The Confluence — really Fort Calgary — announces big expansion plans

Calgary’s Confluence Historic Site & Parkland — which most people know as Fort Calgary — could see a major transformation over the next 20 years under a new concept plan that proposes a pow wow arbour, a covered concert stage, a winter rink, expanded gardens and new gathering spaces at the 42-acre site where the Bow and Elbow rivers meet.The plan says the site should become a year-round destination for cultural events, indigenous ceremony, recreation, truth-telling and public gathering.The Confluence is located between East Village, Inglewood and Calgary’s emerging Culture and Entertainment District. The plan says the site’s location near the future Green Line gives it a chance to draw more visitors and better connect the city’s river pathways, historic areas and downtown.The document describes the confluence of the Bow and Elbow rivers as a sacred place of cultural significance known as Mohkinstsis in Blackfoot. In spring 2024, Blackfoot Elder Leonard Bastien Weasel Traveller gave the site the Blackfoot name I’táámito’táaattsiiyio’pi, meaning “harmonious meeting place.”The plan says the site’s history reflects more than 22,000 years of continuous human relationship with the land. It notes the area has long been significant to the Blackfoot Confederacy, the Tsuut’ina Nation, the Îyârhe Nakoda Nations and the Métis Peoples..The site later became the location of Fort Brisebois, renamed Fort Calgary, after the North-West Mounted Police arrived in 1875. The plan says the site must expand its historical narrative beyond Fort Calgary and the North-West Mounted Police to include indigenous histories, colonization, settlement and future uses.More than 500 people took part in the planning process between February and December 2025, including indigenous partners, community organizations, site visitors and Calgarians across the city. The plan includes several major proposed features, including a pow wow arbour expected to hold 2,500 spectators. The arbour is described as a key program element that would help change the tone of the site and create an architectural statement between downtown and The Confluence.The concept also includes a covered stage and concert lawn in the southwest corner of the park. The plan says the area could seat 3,000 people in the covered area, another 13,000 on the concert lawn and additional people on an overflow lawn.The plan says the stage area responds to growing demand from Calgary’s event community and hospitality industry for expanded event capacity at the site..A west plaza would include a flexible rink modelled after the Parkdale Community Rink, with chilling lines, removable boards, terraced seating and a pavilion with heated change rooms, skate rentals, storage and washrooms. The area could also be used for soccer, basketball, markets, fire pits, kiosks, seating and public art outside the skating season.The plan also proposes an entry plaza and amphitheatre near the existing cultural centre and replica barracks. The amphitheatre is expected to seat 500 spectators.At Confluence Point, where the Bow and Elbow rivers meet, the plan calls for an outdoor gathering space designed for healing and ceremony, with flexible lawn space, river views, public art integration, educational opportunities and a connection to the Wandering Spirit Residential School Memorial.Another feature, called The Journey, would connect the Holy Gathering Place to Confluence Point through winding paths and native plantings of indigenous significance.The Confluence Garden and Forest would expand the existing garden area with culturally significant native plants and a foraging forest. The plan says the garden should include educational signage, ceremonial areas and layered planting with trees, shrubs, ground cover and vines..The Fort Calgary Gardens would become a major central feature with wandering paths, play structures, interpretive elements and different types of gardens. The plan says the area should hold multiple stories at once, including colonial history, healing and discovery.The prairie area would remain open and expansive, with naturalized prairie plantings and clustered trees along the edges. The plan says the space could be used in winter for events requiring more room, such as skijoring or Nordic skiing.The plan says the existing interior parkland is underused, even though the RiverWalk perimeter is heavily used. It identifies sparse vegetation, extreme sun exposure, lack of shelter and limited internal circulation as current problems.New pathways would connect the perimeter RiverWalk with the interior of the park, creating loops between major destinations. The plan says gateway elements would mark arrivals and reflect a protocol of entry that honours traditional ways of being.The document says existing buildings are in good condition and should be preserved, although their orientation and interfaces with the surrounding park could be improved. The future of existing and new buildings will be addressed in a later building feasibility study.The plan does not provide a total project cost. It says the concept is intended to guide future decisions about land use, programming and future transformations of the site over the next two decades.The main focus is the land itself, with future work still required on buildings, implementation and detailed design.“The ebb and flow that we are creating today is on behalf of us,” said Otsskoipiiks’aakii Paula Smith, indigenous relations manager for The Confluence, in the plan. “We are planting the seeds that will help us move forward.”

The Confluence — really Fort Calgary — announces big expansion plans

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