UCP candidate Mike Derry wants Calgary-Shaw voters to see only one side of his past.

His bio? He ran a immigration recruiting company heavy on buzzwords and light on substance. He posted conspiracy content about a “transgender woke agenda.” And he welcomed the support of Alberta separatists to his campaign.

In this by-election voters deserve to know who Mike Derry is.

In 2022, Derry launched a home-based immigration recruiting company. He boasted of teams operating across Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan. But its LinkedIn page lists one employee: Mike Derry. What did this company do besides, in his own words, encouraging the hiring of "foreign nationals" into trades jobs?

Then there are his politics.

Mike Derry has strong views on social issues that are out of touch with Calgarians. He shared a video from a right-wing influencer claiming Netflix was secretly pushing a "transgender woke agenda."

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This is simply reheated culture-war sludge: take a streaming service, add the word "woke," sprinkle in a conspiracy and wait for the outrage. Derry didn’t challenge it. He distributed it.

He has also welcomed support from Alberta separatists, people actively campaigning to break Canada apart, but has now tried to backpedal his support for separatism.

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Apparently separatists are useful during a UCP nomination, but shunned afterwards.

Mike Derry wants Calgary-Shaw voters to ignore his past biography. Instead, voters should check out the fine print.

CONTROVERSIAL POLICIES

Mike Derry wants Calgary-Shaw voters to know he wasn't sitting on the sidelines of UCP politics. He's boasted that he's been "really heavily involved in provincial policy and governance."

At the UCP's 2025 annual general meeting, Derry says his group of far-right activists managed to get nine out of the 50 resolutions by delegates.

So what did the UCP actually approve? And which ones did Mike Derry draft?

  • Pull Alberta out of the Canada Pension Plan and create an Alberta Pension Plan.
  • Bring back coal to generate electricity, even after removing coal has cleaned our air and reduced pollution
  • Conspiratorial COVID claims about vaccination "detoxes."
  • End community water fluoridation across Alberta
  • Restrict public funding abortions and comparing Alberta's current approach to "regimes like North Korea."
  • Replace the RCMP with an Alberta Police Force accountable to the premier's office.

These aren't fringe ideas from some Facebook group. They're now official UCP policies. The same policy agenda Mike Derry proudly says he helped shape.

Calgary-Shaw voters should know what policies Mike Derry really champions.