Justin Trudeau will attend Calgary Stampede after initially bucking event

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be donning western wear after all.

Earlier this month his office said he could not fit the Calgary Stampede into his schedule, which included the G20 meetings in Germany, butit now says he'll attend.

"The Prime Minister is happy to be spending time in Calgaryon Saturdayfollowing the National Governors Association conference in Rhode Island, and he is looking forward to celebrating Stampede alongside Albertans, as he has done for years," read a statement on Tuesday fromCameron Ahmad, the media relations manager with the Prime Minister's Office.

"We'll have specific details in the Prime Minister's daily itinerary, to be issuedon Friday."

Politicos and cowboys

The Stampede tends to attract as many politicians as cowboys, with politicos of all stripes taking advantage of the opportunity to shake a lot of hands and doleoutsignificant amounts of pancakes.

Andrew Scheer made his Stampede debut as Conservative leader on Saturday, speaking to a roomful of party faithful at an event hosted for years by former prime minister Stephen Harper.

• 'I'm a little embarrassed': Justin Trudeau forgets Alberta in Canada Day speech

During the years of Conservative rule in Ottawa it was a long-running joke that Albertans only saw some of their MPs, includingHarper,during the annual party.

It's become rare for a sitting prime minister to skip the event, particularly one who's made an effort to woo Albertans as Justin Trudeauhas.

His decision to visit the city comes after he forgotto mention Alberta while listing the provinces and territoriesin his Canada Day speech, something for which his critics howled and for which he immediately apologized.