Edmonton MP Matt Jeneroux hopes Taylor Swift’s lack of Canadian stops on her Eras Tour is not about Bad Blood.
In several posts on his social media accounts, the Conservative politician indicated he would follow Australia’s lead and file what he’s calling an “official grievance” with Parliament to encourage Taylor Swift to add some Canadian dates to The Eras Tour — if she has a Blank Space in her calendar, that is.
“I filed an official letter of grievance,” Jeneroux said on Thursday. “I don’t actually know if that’s really a thing, but we got a message from one of my friends who said the Australian parliament is filing an official letter of grievance to have Taylor Swift reconsider to come to Adalaide.
“I went and said: ‘Is this something we can do in Canada?’ and nobody seemed to know. So I thought let’s go and file an official letter of grievance and kind of see what happens.”
The letter reads:
“It has come to my attention that despite much anticipation, Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour has neglected to include any Canadian dates or locations as she released her international dates, which includes stops throughout Asia and Europe,” Jeneroux wrote in a letter dated and signed on Wednesday, June 21.
“Similar to what’s being considered in Australia, I would like to file an official grievance within Parliament on behalf of all Swifties in Canada for her and her team to reconsider,” the letter continued.
“Not only is this leaving Canadian fans without the opportunity to see her tour, but it is also leaving Canada out of the economic opportunities her shows generate. It is estimated that these shows could generate $4.6 billion for local economies. Fans just don’t simply attend concerts, they spend money at local businesses including hotels, restaurants and shops.
“This motion is non-partisan in nature and requires swift action to address what I can only assume is a serious oversight,” the letter concludes.
So far, Swift’s international tour dates don’t include any Canadian stops, but it’s not clear if more will be added.
“Considering the fact that I’m not totally clear on what a letter of grievance really is, it’s pretty lighthearted in the way we’ve approached it,” Jeneroux said.
“But I think often in politics, it’s meeting people, what they’re thinking about, what’s important to them, and I know a lot of people in our community and in my home too, this is top of mind.
“My daughters have never paid more attention to my career than yesterday when I wrote the letter,” he added with a smile.
Concordia University economist Moshe Lander doubts Jeneroux’s economic impact estimates. Mega tours do have economic impacts on the cities they visit, but not to the extent Jeneroux forecasted, he said, unless it was for the entire tour.
“I don’t think that that’s something he really costed out when he wanted to show his fake outrage,” Lander said.
“I think that he’s maybe trying to justify why he’s taking that stance.
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“With a Taylor Swift concert, the economic benefit would be in the tourist dollars that it brings in. Her devoted followers will follow her around from one venue to another so you could find that of 20,000 people going to the concert, a portion of them would be coming from outside Edmonton.
“When they’re coming into Edmonton, they’re filling up local hotels, local bars, they’re buying local merchandise — that does have an economic impact, but it’s not long-lasting. It’s essentially for the 48 hours before and after the concert and then it’s all over,” Lander explained.
Jeneroux clarified the number he cited was a prediction of how much money would be generated in the U.S. economy by the tour.
Lander said another factor to consider is the venues available.
“She’s working 60,000-70,000 seat outdoor venues,” he said. “Canada doesn’t really have those type of outdoor venues and, if they do have it, there’s a limited amount of time where it’s a fun experience for the act and for the fans because the summer is so short here.”
Economically, choosing Edmonton as a stop on a tour might not make sense, he added. It requires flying or driving and moving a lot of equipment and crew across a border and Alberta is fairly isolated in terms of being close to other stops.
“That’s a huge cost that has to be borne by the concert act, so I can certainly understand why Taylor Swift is saying: ‘Why go to Edmonton and fill out 18,000 seats when I could just do an extra night in San Francisco and get the same 18,000 seats without any of the transportation costs?’
“She only has so many days, so if Edmonton is sitting there saying: ‘Hey what about us?’ OK, so who are you replacing?
“You’ve got to be kidding me if you think… her managers are making that calculation, saying: ‘I think Edmonton is a good move. Why don’t you sacrifice SoCal for a night?’ It’s top to bottom economic nonsense, but it makes for good copy,” Lander said with a grin.
The reaction to the letter has been bigger than Jeneroux imagined in his Wildest Dreams.
“There’s been over 50 media requests across the country, internationally, that we’ve had… A whole bunch of people have reached out and said: ‘Boy, we’d like to help on your next campaign.’
“Ultimately, this is something that resonates with people,” he said.
And he just can’t Shake It Off.
“People all across the country have reached out and want to talk about this letter of grievance,” Jeneroux said.
“Our goal is to ensure that — there’s a segment of our population that is really passionate about this — that they’re heard.
“There’s important work happening in Parliament but from the lighthearted side of things, it’s pretty fun to watch,” he added.
“There’s a lot of anticipation for the concert dates that were released. I know, at least in our home with my daughters, we were very eager to see where she’d be playing and when there’s no Canadian dates, obviously some disappointment.
“There’s still a lot of venues across Canada that would for sure welcome Taylor Swift and her crew with open arms.”
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