The Banff Winter Carnival has a rich and fascinating history as one of the earliest and most ambitious attempts to transform Banff from a predominantly summer destination into a year-round winter resort. The idea for the carnival was conceived in late 1916 by local boosters, most notably Banff entrepreneur Norman Luxton and police magistrate Barney Collison, who were keen to attract more visitors to the town during the otherwise slow winter months. Their discussions focused on expanding existing winter activities into a full-blown festival that would entice tourists and promote Banff as a premier winter sports and recreation centre. A local organizing committee persuaded town leaders to host a festival in February 1917, and the first Banff Winter Carnival was held from February 5–17 that year. Events included curling bonspiels, tobogganing, snowshoe races, hockey matches, speed skating, trap shooting, pony ski races, and even swimming races in the natural hot springs. Everything was centered around a spectacular ice palace built along Banff Avenue.
The carnival quickly became an annual highlight and played a central role in establishing winter tourism in Banff National Park. Winter sports featured prominently where ski jumping, cross-country and downhill skiing, ice skating, and other outdoor competitions drew participants and spectators alike. Reflecting its wider cultural appeal, the Winter Carnival also included social events such as grand balls and, from 1919 onward, a Winter Queen pageant that brought contestants from across Western Canada and, later, the northwestern United States.
For several decades, the Banff Winter Carnival flourished. Its combination of athletic competition, community celebration, and tourist spectacle helped position Banff as one of Canada’s foremost winter destinations. In fact, the carnival ran as an annual event for more than 40 years, though its continuity was occasionally interrupted, most notably due to the Second World War, when the event was paused from 1942 to 1946. However, by the late 1950s, changing social attitudes, logistical challenges, and growing concerns about rowdy behaviour at the festivities led the town and organizers to discontinue the carnival. After the 1958 event, plans to hold it in 1959 were shelved, and the Winter Carnival ceased to operate as a major community festival.
Although the original Banff Winter Carnival no longer takes place, its legacy lives on in the town’s vibrant winter tourism industry and in occasional heritage displays, vintage films, and planned seasonal events (such as the SnowDays Festival) that celebrate the spirit of winter fun the carnival once embodied.
To see more historical photos from the Banff area, please see these previous posts: Vintage Photos of Banff’s Sunshine Village, Old Photos of Lakes from Banff National Park, Old Photographs of the Banff Wildlife Paddock, and Historical Photos of Skijoring from Banff and Jasper.
The photos above were collected from Archives Canada. If you’re interested, additional information can be found for each photograph on their websites. Stay tuned for additional posts featuring historical photos from across Alberta and Western Canada. We’d love to know what you think in the comment section below.
