{"id":542918,"date":"2026-03-17T19:14:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T19:14:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/542918\/"},"modified":"2026-03-17T19:14:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T19:14:14","slug":"mclean-undecided-on-potential-bid-for-calgary-shaw-ucp-nomination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/542918\/","title":{"rendered":"McLean undecided on potential bid for Calgary-Shaw UCP nomination"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ward 13 Coun. Dan McLean said he\u2019s undecided on a potential run for the UCP nomination in a southwest Calgary riding, despite an online campaign urging him to stay on city council.<\/p>\n

McLean told LWC on March 17 that he\u2019s \u201c50\/50\u201d on a potential bid to replace outgoing Calgary Shaw MLA Rebecca Schulz, who announced her resignation in December 2025<\/a>, and intends to stay on as MLA until May 2026.<\/p>\n

Schulz\u2019s resignation may result in a byelection in November or December, though there\u2019s an expected fall 2027 provincial election, and the seat could sit vacant until then.<\/p>\n

The recently elected Ward 13 councillor said that there\u2019s still a lot of work to do at Calgary city hall, but he acknowledged he\u2019s considered a run in Calgary-Shaw. The provincial riding covers much of McLean\u2019s municipal area of representation. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere are pros and cons on both sides. I really don\u2019t know. There\u2019s so much to consider,\u201d McLean said outside council chambers on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

McLean is in his second term as a Calgary city councillor, recapturing his Ward 13 seat with a 7,500-vote margin over Elliot Weinstein last October. He won by a 4,450-vote margin in 2021, in a campaign against Jay Unsworth and former long-time councillor Diane Colley-Urquhart.<\/p>\n

Though McLean is in his fifth year on Calgary city council, he\u2019s never shied away from promoting the UCP government policies or decisions in his role at city hall. He\u2019s often sided with the province on contentious matters that involved both the City of Calgary and the Government of Alberta.<\/p>\n

Should McLean vacate his Calgary city council seat, it would trigger a byelection for his seat. According to the Municipal Government Act, a council must hold a byelection unless the vacancy occurs after January 1 in the year of a general election, or if a vacancy occurs outside an 18-month window before the next general election.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been rumoured that former Ward 1 councillor and mayoral contender Sonya Sharp could vie for that seat. When asked, Sharp did not respond directly to questions about that possibility.<\/p>\n

Dan, please stay<\/p>\n

Word of McLean\u2019s potential jump to provincial politics spurred long-time conservative operative Craig Chandler to launch a website www.DanPleaseStay.ca<\/a> to rally the councillor to stay put.<\/p>\n

(Editor\u2019s note: The above website may ask for personal information. LWC cannot be responsible for unsolicited contact from this site.)<\/p>\n

Chandler was upfront with LWC that he was already backing the UCP Calgary-Shaw nomination of Mike Derry.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at the tone of the website, it\u2019s not like, \u2018hey, we don\u2019t like him.\u2019 We want him to stay at the municipal level, because he\u2019s actually doing a good job,\u201d Chandler said.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople like Mike Jamieson, Rob Ward and Landon Johnston, who, in my mind, are the only other three city councillors that are conservatives, (McLean\u2019s) like the elder statesman. This is a guy who knows what he\u2019s doing, and we have some cohesion now. It\u2019s a better city council than it was before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chandler said that the A Better Calgary Party specifically didn\u2019t run a candidate in Ward 13 against McLean to prevent a conservative vote split in that area.<\/p>\n

In a media release from the Progressive Group of Independent Business, a group Chandler is behind, the tone toward McLean isn\u2019t as charitable. It listed six things for McLean to \u201cponder\u201d before making a final decision. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cReally this is dejavu [sic] of 2012 where Ward 13 Councillor Diane Colley-Urquhart ran for the Progressive Conservatives in Calgary Glemnore. Diane finished an embarassing third and was then flooded with opponents in the next election,\u201d read Chandler\u2019s response.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen Dan McLean himself won with a united conservative unity from Take Back City Hall. Dan lambasted Diane for doing this and now he wants to do it himself?\u00a0 Voters have a long memory and will not forget this type of thing. I think Dan is valued and needed at City Hall.\u201d<\/p>\n

Liked it? Take a second to support Darren Krause on Patreon!<\/p>\n

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