EDMONTON — Alberta NDP candidate Kyle Campbell won the Calgary-Shaw byelection on Monday, outlasting the UCP in a back-and-forth night that ended with them dethroning the party in a historically conservative suburban Calgary riding. Campbell won the unofficial vote with 46.6%, compared to 43% for UCP candidate Mike Derry. The count began with Campbell taking an early lead after the special ballots were counted, and he maintained it for much of the night until it flipped late when stations in the community of Chaparral began reporting. Derry held a 352-vote lead before the advanced votes were reported. However, in a dramatic turn of events, Campbell won the advanced vote with 51.2% and prevailed at the buzzer. His victory recaptures the riding for the Alberta NDP after UCP MLA Rebecca Schulz resigned in April. The win marks the second time in the last 12 elections the riding has not voted conservative, and the second time the Alberta NDP has ever won it, with the other coming in 2015. "This is an earthquake," said Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi when addressing supporters at the party's event. "This means that 35-days from today, we send Danielle Smith and her separatist pals packing, and within a year from now, we give Albertans the NDP government they deserve.".Campbell campaigned largely on the need for health care improvements across Alberta and more schools in Calgary-Shaw. "If you interact with the system right now, you will see the cracks and the flaws, and all you have to ask yourself is, ‘Has it been getting better or worse?’” said Campbell during an interview with the Western Standard in August. "And our current leadership in the government says that things are good, and all you have to do is look at your own life and say, things are not good."The former employee benefit insurance worker has said one reason he joined the political game is that he witnessed the flaws in Alberta's health care system while battling cancer. "This opportunity is a chance to live what I believe in my heart, which is that leadership is about service," said Campbell after the results were announced. "That who we work for is so much more important than who we are.".Alberta's independence debate loomed over the byelection, as polls suggest that over 60% of Albertans support remaining in Canada, but the margin is closer, and possibly even flipped, when compared among UCP supporters. The Alberta NDP often pushed Derry on the Alberta independence movement, saying that even if he supports remaining in Canada, many of his supporters and people who backed his campaign do not. "Folks in Calgary-Shaw are really proud Canadians," Campbell said in August. "They don't want to separate. They think that this separation referendum is a fantastic waste of money. It's sowing division in a moment when our country is under attack from external forces."Monday's results reflect a trend observed in Ipsos polling in June, which found that 58% of respondents disapprove of how Premier Danielle Smith has handled the Alberta independence movement and the subsequent referendum. That figure jumped to 64% within Calgary.Smith congratulated Campbell via an X post on Monday. "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. "I’d also like to thank our UCP candidate, Mike Derry, who worked so hard and put his name forward to serve his community. Thank you as well to all of the candidates and volunteers who participated in the democratic process.""Our UCP government will continue to work every day to grow our province’s economy, strengthen our core social services and build a stronger Alberta."The Alberta NDP now hold 39 seats in the Alberta Legislature, reducing the UCP's majority government to three seats.
