Marc Dalton facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Marc Dalton MP
Dalton in 2020
Member of Parliament for Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge
Incumbent
Assumed office October 21, 2019
Preceded by	Dan Ruimy
Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly for Maple Ridge-Mission
In office May 12, 2009 – May 9, 2017
Preceded by	Randy Hawes
Succeeded by	Bob D'Eith
Personal details
Born	(1960-06-03) June 3, 1960 (age 64) CFB Baden–Soellingen, Germany
Political party	Conservative
Other political affiliations	BC Liberal (provincial)
Residences	Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada

Marc H.J. Dalton MP is a Canadian politician. He is the current Conservative Member of Parliament for Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge after the 2019 Canadian federal election. He was a BC Liberal Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia following the 2009 and 2013 provincial elections for the riding of Maple Ridge-Mission.

Biography and personal life

Marc Dalton was born in the Canadian Forces Base of Baden-Soellingen in Germany. His father served in the Royal Canadian Armed Forces, and he spent much of his childhood traveling and living between different bases throughout Canada. Marc is Cree Metis on his father’s side and French Canadian on his mother’s. He is a member of Metis Nation BC. He has 5 other siblings and is the oldest of the group. In his early teenage years Marc’s family settled in the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows region of British Columbia. Growing up Marc enjoyed playing sports and was a member of the student council team while in High school.

Marc went on to study at Simon Fraser University, where he obtained his Bachelor in French and History and his Master’s in Educational Leadership. Marc is a firm believer in helping the less fortunate and he actively participated in building and supporting communities in his area. At the age of 16 he volunteered with a non-profit evangelical organization that supported communities in Central America and Canadian inner cities. Through his time working with communities in Central America he learned Spanish, making him trilingual in French, English and Spanish.

Marc’s Christian faith is another important aspect of his personal life and after completing his education Marc took on the call to become a Pastor and served in the Vancouver area for a period of time. Prior to entering politics Marc married his wife Marlene and raised three children, while working as a teacher. Marc taught at both the elementary and high school levels in the 42nd Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows School District. He worked as a teacher for 17 years and taught primarily French Immersion and Socials Studies. He also served in the Canadian Armed Forces Reserves shortly after graduating and is a member of the Royal Canadian Legion.

Political career

In 2009, Dalton took a break from teaching and ran as an MLA for the Maple Ridge – Mission region. He went on to win and represented the district for two complete terms as a BC Liberal. As an MLA Marc served as a Parliamentary Secretary for independent schools and was a member of the ‘Experience the Fraser’ steering committee, which was a trails and tourism project. As an MLA he also served as the Parliamentary Secondary to the Minister of Aboriginal Relations.

After getting re-elected in 2012, Marc advocated for renaming the BC Liberals, as he argued it was confusing for voters who may not know that it was a centre-right Party. He reasoned that federal Conservative voters might have a hard time voting for the BC Liberals even though they share much of the same values.  

In 2015, Marc ran for the Federal Conservative Nomination of Maple Ridge - Pitt Meadow where he lost to the long-time Conservative MP Randy Kamp. After the nomination he returned to the BC Liberals where he served as a backbench member until 2017. In 2019, Marc ran again in the federal election for the Conservative Party, this time winning and beating out the Liberal candidate Dan Ruimy by over 3000 votes. As a member of 43rd Parliament, Marc served as a Member of the Covid-19 Pandemic Committee, Public Safety and National Security Committee and the Official Languages Committees. He is also a member of numerous Parliamentary Associations and Interparliamentary Groups. Marc was re-elected again in 2021 and still serves as a member of the Official Languages Committee but now also serves as the Chair of the BC Caucus. While in office Marc has been vocal and actively involved in legislation focused on reducing the Carbon Tax.

Political positions

Conversion therapy

On June 22, 2021, Dalton along with 61 other Conservative caucus members and one independent voted against Bill C-6, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (conversion therapy). This bill, if fully passed, would criminalize the act conducting conversion therapy on LGBTQ2+ individuals, even if they have consented to it.

Carbon tax

On numerous occasions in the 44th Parliament, Dalton has spoken in the House of Commons to contest and censure the carbon tax introduced by the Liberal Government in 2018. He cites that as the driving force behind the inflation and the increased cost of living. He wants to repeal the policy in order to reduce the cost of living.

LGBTQ

In 2014 as an MLA, Dalton voted against an amendment to the Vital Statistics Act that would allow transgender or gender non-binary individuals to change registered sex designation from their sex assigned at birth to reflect their gender identity.

Electoral record

Federal

Template:2021 Canadian federal election/Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge

Provincial

See also

• British Columbia Liberal Party