Ian Paton MLA is a Canadian politician who has served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia (MLA) representing the electoral district of Delta South since 2017. Initially elected as a member of the BC Liberal Party (later BC United), he crossed the floor in 2024 to the BC Conservative Party. Re-elected as a Conservative that year, he left that party to sit as an independent in 2026.
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Early life and career
Paton has lived in Delta all his life, now residing on his family farm in Ladner with his wife Pam. He is a third generation farmer and has over 30 years of experience running a dairy farm and a farm auction business. His community involvement includes serving as the past president of the East Delta Community Hall Society and as a volunteer firefighter at Hall 4. He also has contributed to local organizations such as the Delta Hospital Foundation, REACH Child and Youth Development Society, and the Delta Farmland and Wildlife Trust.
Political career
Delta City Councillor
In 2010, Paton was elected as Delta city councillor where he chaired committees including the Agricultural Advisory Committee and the Dikes and Drainage Committee. He spent seven years as a city councillor.
BC Liberals/United
Paton was first elected in 2017, after Vicki Huntington, an independent MLA, stepped down after two terms.
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. During the ensuing 2018 British Columbia Liberal Party leadership election Paton endorsed Todd Stone, 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. 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.
Paton was re-elected to the legislature in 2020, winning 52% of the vote.
Conservative Party of BC
Six days after BC United suspended their election campaign, on September 3, 2024, Ian Paton was officially announced as the candidate for the Conservative Party of British Columbia in Delta South. He went on to win his seat again, defeating NDP candidate Jason McCormick with 55.1% of the vote share. Paton is now serving his third term in the legislature and has been appointed the critic for Agriculture, Fisheries and Agricultural Land Commission.
On August 24, 2026, it was announced that Paton would be leaving the BC Conservative Caucus. He and MLA Peter Milobar announced their intention to form a new party, with Milobar as leader. Paton also accused the chief of staff of new BC Conservative leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay of offering him a paid job with an MLA's salary if he resigned his seat to allow Findlay to run in the ensuing by-election.
In September 2026, fellow Conservative defectors Bruce Banman, Áʼa꞉líya Warbus, and Rosalyn Bird announced they would join Paton and Milobar in forming a new party.