Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR) has wrapped up, the Canadian Champions have been celebrated, and now Red Deer and area can celebrate the economic benefits.

After being unable to host the CFR in 2020 due to the pandemic, in order to manage the pandemic, the event had the Restriction Exemption Program in effect and provided on-site rapid testing for those who were not vaccinated. The Canadian Professional Rodeo Association is calling this year’s event a success.

“Rodeo is built on community, and you can see how the staff, volunteers, sponsors, community partners, and supporters all came together to put on an amazing Canadian Finals Rodeo,” says Jeff Robson, General Manager, Canadian Professional Rodeo Association. “We certainly worked through some unique challenges, but we kept the focus on delivering the CFR experience that our stakeholders can expect. We are already looking forward to our 2022 rodeo season, and CFR48.”

It is estimated that CFR generated $25 million in economic activity for the central Alberta area. Over 25,000 people attended the rodeo and several more took in other on site activities. The numbers were not quite as high as in 2019, where CFR brought in $30 million and 34,000 attendees but still significant to the area.

I am proud of our team. We challenged ourselves to think differently and modify the scope and scale in response to all of the unknowns we experienced leading up to the event,”  added Mike Olesen, Chief Executive Officer of Westerner Park.