Ward 13 By-election: Dan McLean's provincial bid sets off costly chain reaction
Dan McLean's UCP bid: Ward 13 could vote again.
[CALGARY, AB] — Ward 13 Councillor Dan McLean has confirmed he is seeking the UCP nomination in Calgary-Shaw, setting off a chain reaction that could leave southeast Calgary residents voting twice in the same political season.
The Seat He's Chasing
The Calgary-Shaw vacancy was created by MLA Rebecca Schulz, who announced her resignation from cabinet in late December 2025 and is expected to vacate her provincial seat in May 2026. McLean, according to LiveWire Calgary, confirmed the move on May 1, 2026.
Under Alberta's Local Authorities Election Act and the Municipal Government Act, a sitting councillor is permitted to seek a provincial nomination. If McLean wins the nomination and then wins the seat, he must resign from council — triggering a Ward 13 municipal by-election.
What a By-Election Actually Costs
That by-election would not be cheap. The City of Calgary's 2025 municipal general election carried a total projected budget of $11.94 million — $1.32 million over prior estimates — largely because provincial legislation now mandates manual vote counting. Bill 54 and Bill 50, both proclaimed on May 15, 2025, banned electronic vote tabulators outright.
In other words, Queen's Park-style politics at the provincial level is directly inflating the price tag of local democracy. A specific by-election cost figure for Calgary is not publicly available, but the directional pressure is clear: every ballot counted by hand costs more than the last one.
The Salary Math Nobody Mentions
McLean currently earns a base salary of $128,159.14 as a city councillor, as of January 1, 2026. A successful jump to the legislature would mean trading one public salary for another — but the ward he leaves behind would face months without a permanent representative while Elections Calgary organizes a replacement vote.
The Counterpoint Worth Hearing
There is a legitimate argument that councillors with provincial ambitions are exactly the kind of civic-minded candidates the legislature needs — people who have managed budgets, navigated constituent complaints, and sat through four-hour committee meetings on stormwater drainage. McLean's council experience is not nothing.
But Ward 13 residents did not elect a placeholder. They elected a representative for a full term, and the Local Authorities Election Act framework, however legally sound, does not reimburse them for the democratic gap that follows.
The Bigger Pattern
This is at least the second time in recent memory that provincial ambition has pulled a Calgary politician out of a municipal seat mid-term. The rules permit it. The costs — financial and representational — land on the ward left behind.
The UCP nomination race in Calgary-Shaw is now officially open. Whether Ward 13 ends up at the polls a third time in two years depends entirely on how that race ends.