Meet Marc
Marc Dalton was first elected as MLA to represent the riding of Maple Ridge-Mission in 2009. He has worked very hard for his constituents and has been a strong advocate for them.
Marc was born in Germany while his father served in the Royal Canadian Air Force. Marc has lived in bases across the country. Marc also served in the Canadian Armed Forces as a Reservist and he is a member of the Royal Canadian Legion Maple Ridge.
Prior to being elected, Marc was a long-time teacher in School District 42 (Maple Ridge – Mission). He taught at both the elementary and high school levels. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in History and French and a Masters’ Degree in Educational Leadership, both from S.F.U. Marc’s desire in entering politics is the same as for becoming a teacher: a desire to serve people to the best of his capacity and make a positive contribution in society.
Marc is British Columbia’s first Parliamentary Secretary for Independent Schools. He has visited dozens of independent schools across the province and makes recommendations to the Minister of Education and Premier. He believes in both a strong public school system and a vibrant independent school system. He believes in choice of education and both systems serve British Columbian students and families very well.
Marc is Metis and speaks French and basic Spanish. His background is important to him and is a member of Golden Ears Metis Society. He has represented the province at various Francophone events including Ministerial Conference on the Canadian Francophonie in Edmonton.
Marc has served on a number of legislative and government committees including Finance, Children and Youth, Families, Freedom of Information and Privacy. Committee work and his role as a Parliamentary Secretary have taken him across the province and in contact with people. He has been impressed with the infrastructure improvements everywhere, including roads, hospitals, schools, bridges. He is also keenly aware of requests from organizations and people to do more and provide more. He feels it can only happen with sound fiscal management and growing the economy, something that the BC Liberals have been quite good at.
Since being elected, Marc has been on the political steering committee of Experience The Fraser, a visionary trails and tourism project for both sides of the Fraser from the ‘Canyon to the Coast’. He has been encouraged seeing the significant development and coordination of trails in the region since ETF began.
He has been an advocate for many local non-profits and has helped establish or continue funding for organizations like North Fraser Therapeutic Riding Association, Youth Diversion, Ridge-Meadows Recycling. He has also worked diligently on issues of safety, infrastructure improvements and economic development. He was a strong voice for retaining the emergency room at Mission Memorial Hospital and for expanding the hospital. In July, this will be a reality with the opening of two multi-million dollar health care facilities on site.
Marc lives in Maple Ridge and has been married to his wife Marlene for 28 years. They have three grown children, Justin, Simone and Hannah.
