reported that Decore was smacking his lips over the bet he made on the Edmonton Oilers. Boston Mayor Raymond Flynn put up six of “the world’s best lobsters” against Decore’s six of “the world’s best beef steaks” on the outcome of the Stanley Cup final series between the Oilers and Bruins. The Oilers won.
1990 - Edmonton Alderman Sheila McKay accepted 24 lobsters from Boston City Council after Oilers defeated the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup Final. Each alderman took home two lobsters. “I think this is a tasty reminder of the Oilers great success,” said Mayor Jan Reimer.
1991 - Calgary Mayor Al Duerr had to wear an Oilers jersey and ride atop a Zamboni in Northlands Coliseum between periods of the first home game between the Oilers and the Los Angeles Kings. The Oilers eliminated the Flames in the previous round of the playoffs.
1998 - Edmonton Mayor Bill Smith and Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk made a bet that the mayor of the city with the losing team had to wear the jersey of the other team to a city council meeting. The Dallas won and Smith had to wear the Stars jersey in City Council chambers.
2004 - British Columbia Revenue Minister Rick Thorpe wagered up to $350 Okanagan Valley against Alberta Revenue Minister Greg Melchin’s $350 worth of steak as the Calgary Flames faced the Vancouver Canucks. It was reported that Melchin didn’t want the wine but agreed to wear the jersey of the winning team. The Calgary Herald reported that when the Flames won Thorpe sent the wine anyway.
2004 - With the Calgary Flames facing the
Florida PanthersTampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Finals, Premier Ralph Klein offered to chow down on conch chowder, crab cakes, and shrimp boil if the Panthers won the Stanley Cup. Florida Governor Jeb Bush was expected to enjoy an Alberta-style meal, though Klein’s press secretary, Marisa Etmanski, said “…it may be a little difficult with the beef ban. But we’re going to do our best.”2006 - Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel and Raleigh mayor Charles Meeker each bet a case of local microbrewed beer as the Oilers faced the Carolina Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Hurricanes won.
A few more things…
The controversial Canadian Energy Centre is folding and being rolled into the Alberta government’s Intergovernmental Relations department. The publicly-funded private company was created in 2019 and operated as a public relations and advocacy arm of the oil and gas industry.
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