Battle of Alberta extends to city halls with friendly facepaint, cancer charity donation wager
The mayors of Calgary and Edmonton are throwing their support behind their respective home teams ahead of the long awaited return of a playoff version of the storied Battle of Alberta.
Mayor Jyoti Gondek announced Monday afternoon that she had agreed to a friendly wager with Mayor Amarjeet Sohi, her counterpart in Edmonton, ahead of the Flames-Oilers Pacific Division finals series.
Gondek says the mayor of the city that loses the series will wear the victorious team's jersey and full facepaint in the colours of their rival.
"What will happen in the losing city is the mayor, and hopefully all of council, will wear the opposing team's jerseys — sounds pretty familiar — but what we also agreed to, though, is the losing team, at the first council meeting following the end of the series, the mayor will be in full face paint celebrating the opposing team," said Gondek.
An unspecified financial donation will also be made to the winning city's children's cancer charity.
"The losing city council will also donate either to Kids with Cancer Society in Edmonton or Kids Cancer Care in Calgary in recognition of Ben Stelter's fight with brain cancer. It's fitting that the month of May is Brain Tumour Awareness Month. Ben has been incredibly brave in this past year and all hockey fans are cheering him on."
The provincial rivals last met in the playoffs 31 years ago during the 1991 Smythe Division semifinals. The Oilers defeated the Flames on an Esa Tikkanen goal in overtime in Game 7 of the hard-fought series.
Game 1 of the much-anticipated return of the Battle of Alberta goes Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
'Sophisticated' cyberattacks detected on B.C. government networks, premier says
There has been a "sophisticated" cybersecurity breach detected on B.C. government networks, Premier David Eby confirmed Wednesday evening.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
Rookie goalie Arturs Silovs to start for Canucks in Game 1 vs. Oilers
Rookie goalie Arturs Silovs will start in net for the Canucks as Vancouver kicks off a second-round series against the Edmonton Oilers Wednesday night.
Nijjar murder suspect says he had Canadian study permit in immigration firm's video
One of the Indian nationals accused of murdering British Columbia Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar says in a social media video that he received a Canadian study permit with the help of an Indian immigration consultancy.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.