What’s with the Big Head?
We get asked this question all the time: What’s with the Big Head statue on Main Street in Canmore? You can’t miss it – it looks over the main drag right by the creek. It’s actually quite scenic with mountains framing this large, green, bald head and a lazy creek right beside it.
But what’s with the Big Head?
It all ties back to the settlers’ name of the place. Canmore is a Gaelic name, derived from Ceann Mór, which means Great Chief or Great Head (of state) – get it?
The name refers to King Malcolm III of Scotland. Malcolm lived from 1031 to 1093, and he was king for over 35 years. He also created the Highland Games, a quest to find the strongest and fastest people who would become great warriors. (Side note: Canmore hosts an annual Highland Games Festival every year. Check it out this year: Sept 4 – 6, 2026).
In the late 1800s, when the Canadian Pacific Railway was making its way through the mountains to find a pass to connect the burgeoning country from coast to coast, one of the chief architects was Donald Smith, or Lord Strathcona. Smith was of Scottish descent, and he felt the snow-capped mountains reminded him of his childhood the Scottish Highlands, so he named the small outpost Canmore after the stories of the legendary Ceann Mór King Malcolm III. The name stuck, and that’s been the official name of the town ever since. The Big Head is a tongue-in-cheek representation of this name, and it’s a great photo-op for people exploring downtown. It's also part of Canmore's impressive public art scene, which is well worth checking out as you visit this mountain town.
Before all of this naming, and long before settlers even knew about these mountains, the area of Canmore had many other names. One of those names is Châ Ûpchîchîyen Kudebi. The Îyârhe Nakoda people originally called the Canmore area Châ Ûpchîchîyen Kudebi, or “Shooting Little Spruce Tree” after a story about horse thieves and a missed target.
