Tag: Daveberta Substack

Alberta separatism referendum will be impossible to ignore in Calgary-Shaw by-election

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date July 2, 2026

The NDP were quick to put United Conservative Party candidate Mike Derry on the spot on the issue of Alberta separatism, which voters will face in a province-wide referendum on October 19.

An NDP press release sent out the night of Derry’s nomination win questioned his support from Darrell Komick, the president of the UCP constituency association in the neighbouring Calgary-Lougheed who ran in the UCP board president election last year on a pro-independence platform, and campaign manager Craig Chandler, a well-known right-wing political organizer in Calgary.

Chandler recently ran City Councillor Mike Jamieson’s successful election campaign in Ward 12 and is believed to be involved in Erin Averbukh’s campaign for the UCP nomination in the Calgary-Acadia riding (Averbukh’s only competitor in that race at the moment is former Wildrose Independence Party leader Jeevan Mangat).

While polls show that a majority of UCP supporters would vote for Alberta’s separation from Canada, the majority of Alberta voters would vote to remain in Canada. The NDP will undoubtably try to use the by-election to put pressure on the UCP’s internal division on Alberta separatism.

Read all about it on the Daveberta Substack

How important is the Calgary-Shaw by-election?

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date June 25, 2026

A map of the Calgary-Shaw electoral district (source: Elections Alberta)

It is very easy to overstate the importance of by-elections, but there is little doubt that the results of the by-election in Calgary-Shaw will be interpreted as a measurement of support for Premier Danielle Smith referendum on Alberta’s separation from Canada and her government’s handling of health care and affordability issues.

It will also be an important test for NDP leader Naheed Nenshi, who served as Mayor of Calgary from 2010 to 2021 and won the party’s leadership in 2024 on his ability to increase the party’s support in Calgary.

Mike Derry wins Calgary-Shaw UCP nomination, defeats city councillor Dan McLean

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date June 25, 2026

UCP candidate Mike Derry and Premier Danielle Smith (source: Mike Derry / Facebook)

NDP expected to nominate Kyle Campbell on June 26

Talent management company owner Mike Derry defeated City Councillor Dan McLean to win the United Conservative Party nomination in Calgary-Shaw at a candidate selection vote on June 24.

The nomination vote was held to choose a UCP candidate in the upcoming by-election to replace former UCP MLA Rebecca Schulz, who stepped down on May 15, 2026.

Derry owns the LegenDERRY talent management company and was the talent management lead for Canadian Natural Resources Limited from 2013 to 2022 and is a coach with the Bow Valley Hockey Society. He was the Chief Financial Officer of Calgary-South East UCP association and has volunteered with Conservative MP Tom Kmiec‘s campaign in Calgary Shepard.

Tags Alberta Election Candidate Nominations, Alberta Politics Substack, Calgary-Shaw, Calgary-Shaw by-election, Calgary-South East, Canada Election Substack, Craig Chandler, Dan McLean, Danielle Smith, Daveberta Substack, Kyle Campbell, Mike Derry, Naheed Nenshi, Rebecca Schulz, Tom Kmiec, United Conservative Party

Alberta Politics

Nenshi NDP launch affordability agenda, finally talking about cost of living and grocery prices

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date June 25, 2026

Edmonton-Gold Bar MLA Marlin Schmidt (left) and NDP leader Naheed Nenshi (right) speaking at a press conference on June 23, 2026 (screenshot: Alberta NDP / YouTube)

I wrote last year that NDP MLAs should should start every day by asking themselves the question “how can we make life more affordable for working-class Alberta families?” and then they should spend the rest of their day talking all about it, all the time. I still believe this today.

Nenshi’s NDP have now started talking more about pocketbook issues with the launch of their Alberta Affordability Agenda, which is a good start. The party has been spending a lot of energy focusing on the separation referendum through its For Alberta For Canada campaign, but it can’t afford to ignore other important issues with a provincial election only 15 months away at the latest.

In their new suite of affordability policies, the NDP promises to cut electricity bills by 10 per cent, increase minimum wage to $18, and to reduce grocery prices by increasing competition, ending shrinkflation, and appointing a grocery watchdog.

The NDP also proposed removing the $0.13 per litre provincial gas tax while gas prices remain high — something that will make even Lorne Gunter happy.

Calgary-Shaw UCP nomination vote today. It’s Dan McLean vs Mike Derry.

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date June 24, 2026

Calgary City Councillor Dan McLean announces his candidacy for the UCP nomination in Calgary-Shaw (source: Dan McLean / Facebook)

UCP members in Calgary-Shaw will choose the candidate to raise their party’s banner in the upcoming by-election to fill the Legislature seat vacated by UCP MLA Rebecca Schulz.

Current city councillor Dan McLean is considered the establishment favourite in this race. The second-term councillor was re-elected last October and has maintained close public ties to the UCP since he ran against Schulz for the nomination in this riding in 2018.

McLean’s decision to jump into provincial politics so soon after the October 2025 municipal election has made him a target of criticism from former councillor Jeff Davison.

McLean faces Mike Derry, an oil and gas industry talent company owner who has the support of well-known right-wing political organizer Craig Chandler.

Another candidate, Stewart Jeanes, had planned to run but did not qualify to enter the nomination race. Jeanes had been endorsed by separatist leader and Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul UCP constituency president Mitch Sylvestre.

The nomination vote is being held from 3:00 pm to 8:30 pm at the Cardel Rec South.

Stampede Stomp! Farkas and Smith duel over party tents and beer prices, Nenshi finally shifts to affordability

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date June 24, 2026

Premier Danielle Smith and Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas in December 2025 (source: Danielle Smith / Facebook)

Danielle Smith’s row with Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas over weeknight music tent hours ended with the Premier getting Stampede stomped over her government’s plans to increase the minimum price of a pint of beer days ahead of the start of the Calgary Stampede. Smith backed down and beer minister Dale Nally ordered the Alberta Gaming, Liquor & Cannabis crown corporation to abandon the price increase.

Farkas can now do a victory lap as a hero of both Stampede beer drinkers and local residents worried about the giant Cowboys party tent being erected in their neighbourhood.

Tags Affordability and Cost of Living, Alberta Affordability Agenda, Alberta NDP, Alberta Politics Substack, Calgary Stampede, Canada Election Substack, Dale Nally, Danielle Smith, Daveberta Substack, Jeromy Farkas, Naheed Nenshi, United Conservative Party

Alberta Politics

Former UCP President Matthew Bissett running for Progressive Tory nomination in Sherwood Park

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date June 22, 2026

Former UCP staffer and constituency president Matthew Bissett has announced his plans to run for the Progressive Tory Party nomination in the Sherwood Park riding just east of Edmonton.

Bissett was president of the UCP constituency association in the riding from 2023 to 2024 and worked as a policy advisory to Deputy Premier and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services Mike Ellis and Minister of Infrastructure Nathan Neudorf. He was an active member of the Progressive Conservative Party in the 2000s and early 2010s.

Bissett shared a statement about his candidacy with Daveberta, including why he believes he was dismissed as a staffer by the UCP government.

NDP nominates MLA David Eggen and David Shepherd for re-election

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date June 22, 2026

The longest serving MLA in the Alberta Legislature is hoping to extend his winning streak by another four years. NDP MLA David Eggen was selected to run for re-election in Edmonton-North West at a nomination meeting on June 16.

Eggen has represented that Edmonton riding since 2019 and previously represented Edmonton-Calder from 2004 to 2008 and 2012 to 2019. He was Minister of Education for the entire four years of the NDP’s time in government from 2015 to 2019 and currently services as chair of the NDP Opposition Caucus and Advanced Education critic.

The high level of churn in Alberta’s recent provincial elections has meant that not many MLAs make it to five-terms like Eggen has.

Sundre’s rodeo parade an early casualty of Alberta’s separation referendum

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date June 22, 2026

A photo from the Sundre Pro Rodeo in 2025 (source: Sundre Pro Rodeo / Facebook)

Social media algorithms and influencers put a big target on community volunteers

What happened in Sundre is a warning about how algorithms that decide what people see on social media platforms are promoting outrage and opportunistic influencers looking to score clicks are helping fuel that division. It means that local issues, like a decision made by a small town rodeo parade committee, can have a much broader reach and be a target for backlash from people (and AI-bots) from far and wide who might have no real connection or interest in the community.

Sparking anger over Alberta separatism has even become financially lucrative for some people outside the country and is almost certainly a target for foreign governments and groups who have an interest in destabilizing Canada.

Read all about it on the Daveberta Substack

Tags Alberta NDP, Alberta Politics Substack, Alberta Separation Referendum, Alberta Separatism, Canada Election Substack, Centurion Project, Danielle Smith, Darby Crouch, Darby-rae Crouch, Daveberta Substack, Forever Canadian, Innisfail Rotary Pro Rodeo, Jason Nixon, Richard Warnock, Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre, Sundre Pro Rodeo, Thomas Lukaszuk, Tim Hoven, United Conservative Party

Daveberta Podcast

Alberta’s role in Canada – why we need to tell better stories

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date June 17, 2026

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Federalists need emotional arguments about improving Canada and Alberta

Alberta’s separation referendum is only four months away, so longtime Daveberta Podcast contributor Adam Rozenhart joins Dave Cournoyer for part 2 of our discussion about Canada’s role in Alberta and Alberta’s role in Canada as neighbours and leaders in our country.

Where do Albertans fit in the sprawling success story we call Canada? What can we do to improve Alberta and Canada? How can we tell better stories about why Albertans are important players in making our country a better place? We start the discussion here.

Thanks for listening.

Listen to the full episode by becoming a paid subscriber

Tags Adam Rozenhart, Alberta Politics, Alberta Politics Substack, Alberta Separation Referendum, Alberta Separatism, Canada Election Substack, Danielle Smith, Dave Cournoyer, Daveberta Podcast, Daveberta Substack, Mark Carney, Pierre Poilievre, United Conservative Party

Alberta Politics

NDP MLA Amanda Chapman running for re-election in Calgary-Beddington

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date June 14, 2026

NDP MLA Amanda Chapman was nominated to run for re-election in Calgary-Beddington at a nomination meeting yesterday.

Chapman was first elected in 2023 after defeating UCP MLA Josephine Pon in a close race.

More NDP nominations are coming up soon:

June 16: MLA David Eggen will be nominated in Edmonton-North West and MLA David Shepherd will be nominated in Edmonton-City Centre.
June 24: Sarah Elmeligi will be nominated in Banff-Kananaskis.
June 25: MLA Marie Renaud will be nominated in St. Albert and Sharif Haji will be nominated in Edmonton-Decore.
June 26: Kyle Campbell will be nominated in Calgary-Shaw ahead of an expected by-election.
June 28: MLA Brooks Arcand-Paul will be nominated in Edmonton-West Henday.

Albertans give Danielle Smith a failing grade on separatism but would probably re-elect the UCP anyway

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date June 13, 2026

Danielle Smith speaking at the United Conservative Party Leaders Dinner in Calgary in 2026 (source: Danielle Smith / Facebook)

Only two Alberta premiers have finished a full term in office since the beginning of the 21st century.

Ralph Klein completed his third full-term as a Progressive Conservative premier from 2001 to 2004 and Rachel Notley led the New Democratic Party through the entirety of its historic one-term as government from 2015 to 2019 (Notley’s also defied historical expectations by leading her party to a near comeback in 2023).

Aside from Klein and Notley, the Premier’s Office has been a rotating door of short-term tenants who were forced out after election defeats, scandals, caucus and cabinet revolts, and raucous party memberships (the exception being Premier Dave Hancock, who served in the role for the six months between Alison Redford’s resignation and Jim Prentice’s win in the 2014 PC Party leadership race).

So the question on the minds of many political watchers today is whether the current occupant of the Premier’s Office, Danielle Smith, can survive a full-term in office to lead her party into the next election?

A month ago, I would have said absolutely and even today I would say probably, but Smith is now finding herself on increasingly shakier political ground after deciding to call a province-wide referendum on Alberta’s separation from Canada.

Tags Alberta NDP, Alberta Political Party Fundraising, Alberta Prosperity Project, Alberta Separation Referendum, Alberta Separatism, Alison Redford, Danielle Smith, Dave Hancock, Daveberta Substack, Jason Kenney, Jim Prentice, Naheed Nenshi, Rachel Notley, Ralph Klein, United Conservative Party, Western Separation

Daveberta Podcast

Podcast: Why Canada needs Alberta and Alberta needs Canada

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date June 13, 2026

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Part 1 in a Daveberta Podcast series about Alberta, Canada, and the stories we do and don’t tell each other

Longtime Daveberta Podcast contributor Adam Rozenhart joins Dave Cournoyer for a discussion about Canada’s role in Alberta and Alberta’s role in Canada as neighbours and leaders in our country.

This is part 1 of a podcast series about where Albertans fit in the sprawling success story we call Canada and how we can tell better stories about why Albertans are important players in making our country a better place.

Part 2 will be released in about a week.

Thanks for listening.

Become a paid subscriber to listen to the full episode.

Tags Adam Rozenhart, Alberta Separation Referendum, Alberta Separatism, Danielle Smith, Dave Cournoyer, Daveberta Podcast, Daveberta Substack, Mark Carney, Mitch Sylvestre, United Conservative Party

Alberta Politics

Kyle Campbell running for NDP nomination in Calgary-Shaw by-election

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date June 4, 2026

Somerset Residents Association President Kyle Campbell is the first candidate to enter the Alberta NDP nomination in Calgary-Shaw ahead of the expected by-election. The NDP have scheduled a nomination meeting on Friday, June 26 at 7:00 pm at the Cardel Rec South.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Campbell is the Director of Employee Benefits for Qopia Financial and previously worked as Senior Sales Consultant for RBC Insurance. He studied Global Supply Chain Management at Brigham Young University.

“I’m running to protect the essential services our province delivers. My life is deeply impacted by the province of Alberta: career opportunities, public education for my children, cancer care for myself, and more,” Campbell told Daveberta.

“I’m running to ensure that as my kids grow up that they are afforded the same quality of life, and quality of protection that I’ve benefited from,” Campbell said. “I’m keen to protect their rights as Albertans, and their privileges as Canadians.”

Rebecca Schulz resigns, UCP and NDP set nomination dates for Calgary-Shaw by-election

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date June 3, 2026

Rebecca Schulz speaking at the United Conservative Party Leaders Dinner in Calgary in 2025 (source: Rebecca Schulz / Facebook)

A by-election in Calgary-Shaw is imminent following the resignation of United Conservative Party MLA Rebecca Schulz, who stepped down last month after representing the riding since 2019. Schulz served as Minister of Environment and Protected Areas until her resignation from cabinet last December.

The UCP nomination contest is now set for June 24 but the race got one candidate smaller this week after Stewart Jeanes was told by the UCP that he will not be allowed to run after his application was deemed incomplete.

Jeanes’ candidacy in the Calgary-Shaw nomination contest was recently endorsed by Mitch Sylvestre, the Alberta separatist leader and UCP constituency president from Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul who led the Stay Free Alberta petition drive to leave Canada.