The Volts were 47 for two in reply at stumps on day one.
The home side bowled poorly in patches during the morning session which allowed Canterbury to get off to a solid beginning.
But Craig helped turned the momentum with a fine spell.
He had some help from the conditions, getting the odd delivery to turn appreciably. But the wind proved more useful. It allowed him to drift the ball away from the right-handers and into the left-handers.
That delivery deceived both Tom Latham (bowled) and Brad Cachopa (caught in the slips). He had some luck, with Rod Nicol spooning a catch to midwicket and Todd Astle picking out Sam Wells, but Craig's five for 56 was his best return in white clothing.
''The key for me is getting plenty of overs under the belt and into a bit of rhythm, which I managed to do today, which was nice,'' Craig said.
''It was quite windy and for an offie [offspinner], that was probably the perfect wind.''
Craig felt the match had progressed nicely for Otago but the Volts would need to bat well today to get into a strong position.
''It is getting pretty flat out there. It is not doing a hell of a lot off the seamer, so we will look to bat once and put the Canterbury team under pressure by getting a big first innings and a nice big lead.''
Craig's other five-wicket bag was also against Canterbury, and that was a marathon effort. He ended up bowling 45.3 overs.
Canterbury dominated the morning session and had reached 149 for three by lunch. Latham contributed the lion's share - 81 from 100 deliveries.
He punished length, driving anything over-tossed down the ground. He looked every bit a class player on the rise.
Test opener Peter Fulton was more circumspect. He got set but on 18, he got a cracking yorker from James McMillan and was bowled.
Dean Brownlie whacked three fours from his first five deliveries and rushed through to 34 from 37 before he edged a delivery from Craig and Michael Bracewell grabbed a sharp catch.
He was partially unsighted by the keeper but moved quickly to his left and grasped the ball with both hands.
Otago had not bowled well. Blair Soper started with a head-high full toss and had to be replaced at the bowling crease when he delivered a second waist-high full toss.
His absence created a few headaches for captain Derek de Boorder, who had to shuffle around the bowlers.
Otago had a couple of chances to take Latham's wicket. He was dropped on 51 and again on 90. Both chances were in the slips and the second almost stuck. Craig appeared to have grasped it before it popped out.
It did not matter, as the offspinner redeemed himself with a fine delivery which drifted in with the wind and bowled Latham on 93.
Shanan Stewart (7) had been bowled by McMillan the over before and suddenly Canterbury's innings was teetering at 166 for five.
Sam Wells struck from the other end, trapping Andrew Ellis lbw for one in a good solid spell. He beat the bat regularly and niggled away on a threatening line and length.
With Soper not allowed to bowl again in the innings, Bracewell, not sighted at the bowling crease until earlier this summer, got a rare opportunity.
He bowls right-arm offbreak. Who knew?
Carisbrook-Dunedin all-rounder Brad Rodden, on first-class debut, was the next cab off the rank as de Boorder searched for someone to plug up an end until the tea break.
Canterbury, meanwhile had rebounded and went to the break at 218 for six. Astle and Cachopa added 84 for the seventh wicket, before Astle holed out for 52.
His wicket triggered a decline in Canterbury's fortunes and the tail folded relatively cheaply.
Otago scored freely in an 11-over stint before stumps but lost two wickets. Test opener Hamish Rutherford (4) perished when he was bowled by a brilliant delivery from Ryan McCone which nipped back, and Aaron Redmond chopped on for 28.
It appears Otago left-arm paceman Neil Wagner will be cited after kicking at the stumps in frustration.
Match referee George Morris said he could not confirm that, because there was a due process to go through.
