Tag: Rebecca Schulz

The UCP loss in Calgary-Shaw and the thin end of the separatist wedge

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date September 25, 2026

Premier Danielle Smith joined former Reform Party leader Preston Manning and former BC Premier Gordon Campbell on a zoom call-based Alberta and the West Assembly conference last weekend.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has had a rough few weeks.

Ten days ago, Smith’s United Conservative Party lost the by-election in Calgary-Shaw, a south Calgary riding that had been a stronghold for her party in the last two elections. The surprise win by NDP candidate Kyle Campbell has been widely interpreted as a backlash against Smith’s referendums on October 19, including a vote on Alberta’s separation from Canada.

Smith quickly blamed the loss on vote splitting with the Progressive Tory Party candidate who earned 6 percent of the vote, but that doesn’t explain the 22.2 point drop in UCP support in the riding since the 2019 election. The Progressive Tories may have been a dynamic in the race but they weren’t the reason why the UCP lost the Calgary-Shaw by-election.

Read all about it on the Daveberta Substack

Alberta Politics

Wow! Just wow. NDP’s Kyle Campbell wins Calgary-Shaw by-election.

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date September 14, 2026

Calgary-Shaw NDP MLA-elect Kyle Campbell and NDP leader Naheed Nenshi on September 14, 2026 (source: Naheed Nenshi / Facebook)

The Calgary-Shaw by-election was supposed to be a sleepy race and an easy win for the United Conservative Party but it ended up being a nail-biter with a surprise NDP win.

The Alberta NDP’s Kyle Campbell did what many political watchers believed would never happen by beating UCP candidate Mike Derry to win the by-election in the south Calgary riding that was a UCP stronghold under former cabinet minister Rebecca Schulz.

Tags Alberta Liberal Party, Alberta NDP, Alberta Separation Referendum, Alberta Separatism, Calgary-Shaw, Calgary-Shaw by-election, Danielle Smith, John Roggeveen, Kyle Campbell, Kyle Joseph, Mike Derry, Naheed Nenshi, Peter Guthrie, Progressive Tory Party of Alberta, Rebecca Schulz, United Conservative Party

Alberta Politics

Naheed Nenshi delivers NDP health care pitch days before Calgary-Shaw by-election

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date September 12, 2026

Calgary-Shaw NDP by-election candidate Kyle Campbell (centre) with NDP leader Naheed Nenshi (left) and Dr. Luanne Metz (right) announcing the party’s “Future of Health Care” policy (screenshot: Alberta NDP / YouTube)

NDP pitches stability and investment over the UCP’s restructuring and privatization

With only days left before the September 14th by-election in Calgary-Shaw, Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi joined candidate Kyle Campbell to deliver his party’s health care pitch to voters with a pledge of stability and investment in a public system that has undergone massive bureaucratic restructuring and increased privatization since 2023.

Nenshi pledged that within three years of forming government after the 2027 election, the NDP would shorten emergency department wait times, cut surgical, diagnostic, and specialist wait times by 30 per cent, make sure every Albertan has access to a family doctor or nurse practitioner, and, a big one, re-form one single Ministry of Health.

Nenshi said the NDP would also launch a judiciary-led public inquiry into CorruptCare, a wide-ranging government corruption scandal that largely faded into the background over the summer.

Calgary-Shaw by-election called for September 14, ahead of Alberta’s separation referendum

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date August 18, 2026

Sherwood Park NDP MLA Kyle Kasawski and Calgary-Shaw NDP candidate Kyle Campbell (source: Kyle Kasawski / Facebook)

Premier Danielle Smith has set Monday, September 14 as the date of the by-election vote in the Calgary-Shaw riding vacated by former UCP MLA Rebecca Schulz earlier this year.

The by-election will see UCP candidate Mike Derry face New Democrat Kyle Campbell, with Progressive Tory candidate Kyle Joseph trying to break into what has been a two-party race in Alberta politics, and Liberal Party leader John Roggeveen trying to get his party back on the radar.

Read all about it on the Daveberta Substack

Alberta Politics

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

Alberta Politics

It’s Kyle Campbell vs. Mike Derry in Calgary-Shaw by-election

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date July 2, 2026

Campbell will face United Conservative Party candidate Mike Derry, who surprised many political watchers last week when he defeated City Councillor Dan McLean in the party’s nomination vote.

With 507 total ballots cast in the UCP membership vote in Calgary-Shaw, Derry earned 286 votes to McLean’s 221 votes. Fifty-three per cent of party members in the riding turned out to vote at the nomination meeting.

Alberta NDP nominate Kyle Campbell as their candidate in Calgary-Shaw by-election

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date June 28, 2026

Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi and Calgary-Shaw NDP candidate Kyle Campbell in a campaign video released by the Alberta NDP (screenshot: Kyle Campbell / Facebook)

Campbell will face UCP’s Mike Derry in race to replace Rebecca Schulz

The Alberta NDP have nominated Kyle Campbell to run as the opposition party’s candidate in the upcoming Calgary-Shaw by-election to choose a new MLA following Rebecca Schulz’s resignation last month.

The by-election in this southwest Calgary riding will be an uphill battle for the NDP but, whenever it’s called in the next five months, it will take place during one of the most unpredictable periods in Alberta politics in recent memory.

There is no shortage of issues of the NDP to focus on in this by-election and it looks like health care and affordability will be top of mind for Campbell as he hits the doors.

Read all about it on the Daveberta Substack

Tags Acute Care Alberta, Alberta Election 2027, Alberta Election Candidate Nominations, Alberta Health Services, Alberta NDP, Alberta Separation Referendum, Alberta Separatism, Amanda Chapman, Brooks Arcand-Paul, Calgary-Acadia, Calgary-Beddington, Calgary-Bow, Calgary-Lougheed, Calgary-Mountain View, Calgary-Shaw, Calgary-Shaw by-election, Calgary-West, Camrose, Chestermere-Strathmore, Chris Kish, Craig Chandler, Dan McLean, Danielle Smith, Darrell Komick, Dodgy Contracts Scandal, Don Braid, Edmonton-Decore, Edmonton-West Henday, Erin Averbukh, Jason Stephan, Jeevan Mangat, Jeff Davison, Jeromy Farkas, Josephine Pon, Kyle Campbell, Leduc-Beaumont, Marie Renaud, Michelle Baer, Mike Derry, Mike Jamieson, Naheed Nenshi, Pamela Rath, Progressive Tory Party of Alberta, Rebecca Schulz, Red Deer-South, Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre, Sharif Haji, Sonya Sharp, St. Albert, United Conservative Party, Wildrose Independence Party

Alberta Politics

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

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.

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.

NDP MLA Kyle Kasawski running for re-election in Sherwood Park

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date May 27, 2026

Sherwood Park NDP MLA Kyle Kasawski (source: Kyle Kasawski / Facebook)

Danielle Smith’s Alberta separation referendum looms over party nominations for next election

MLA Kyle Kasawski was nominated to run for re-election in Sherwood Park by Alberta NDP members at a meeting last weekend in the large suburban hamlet east of Edmonton.

Kasawski currently serves as the opposition’s Affordability and Utilities critic role has been one of the strongest additions to the NDP opposition bench since 2023.

Kasawski has been vocal in his opposition to Alberta separatism and called on Premier Danielle Smith to speak out against foreign interference.

Calgary-Shaw by-election race heats up as Rebecca Schulz expected to resign any day now

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date May 19, 2026

City Councillor Dan McLean, Mike Derry, and Stewart Jeanes running for UCP nomination

It was one of the worst kept secrets in Calgary political circles that City Councillor Dan McLean was planning to jump into provincial politics and he is now running for United Conservative Party nomination in Calgary-Shaw.

The southwest Calgary riding is expected to become vacant when UCP MLA Rebecca Schulz, who resigned from cabinet last December, steps down as an MLA. Schulz delivered a farewell statement in the Legislature last week and shared a video on social media thanking voters in the riding for choosing her to represent them for the past seven years.

Separatist leader threatens nomination challenges against UCP MLAs

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date May 9, 2026

Separatist spokesperson Jeffrey Rath appeared to threaten to launch nomination challenges against any UCP MLAs who opposed Alberta separatism.

It is probably not surprising that one UCP MLA is already planning to resign and a growing number of UCP cabinet ministers are rumoured to be considering not seeking re-election in 2027 (which is also leading to rumours of a spring cabinet shuffle).

The key takeaway from this is that the separatism debate won’t end with a referendum.

Nenshi wants to avoid Brexit mistakes in fight against Alberta separatists

Post author By Dave Cournoyer
Post date April 11, 2026

Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi launched the For Alberta For Canada campaign (source: Naheed Nenshi / YouTube)

“Our country is not perfect, but it’s the best place in the world, and Albertans are ready to fight for Canada,” Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi said as he launched his party’s For Alberta For Canada campaign in anticipation of an expected referendum on Alberta’s separation from Canada.

“Every day, Albertans ask me one simple question about separatism: ‘what can I do?’ This new campaign is an answer to that—giving everyday people the tools and the power they need to stand up for our country.

They know that if Alberta separates, we’ll lose so much. Even the threat of a referendum is already damaging our economy and creating chaos and uncertainty. Today we are giving Albertans the tools to take action and be ready for this fall.”

The NDP campaign will kick off with a province-wide door-knocking day of action on April 25, which Nenshi says aims to attract pro-Canadian Albertans beyond NDP voters.

“We’re not repeating the mistake of the people who thought Brexit would never pass. We’re getting out there now,” Nenshi told reporters. “We’re not sleepwalking into this.”