Ian Paton (politician)

Ian Paton is a Canadian politician who was elected in the 2017 British Columbia general election to represent the electoral district of Delta South in the 41st Parliament of British Columbia.[1] He is a member of the British Columbia Liberal Party caucus. Prior to his election to the legislature, Paton was a farmer and municipal councillor in Delta.[2]

Ian Paton MLA
Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly for Delta South
Incumbent
Assumed office May 9, 2017
Preceded by	Vicki Huntington
Personal details
Political party	BC Liberal
Alma mater	University of British Columbia
Profession	Auctioneer, farmer

After party leader Christy Clark resigned, interim leader Rich Coleman, with his party now forming the Official Opposition, appointed Paton to be co-critic for the Ministry of Agriculture along with former Minister of Agriculture (2012–2017) Norm Letnick.[3] During the ensuing 2018 British Columbia Liberal Party leadership election Paton endorsed Todd Stone,[4] though Andrew Wilkinson won the race. Wilkinson kept Paton as the agriculture critic. Paton sponsored two private member bills. The Preserving Brunswick Point for Agriculture and Migrating Waterfowl Habitat Act (Bill M-221) was introduced May 27, 2019, and sought to require Crown Land in Delta's Brunswick Point area not be transferred or sold and be used only for farming.[5] The Home-Based Craft Food Act (Bill M-228) was introduced on October 28, 2019, and proposed to create a category of lower risk foods, such as baked goods, candy and fruit pies, that could be produced in a dwelling's kitchen without being first inspected by a local health authority.[6]

Electoral record

2020 British Columbia general election: Delta South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Ian Paton	12,828	51.70	+7.6	$41,976.94
	New Democratic	Bruce Reid	8,404	33.87	+13.15	$4,625.74
	Green	Peter van der Velden	3,581	14.43	+5.12	$0.00
Total valid votes			24,813	100.00	–
Total rejected ballots
Turnout
Registered voters
Source: Elections BC[7][8]

2017 British Columbia general election: Delta South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Ian Paton	11,123	44.10	+7.45	$52,639
	Independent	Nicholas Wong	6,437	25.52	–	$14,182
	New Democratic	Bruce Reid	5,228	20.72	+5.17	$4,570
	Green	Larry Colero	2,349	9.31	–	$389
	Action	Errol Edmund Sherley	88	0.35	–	$0
Total valid votes			25,225	100.00	–
Total rejected ballots			68	0.27	−0.14
Turnout			25,293	71.79	+3.50
Registered voters			35,234
Source: Elections BC[9][10]

References

1. "Paton claims Delta South for Liberals". Delta Optimist, May 9, 2017.
2. "Ready for new challenge: Municipal councillor Ian Paton eager to begin his role as Delta South MLA". Delta Optimist, May 12, 2017.
3. Mooney, Harrison (August 3, 2017). "B.C. Liberals highlight small business, rural economy with opposition critic roles". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
4. Gyarmati, Sandor (November 17, 2017). "Paton throws his support behind Stone". Delta Optimist. Delta, British Columbia. p. A1.
5. Gyarmati, Sandor (May 29, 2019). "Paton's bill calls for Brunswick Point farmers to get long-term leases". Delta Optimist. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
6. Zussman, Richard (October 28, 2019). "Farm families call on province to repeal law restricting homes on farm land". Global News. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
7. "2020 Provincial General Election Final Voting Results". electionsbcenr.blob.core.windows.net. Retrieved 2020-12-12.
8. "Election Financing Reports". Elections BC. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
9. "2017 Provincial General Election - Statement of Votes" (PDF). Elections BC. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
10. "Election Financing Reports". Elections BC. Retrieved 12 September 2020.