Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s summer campaign stint won’t include a stop at the Calgary Stampede.
The annual 10-day rodeo and festival is typically a must-attend event for politicians, and Trudeau hasn’t missed it every summer except for the COVID-19 years of 2020 and 2021.
But Downing Street has confirmed there will be no flipping of pancakes, tipping of cowboy hats or jumping through crowds this year.
There was no immediate explanation Tuesday for his absence. Downing Street said this week that he would take part in this year’s NATO summit in Washington, D.C., from July 8-11.
The Stampede officially kicks off with a parade on Friday and runs through July 14th.
Trudeau’s office had indicated he would not be attending the 2017 Stampede, but he turned up two weeks later after accidentally forgetting to include Alberta in his list of provinces during his Canada Day speech.
Trudeau is currently dealing with the fallout from the Liberal Party’s loss of the long-held Toronto seat in a June 24 by-election.
The party’s approval ratings have been sluggish for more than a year, and lawmakers are scrambling to figure out how to bounce back before the next election.
Last year, as Trudeau walked through the Stampede, crowds scrambled to take selfies with him.
He also flipped pancakes at a breakfast hosted by Calgary MP George Chahal, one of two Liberal MPs representing Alberta. Chahal is hosting a pancake breakfast again this year, but Trudeau will not be attending.
A spokesman for Conservative Leader Pierre Poirierbre said the news that Trudeau would not attend “should come as a welcome relief” to Alberta Liberal and New Democratic Party members who would prefer the prime minister “remain hidden.”
“Having just been rejected in one of the safest constituencies for the Liberal Party in downtown Toronto, it’s unlikely Canadians will miss Justin Trudeau at the Stampede,” Sebastian Skamski said in a statement.
Lori Williams, a political analyst at Mount Royal University, said Trudeau’s absence from the Stampede was notable because he is a frequent visitor to Alberta, but she added he doesn’t have much to lose politically by skipping the Stampede.
“There’s not a lot of political gain to be had by exerting pressure in Alberta on behalf of an unpopular Liberal premier,” Williams said.
“I don’t think that alone would have been enough to deter him. But given the fact that there are so many questions swirling around the leadership of the party, the future of the party, the vision for the party, what are the plans going forward, those questions have to be resolved before he goes out on anything resembling electioneering.”