The summer campaign circle for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will not include a stop at the Calgary Stampede.

The annual 10-day rodeo festival is usually a must-attend event for politicians, and Trudeau has not missed a summer except during the COVID-19 years of 2020 and 2021.

But his office confirms that there will be no flipping of pancakes, no changing of cowboy hats, or mingling with the crowds for the Prime Minister this year.

No immediate explanation was provided on Tuesday for his absence.

The stampede officially kicks off on Friday with a parade and continues until July 14.

Trudeau's office indicated he would not attend in 2017, but after a slip – when he accidentally forgot to include Alberta in his list of provinces during his Canada Day speech – he showed up at the stampede two weeks later.

Trudeau is currently dealing with the fallout from the Liberals losing their long-held seat in Toronto in a by-election that took place on June 24.

The decline of his party in the polls has continued for more than a year, and his MPs are feeling frustrated about how to recover ahead of the next election.

Last year, crowds rushed to take selfies as Trudeau made his way through the stampede grounds.

He also flipped pancakes at a breakfast hosted by Calgary MP George Chahal, one of two Liberals elected in Alberta. Chahal is hosting a pancake breakfast again this year, but Trudeau will not be there.

A spokesperson for Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre said the news that Trudeau will not attend "should come as a welcome relief" to Alberta Liberal MPs and the NDP who prefer "him to stay hidden."

Sebastian Skamski said in a statement: "After just being rejected at one of the safest Liberal gatherings in downtown Toronto, it's hard to imagine that Canadians will miss Justin Trudeau much at the stampede."

Lori Williams, a political analyst at Mount Royal University, said Trudeau's absence from the stampede is notable because he comes to Alberta often. But she added that he does not lose much politically by skipping it.

Williams said: "There aren't many political gains from making a push in Alberta for an unpopular Liberal Prime Minister."

"I think that in itself wouldn't have deterred him, but the truth is there are a lot of questions swirling around leadership, about the future of the party, its vision, and its plan moving forward, and they need to settle those questions before entering into anything resembling a campaign event."