Look up, way up.First it was ‘Heart of the New West’. Then ‘Be Part of the Energy’. Now Calgary Economic Development (CED) is touting Calgary as Canada’s ‘Blue Sky City’.Notwithstanding the city’s official colours are red and white.In its annual report to the community, CED said the rebranding was the result of more than two years of consultations with 129 organizations across 26 economic sectors in the city including the Calgary Stampede, the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, Calgary Arts Development and Tourism Calgary.According to the report: “'Blue Sky City' represents both the 330-plus days of annual sunshine Calgary receives and tells the story of "being a city of blue-sky thinking and innovation, a place of unexpected possibilities and a place of confluence — where peoples, lands, cultures and ideas converge." .“At the same time, many of the ideas produced by brainstorming will be impractical, so there’s a connection here with both of the previously cited meanings.”.But according to the federal government’s Language Portal of Canada, the idiom ‘blue-sky’ depends on the context in which it is used, having a two-tinged connotation “as a verb meaning either to have unrealistic, impractical ideas.”“Of course, the idea of brainstorming is to throw out ideas as they come to us, in the hope of coming up with something creative and innovative,” it says. “At the same time, many of the ideas produced by brainstorming will be impractical, so there’s a connection here with both of the previously cited meanings.”As an example, it says “a number of blue-sky technologies offer hope for large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.”.“Calgary was due for a refreshed brand that “better represents the business community and people from all ages, ethnicities, genders and sexual orientations,”Calgary economic Development.In a business and management jargon, the adjective ‘blue-sky’ was originally used for impractical ideas. Thus, so-called ‘blue-sky’ laws were designed to protect investors from fraudulent securities with “no more basis than so many feet of ’blue sky.’”Nonetheless, it also notes ‘blue-sky’ research has led to many valuable scientific breakthroughs.The report said Calgary was due for a refreshed brand that “better represents the business community and people from all ages, ethnicities, genders and sexual orientations,” the brand release material added.A logo for the 'Blue Sky City' branding will be unveiled in the coming weeks. As part of its report, CED said in 2023 it created or retained more than 7,000 jobs and attracted more than $734 million in investments to the city.
