Why did Danielle Smith and the UCP allow Craig Chandler to run Mike Derry's campaign?

Chandler has spent decades generating controversy on the fringes of conservative politics. None of this has made our province a better, more welcoming place:

• Chandler appeared in videos featuring racist Indigenous stereotypes. After the videos surfaced, Danielle Smith fired Chandler from her leadership campaign. She called what he did "appalling," "offensive," and "entirely unacceptable." And then hauled him back into the fold.
• Chandler told newcomers to Alberta to adopt conservative “voting patterns” or leave.
• Chandler defended a Wildrose candidate who wrote that gay people would suffer in a "lake of fire," calling the message "biblically accurate."
• Chandler shared conspiracy material falsely linking the 2SLGBTQ community with pedophilia.
• Chandler accused Earls Restaurants of supporting terrorism because one of its suppliers produced halal meat. He later resigned from the PC board after the backlash.
• Elections Alberta penalized Chandler's municipal campaign in 2024 for breaking rules including failing to issue receipts, deposit all contributions into a campaign bank account and retain required expense records.
• RCMP were called after on Chandler after he disrupted a Chestermere council meeting while working on former mayor Jeff Colvin’s comeback campaign.
• Chandler is so controversial, the PCs in 2007 refused to endorse him, even after he won a nomination, reviewing his public statements and affiliations.

Campaign managers help set the strategy, shape the message and decide how a candidate seeks power. The UCP knows Chandler’s record and handed him the keys to run this campaign anyway.

Mike Derry and the UCP chose Craig Chandler. Calgary-Shaw voters can judge them by the company they keep.