Ian Paton (politician)

Ian Paton
MLA
Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly
for Delta South
Incumbent
Assumed office
May 9, 2017
Preceded byVicki Huntington
Personal details
Political partyBC Conservative
Other political
affiliations		BC United
Alma materUniversity of British Columbia
ProfessionAuctioneer, farmer

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 Conservative Party of British Columbia caucus, and was first elected as a member of the BC Liberals. Prior to his election to the legislature, Paton was a farmer and municipal councillor in Delta.[2]

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) Archived 2019-08-20 at the Wayback Machine 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) Archived 2019-08-20 at the Wayback Machine 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] On September 3, 2024, Ian Paton was officially announced as the candidate for the Conservative Party of British Columbia in Delta South.[7]

  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. ^ John Rustad (September 3, 2024). "Uniting for a Stronger Future: John Rustad Welcomes Ian Paton, Peter Milobar, and Trevor Halford to the Conservative Party of British Columbia". Conservative Party of BC. Retrieved 2024-09-04.