Calgary Stampede Tarp/Canvas Auctions: 1979-2022

The idea that the Calgary Stampede Canvas auction is the bellwether for Calgary's economy has been long held in the city. Major financial events have impacted the prices paid for canvas advertising, since the auction began in 1979.

Among those have been the 1983 Alberta oil industry crash, which saw high unemployment in Calgary, top bids decreasing in 2002's economic slump following 9/11 in 2001, 2009's worldwide economic financial crisis, 2016's oil price crash, and the pandemic which cancelled the auction for two years.