Voters in Delta South will be getting the same Ian Paton as before.
That’s what Paton told the Optimist on Tuesday, announcing that he has decided to join the BC Conservative Party in the upcoming provincial election, hoping to continue to represent the riding that he has held since 2017 for the BC Liberals, who later changed their name to BC United.
“The most important thing is that Ian Paton is not changing one bit. I’m still Ian Paton here in Delta South trying to do good things for the people here and it doesn’t really matter what party I’m with. I’m not changing just because I went from BC United to BC Conservatives,” said Paton.
The East Ladner farmer and former city councillor was forced to decide whether to quit, run as an independent or join the Conservatives after last week’s shocking announcement by BC United leader Kevin Falcon that their party would essentially fold, not running in the election to avoid splitting the vote.
“If I could get some good things done for this community on things like dredging and transportation and the new crossing and second exit (from Ladner), all sorts of things, I’m better off to go with who stands an excellent chance to form the next government, and that’s the BC Conservatives,” he said.
Paton said he has had a good relationship with BC Conservative leader John Rustad, going back to the days when they were in the same party, and that the Conservatives have been courting him for more than a year to switch parties.
“He (Rustad) kept not putting anyone forward to run against me in the Delta South riding, which was kind of unusual because they were trying to get candidates in every riding, and people were telling me John was still waiting if I would come over, but I wouldn’t do it. But, when this implosion took place and BC United was done, I thought I really didn’t have too many options. I could either join or retire, which I don’t want to do because I still think I can do some good things for four more years here. I could have run as an independent, but I’ve seen that movie too many times because you virtually get nothing done for your community,” explained Paton.
Saying his family has always leaned toward the Conservatives federally, Paton added a provincial Conservative win this fall would give him a chance to have a cabinet posting, perhaps as minister of agriculture.
Paton has been the agriculture critic for the opposition since he was in office, speaking out on issues impacting the farming community including here in Delta.
In a news release, Rustad said the decision by Paton, along with several others joining the Conservatives, reflects a growing momentum among conservatives to unite against the BC NDP and Premier David Eby’s failed leadership.
As far as Falcon’s joint announcement with Rustad last week, it caught BC United including caucus members completely off guard, Paton said, adding Falcon gave no indication he was going to fold the party when attending the Beans and Jeans fundraiser at the Paton farm Aug. 25.
Reflecting on his first election win in 2017, Paton pointed out how the then-Liberals had more seats, but ended up losing when the Greens backed the New Democrats.
One of the first pieces of business for the NDP was to cancel the Massey Tunnel replacement with a new bridge, a project which would have been completed by now.
Paton, who was preparing to run for the BC United this fall, won the Delta South riding in the 2020 election with 52.42 per cent of the popular vote.
However, that election saw the NDP win a 55-seat majority, and things have gone steadily downhill since for the Liberals who ended up changing the party name.
Paton said it is difficult to pinpoint why his party’s fortunes have been taking a nosedive in the polls, but the rebranding not only did not resonate with the public, it instead backfired.
He said he believed Falcon was a good leader with good policy ideas but “for some reason he wasn’t resonating with the media.”
Jason McCormick will be the NDP candidate in Delta South, while the Greens have yet to formally announce a candidate.
