Calgary-Shaw by-election called for September 14, ahead of Alberta's separation referendum
By-election an important test of Smith's popularity and Nenshi's appeal in Calgary
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.
Schulz represented the riding since 2019 and served in cabinet for most of her time in the Legislature before resigning late last year. She now works as Vice President of Regulatory and External Affairs at Whitecap Resources Inc.
Schulz won the southwest Calgary riding convincingly in 2019 and 2023, continuing a long streak of conservative party candidate wins that were only interupted in 2015 when New Democrat Graham Sucha rode Rachel Notley’s Orange Wave to an unexpected win.
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.
Derry is a recruitment company owner and youth hockey coach who surprised political watchers when he defeated City Councillor Dan McLean in the party’s nomination contest earlier this year. Derry’s campaign was run by long-time right-wing political organizer Craig Chandler.
The by-election will happen a month before the October 19 province-wide referendum asking Albertans ten questions, including if there should be a future referendum on the province’s separation from Canada .
An NDP press release sent out the night of Derry’s nomination win questioned his support from Chandler and Darrell Komick, president of the neighbouring UCP constituency association in Calgary-Lougheed who ran in the UCP board president election last year on a pro-independence platform and has appeared on a separatist fundraising telethon.
“I want Alberta to Stay in Canada, I believe there are many concerns that need to be addressed but we need to listen and leave egos and emotion at the door while we find solutions,” Derry said in a statement to Daveberta.
The UCP have already launched campaign-style videos starring Smith with the tagline “Getting the job done” and released one with the Premier and Derry this week. The videos lean heavily on talk about economic successes and infrastructure investments, and avoid any mention of Smith’s separation referendum.
The by-election needed to be called by mid-November at the latest, and calling it before the October 19 referendum avoids any immediate post-referendum electoral fallout for the governing party during what could be a chaotic period for the province and the UCP.
Campbell is seen as the main challenger in this by-election. The employee benefits professional and former local residents’ association president is leading the NDP’s first electoral test in Calgary since former mayor Naheed Nenshi became party leader in 2024.
“Three years ago, I was told I had stage four cancer, and in that moment I saw firsthand what’s at stake when our system isn’t working the way it should,” Campbell said after his nomination on June 26, making clear that health care is a focus on his campaign.
“What matters in a moment like that is being able to count on getting timely health care and having a government that cares about affordability for all families,” said Campbell, who is the former President of the Somerset Residents Association and Director of Employee Benefits for Qopia Financial.
Schulz was re-elected with a comfortable 13-point lead in 2023 but NDP support also jumped by 17-points from 2019, one of the largest increases in support for the party in that year’s election.
The Progressive Tory Party has nominated Joseph, a Grade 6 teacher, as its candidate in the upcoming Calgary-Shaw by-election.
Joseph told Postmedia that:
“I preach it to my kids every day in school, if you don’t like what is going on, you need to politically engage. That means yes, voting, yes, emailing your representatives, but also running for office yourself. I figured I’d heed my own advice and jump in.”
For the Progressive Tories, the new name of the old Alberta Party now led by former UCP cabinet minister Peter Guthrie, even a double-digit showing would be seen as a win. This is the renamed party’s first electoral test and proving their electoral relevance will be critical ahead of next year’s general election.
Liberal Party leader Roggeveen will carry his party’s banner in this by-election. Roggeveen knows this area of the city — he ran in the riding in the 2004, 2008 and 2012 elections — but the provincial Liberal Party has been pushed to the margins in recent years.
The Liberals have been without any representation in the Legislature since four-term Calgary-Mountain View MLA David Swann retired in 2019 and the party saw its vote share hit a record low of 0.24 per cent in 2023, with most of its former supporters migrating to Notley’s moderate NDP.
No other parties have announced their candidates as of this time.
The deadline for candidates to enter the by-election is August 27 at 2:00 p.m.
Advance voting will be held from September 8 to September 12 and polling stations will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on September 14.
FUN FACT: The Calgary-Shaw riding is named after Joseph Tweed Shaw, a former MLA and MP who led the Liberal Party in Alberta from 1926 to 1930.
More on the Calgary-Shaw by-election
Here is more of my coverage of the by-election in Calgary-Shaw:
