Rebecca Schulz resigns, UCP and NDP set nomination dates for Calgary-Shaw by-election
UCP drops separatist-backed candidate from race
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.
“We absolutely need all of your help to get the attention of the UCP and make them understand that have to cater to some of the things that we want at least, and this is the start of the whole process,” Sylvestre said in a video posted on x.com.
Sylvestre has threatened to mount of challenge of Premier Danielle Smith’s leadership of the UCP and recently told Toronto Star reporter Richard Warnica that be believes King Charles III wants him dead.
City Councillor Dan McLean and Mike Derry remain in the UCP nomination contest.
McLean was first elected to Calgary City Council in 2021 and was re-elected in 2025. He ran against Schulz for the UCP nomination in October 2018 and has kept close public ties with the UCP and Schulz since then. He is widely considered to be the favourite in the nomination race.
Derry is a talent management company owner and 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.
Derry has the support of well-known right-wing organizer Craig Chandler, who has spearheaded a lawn sign campaign in the riding calling on McLean to remain on city council to complete the four year term he was elected to in October 2025.
The UCP nomination vote will happen on Wednesday, June 24 from 3:00 pm to 8:30 pm at the Cardel Rec South.
Kyle Campbell running for NDP nomination in Calgary-Shaw by-election
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.”
“When policy is made in Edmonton it shows up in the lives of people,” he said. “I’ve felt the pinch of poor public policy and can no longer stand on the sidelines hoping someone else will protect our province and our rights.”
Calgary-Shaw has been represented by conservative party MLAs since its creation in 1986 with the sole exception of NDP MLA Graham Sucha, who represented the riding from 2015 to 2019. The riding was one of the NDP’s strongest voter growth ridings in the 2023 election, with candidate David Cloutier increasing the NDP’s vote by 17.09 points over 2019.
It’s 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 metric of support for Premier Smith after she called a referendum on Alberta’s separation from Canada. It will also be an important test for Naheed Nenshi’s NDP, who see winning more seats in Calgary as their path to victory in the next provincial election.
While the NDP has lagged behind the UCP in most polls for most of the last three years, a recent poll from Angus Reid showed the NDP with 45 per cent support, one point behind the UCP’s 46 per cent.
The Calgary-Shaw by-election will also be held as Elections Alberta and the RCMP investigate the leaking of the entire official voters list that included the names and addresses of 2.9 million voters, as well as efforts by governments and private groups outside of the country to interfere in Canadian politics.
Jodi Calahoo Stonehouse running for re-election in Edmonton-Rutherford
NDP MLA Jodi Calahoo Stonehouse was selected to run for re-election Edmonton-Rutherford at a nomination meeting on May 27. Calahoo Stonehouse was first elected in 2023 and currently serves as the opposition critic for Forestry and Parks.
