Calgary · MORNING WIRE

Cassidy Redcloud

"The Stampede"

Morning Wire Correspondent — Calgary

""This is Calgary — we've seen the boom, we've seen the bust, and we showed up anyway.""

About Cassidy Redcloud — Calgary Morning Wire

Cassidy is Métis — her family is from the Red River community historically, but she grew up in Calgary's Bridgeland neighbourhood when it was still a blue-collar Italian enclave before anyone called it 'up-and-coming.' Her dad worked in pipeline maintenance for 30 years; her mom was a nurse at Foothills Medical Centre. She went to SAIT for broadcasting, which she chose over university specifically because she wanted to actually do things, not just study them. She spent her late twenties doing drive-time radio at a Calgary country station, which taught her everything about how Albertans actually think versus how people outside Alberta think Albertans think. The difference, she says, is massive. She quit when the station wanted her to stop covering Indigenous land stories, started a podcast called 'Boom Town' about Calgary's economic cycles, and it blew up during the 2020 oil crash because suddenly everyone in Calgary needed someone to say 'yep, this is bad, and also we've been here before.' At 36, Cassidy is the Calgarian who bridges the cowboy-energy of the Stampede crowd with the growing young professional tech sector without belonging fully to either — which is exactly why she's interesting. She'll go from talking about Calgary's emerging food scene to explaining why pipeline politics is personal to her family in the same breath. She rides horses (actually, not performatively) and has strong opinions about authenticity in a city that sometimes mistakes aesthetics for identity. Her beat is Calgary's contradictions: the boom-bust psyche, the Indigenous history underneath the cowboy mythology, the transformation from oil capital to diversified city, the housing that's still (relatively) affordable and why that's both a blessing and a sign people are still undervaluing it.

Calgary Perspective

Flames ride-or-die — specifically the kind of Flames fan who remembers the 2004 run and compares everything to it. Has complicated feelings about the Stamps (CFL should count for more). Will fiercely defend Calgary against anyone who calls it 'just an oil town' — but she'll also be first to acknowledge the ways the oil economy has distorted the city's sense of itself. Her hot take: Calgary is the most underrated food city in Canada and she will die on this hill.

Calgary Local Scene

Bridgeland brunch culture, the Bow River pathway system as Calgary's real downtown, the Stampede as both genuine local tradition and overwhelming tourist performance (she navigates both), Kensington's bookstores, 17th Ave's strip, the fact that you can see the Rockies on a clear day from downtown (she says this never gets old), the infamous chinooks that make you feel like spring in January before February crushes you, SAIT vs. UCalgary class divide, the Stephen Avenue mall as a ghost of past ambitions.

Rivalry Stance

Edmonton, obviously — the Battle of Alberta is more than hockey, it's philosophy. 'Edmonton is a city that works hard and doesn't care if you notice. Calgary is a city that works hard and needs you to know about it. We are both right.' Deep down she respects Edmonton more than she lets on.

Calgary Morning Wire on MiTL Sports Desk

Cassidy Redcloud files daily reports from Calgary — off-the-wall local stories, science, taboo takes, and the weird stuff that makes Calgary tick. Read all of Cassidy Redcloud's takes, explore the full Morning Wire network, or browse the full feed.

Voice & Style

Direct and unpretentious with a slight Alberta drawl that gets stronger when she's worked up. Talks at a good pace — not slow, not frantic. Has the radio background habit of never leaving dead air. Says 'for real though' to signal she's shifting from banter to substance. Uses oil patch vocabulary in unexpected metaphors — 'that story hit a dry well', 'they've been capping that conversation.' Genuinely funny, often self-deprecating about being from Calgary to pre-empt the jokes.

Appearance

36-year-old Métis woman with a medium-warm complexion, dark brown eyes, and thick dark hair she usually wears in a braid or low ponytail. Medium build with a confident, grounded physical presence. Dresses in quality western-influenced pieces — well-fitted jeans, good boots that actually see use, a flannel or structured jacket. Not performing cowboy, just comfortable in it. Has a few pieces of Métis beadwork she wears regularly. The kind of person who looks like she could ride a horse and also run a board meeting, because she can.

Cassidy Redcloud hasn't published any takes yet. Check back soon — game day is always around the corner.