The moment you step into The Ranchmen’s Club, you are transported into a piece of Alberta’s history. Established in 1891, three years before Calgary officially became a city, club members first gathered at the Lougheed Block and Mariaggi’s Restaurant. The club settled in its current Beltline location in 1912. The three-storey brick building adorned with terracotta accents and stained-glass windows looks every bit the part of a traditional private club with book-lined walls, an impressive collection of Western art and taxidermied mounts watching who comes and goes.
These days, who comes and goes seems to be changing.
While clubs like The Ranchmen’s pride themselves on attracting members from the city’s movers and shakers, that group has historically been fairly homogenous — the same male, pale and stale leadership that was also seen in boardrooms, City Hall and other seats of power. A mix of membership practices, pricing and sometimes even club regulations kept racial and religious minorities as well as women out of most private clubs. But, as Calgary changes, many of the city’s private clubs are working to address their exclusionary practices and evolve for current times.
While much of the shift has been organic, reflecting the demographics of the rising leaders in Calgary’s diverse communities, private clubs have also needed to specifically invite diversity or risk becoming irrelevant.
At The Ranchmen’s Club, women weren’t granted full membership until the early 1990s. However, the board now has more women members than men, and, in 2019, the club welcomed its first female president, Dena Dixon.
While the majority of the members are still men, Ellen Parker, CEO of Parker PR and board member at The Ranchmen’s, notes that most new members are younger female business and community leaders. “I believe that leaders like myself have a great opportunity to ensure we reflect the thought leaders of today,” she says.
Welcoming racially diverse members may not be as easy, however. One factor is that at many clubs, including Ranchmen’s and the Petroleum Club, new members need to be invited or endorsed by an existing member. The children of existing members also often have an easier path to membership.
“Because it’s a private club, there are a lot of multi-generational members,” says Parker in discussing the comparative lack of racial diversity. But, she adds, current members are focused on growing the club by inviting their own diverse networks, which keeps the membership and club programs evolving. “The club sticks to its mission and its vision of being a place for the leaders in our community, whoever they are, whatever they look like,” Parker says. “If you’re in the community doing great work, and you are a leader that has integrity, gives back, brings people together and is kind, then you’re the kind of member that we want at the club.”
How Private Clubs are Evolving
The Calgary Petroleum Club was founded in 1948, just one year after the Leduc No. 1 oil strike south of Edmonton. The club was known for being exclusive, originally catering specifically to male executives in the petroleum industry.
When University of Calgary Chancellor and Canadian Football Hall of Famer Jon Cornish joined the Calgary Petroleum Club in 2016, they were among very few visible minority members. But, in recent years, Cornish has witnessed a shift across many of Calgary’s private clubs.
“They’re all taking steps to make sure their membership reflects what Calgary looks like today,” Cornish says.
The Calgary Petroleum Club has been intentional in welcoming diversity into the club, partly by working with non-profit organizations. Events hosted by groups like the Hong Kong Canada Business Association Calgary, Alberta chapter of the BlackNorth Initiative and the Calgary Black Chambers bring in new people, many of whom go on to become members. “When you include others, you don’t just include them, you include their communities,” says Cornish, who co-founded the Calgary Black Chambers. “And, when you include more communities, you cultivate growth that pulls everybody up.”
Cornish notes these changes strengthen the club’s community and ensure it remains relevant and vibrant in a diverse city. At the same time, they stress the importance of striking a balance: “I think it’s so important for these private clubs to be inclusive while still maintaining the value of being an exclusive place to be.”
Generally, this exclusivity is upheld by the fact that people must be referred by current members to join. Membership fees also limit access — joining the Petroleum Club costs the average person an entrance fee of $3,300 (plus GST) and a monthly fee of $183 (plus GST). Fees are cheapest for family of existing members. (The Ranchmen’s Club doesn’t release its fee structure to the general public.)
The Calgary Black Chambers, a non-profit association dedicated to making Calgary more equitable for Black residents through scholarship, fellowship, mentorship and advocacy, has found a significant partner in the Calgary Petroleum Club. Since the Black Chambers’ inception in 2019, it has used the club as a key meeting space, initially by being invited as guests of Petroleum Club members such as Cornish.
“The Petroleum Club is really important to us; it’s where we started meeting every month,” says Chi Iliya-Ndule, co-founder and president of the Calgary Black Chambers. “It’s also strategic for us, because it’s not a place where Black people have traditionally been present.”
As the non-profit grew, the Black Chambers eventually purchased its own corporate membership, allowing the group to host a monthly speaker series, large events and the first in-person Calgary Black Achievement Awards in 2021 at the Petroleum Club.
Cornish and other Black Chambers’ co-founders credit the Petroleum Club’s general manager, Toni-Marie Ion-Brown, and function co-ordinator, Carole Fjellstad, for playing key roles in fostering these relationships and helping the club become more inclusive.
While the progress has been notable, Black Chambers co-founder and partnerships director Kene Ilochonwu suggests there’s still room for improvement. “It would appeal to more non-profits if these private clubs provided some sort of reduced membership,” he says. Ilochonwu also notes that, as the members and guest base become more diverse, the club should expand its food options to better accommodate different cultural preferences.
Do Private Clubs Create Stronger Cities?
Meaghon Reid, executive director of Vibrant Communities Calgary, believes private clubs can play a crucial role in supporting non-profits, particularly during challenging times. As the leader of a non-profit focused on reducing poverty through research, policy and advocacy, Reid understands the value of financial support and meaningful conversations that can come from these clubs. “Certainly, for the non-profit and charitable sector, there are often opportunities where there are fundraisers — and those are incredibly important to organizations that really need that money, especially now, when they are so financially depressed,” Reid says.
Reid emphasizes that clubs are forming everywhere in the city. “People are creating clubs of all different kinds,” she says. “There are a lot of people in Calgary that are community connectors that bring people together around lots of different topics or around similar interests. The difference is the setting, and the difference is who’s allowed to join.”
Alice Lam, a Calgarian working in commercial real estate and a social entrepreneur, also points out that the majority of clubs in Calgary are grassroots, community-based initiatives.
“Chinatown is full of clubs like these — little fraternity, private clubs that have been around for 150 years; many in response to being left out [of other private clubs],” she says.
One example is the Lee Association. Founded circa 1910, it’s the oldest association in Calgary’s Chinatown. Lam says that these clubs have evolved over time, as well. At first, members, who were typically immigrants, were more focused on survival and mutual aid during the world wars and economic depressions. Now, Lam says, the organizations are able to prioritize recreation and community building.
At their core, Lam believes these grassroots clubs share similarities with larger, more established ones like Ranchmen’s or the Petroleum Club. “We’re not as fancy, but we hold real estate, we have members, we have fundraisers, and we have dinners and gatherings. As long as you’re a member, you can come and hang out anytime,” she says.
On the other hand, these clubs don’t exercise the same exclusivity — while some are referral-based, no one is excluded based on business, power, influence or money. Many memberships are as low as $10 per year to join. At the same time, Lam says she is encouraged by the growing inclusivity of some of Calgary’s more exclusive clubs and the emergence of new ones. “This actually makes us a stronger city. What sets us apart is the fact that people are highly encouraged to create their own brand, their own circle of people,” she says.
Ultimately, Lam sees private clubs as a positive force. “If you’re building community, building neighbourly relations, getting people involved in philanthropy — I think that’s a win for Calgary across the board,” she says.
The Future of Private Clubs in Calgary
Now, new private clubs are on the horizon for Calgary. One of the most anticipated projects is the Eau Claire Athletic Club, set to open this year in the former Eau Claire YMCA building. Spanning more than 100,000 square feet, the club will offer a wide range of amenities, including an aquatic centre, squash courts, a full Nordic spa, fitness studios and private work pods.
Another is aspiHer (pronounced “aspire”), a new private club that seeks to blend professional development, networking and wellness for women. Co-founded by Desirée Bombenon, entrepreneur and current CEO of Dezco Management, and fellow entrepreneur Milena Radakovic, the club will feature offices, boardrooms, and spa and fitness services. While still in the process of raising capital and searching for the perfect location, in the meantime, aspiHer has already begun hosting monthly gatherings at the Calgary Petroleum Club — a partnership Bombenon is grateful for as her club builds momentum.
While Bombenon acknowledges the value of existing private clubs, she notes that aspiHer will cater specifically to the needs of women.
“The purpose is empowering women to reach their full potential,” she says. “There’s a certain ambiance created when you get women together in a room where they’re comfortable and feel safe. Women have very different needs and challenges, and we understand that those unique challenges faced by women in the corporate world need to be looked at and supported differently, as well.”
The Future of Exclusivity
When it comes to private clubs in Calgary, the definition of “exclusive” continues to evolve to incorporate greater racial, gender and sexual diversity. But exclusivity is still what makes private clubs appealing in the first place. It is still those with money, power and connections who are able to overcome the social- and financial-capital hurdles it takes to become and remain a member. And a key attraction of private clubs is the opportunity to be in the room with other high-powered local decision-makers.
Big deals are signed and important decisions and connections are still made behind the doors of these clubs. Some see that as a problem and directly counter to Calgary’s much-repeated promise that this is a city that values work ethic and ideas more than status and connection.
For her part, Vibrant Communities Calgary’s Reid is not too concerned that private clubs are places where connections are made and influence shared and even sees opportunities within the clubs to support others.
“People who are wealthy do not exclusively own the domain of convening,” Reid says. She also sees private clubs as venues for essential conversations, though she emphasizes the need to consider who might be missing from the conversation. “Where there are conversations happening about what’s happening in our city, province and country, there’s an opportunity to bring different voices [to] that table.”
As private clubs continue to evolve, both the clubs themselves and the city will benefit from this changing idea of what exclusivity is and what its benefits can be both for individuals and for society.