Alberta NDP win Calgary-Shaw byelection, flipping UCP seat
Posted Sep 14, 2026 7:26 am.
The Alberta NDP won a provincial byelection in a surprise result on Monday night, claiming a seat widely expected to be held by the governing United Conservative Party (UCP).
NDP candidate Kyle Campbell defeated UCP candidate Mike Derry in Monday’s Calgary-Shaw vote by more than 500 votes, flipping a seat that has been held by the UCP since 2019.
Campbell’s win drew cheers, applause and shouts of “NDP, NDP” from supporters at a constituency watch party, who also sang “We Are The Champions” by the rock band Queen.
“This opportunity is a chance to live what I believe in my heart, which is that leadership is about service,” Campbell told supporters. “So thank you. Thank you.
“Let’s do it for Alberta. We’re in Canada forever.”
The byelection comes as the province prepares to vote Oct. 19 on whether to stay in Canada or hold a second, binding referendum on quitting the country.
During the campaign, Nenshi said voters should choose his party and send a message to the premier that they don’t want a government that caters to separatists.
The South Calgary riding, which includes Shawnessy, Somerset, Silverado, Yorkville, Belmont, Pine Creek, Chaparral, Walden, Wolf Willow and Legacy, has been without an MLA since May, when former UCP cabinet minister Rebecca Schulz resigned her seat.
Schulz won the riding in a landslide in 2019 and hung on to it by more than 3,000 votes in the 2023 provincial election. Campbell defeated Derry by more than 500 votes on Monday night, a result that wasn’t clear until the advanced votes were counted after 10:30 p.m.
Even before the advanced votes came in late, NDP leader Naheed Nenshi declared the close margin was a victory for his party and meant “there are no safe conservative seats in Calgary.”
Political scientist Keith Brownsey of Mount Royal University told CityNews the race was a bellwether, noting that while the UCP was expected to retain the seat, anything other than a decisive victory could be a real indicator of public mood ahead of Alberta’s Oct. 19 referendum on whether to stay in Canada. Monday’s unexpected results now raises questions about voter drift and the stability of support for Premier Danielle Smith’s government.
Smith took to social media shortly after the results came in, congratulating Campbell and thanking Derry.
“The voters of Calgary-Shaw have spoken and our UCP government will work constructively with their new MLA to ensure their constituency’s needs are fully addressed,” wrote Smith.
Campbell centred his campaign on health-care commitments, while Derry, an oil-and-gas executive, campaigned on affordability, education, health care and government transparency.
Three others were also on the ballot, including teacher Kyle Joseph for the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta, lawyer John Roggeveen for the Liberal Party of Alberta, and Independent candidate Rolly Ashdown.
Joseph came in third place with 978 votes, while Liberal candidate John Roggeveen received 602, and Ashdown finished last with 82 votes.
The riding, created in 1986, has long voted Conservative. The NDP won the seat only once in 2015 as part of the “orange wave” that brought former premier Rachel Notley into government.
Elections Alberta says an official count is scheduled for Sept. 24.
Advance turnout was lower than in the 2023 provincial election. Polls held Sept. 8 to 12 drew 6,955 voters, or 16.4 per cent of eligible electors, compared with 9,798 advance ballots last year — equal to 24.8 per cent.
