In 2009: In an open race, Liberal Marc Dalton defeated NDP candidate Mike Bocking by 64 votes, the second closest margin in the province.
History & Geography: A riding with rural and urban characteristics, Maple Ridge-Mission spans from the eastern half of Maple Ridge at 224th avenue to the western edge of Mission at Cedar Street. The riding has gone to the Liberals in all three elections since it was created, but other ridings north of the Fraser have elected NDP MLAs in the past. The urban centres of Mission lean towards the NDP, while the rural area in between the two municipalities have heavily supported the Liberals in past elections.
Basic Stats:
Population: 56045 (31st)
Size: 390 km (38th)
Density: 143.7 people/km (48th)
Candidates
Liberals-Marc Dalton: A former Maple Ridge school teacher, Dalton was elected in 2009, and is the Secretary for Independent Schools. He is aboriginal, speaks French, and has led student exchanges to Quebec. In the 2009 race, he came under fire for an email he wrote in 1996 that compared homosexuality to “gambling, abortion, adultery, pornography.”
NDP-Mike Bocking: A labour organizer, Bocking has been President of the Media Union of BC since 1990. Prior to that, he was a reporter for the Vancouver Sun. Aside from his battle against Dalton in the 2009 provincial election, Dalton has ran and lost for the NDP in three straight federal elections, finishing second to Conservative Randy Kamp in Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge-Mission in Burnaby-New Westminster in 2004, 2006, and 2008.
Conservatives-Chad Thompson: An entrepreneur, Thompson’s bio says he is a “small business owner with an automotive background.”
Greens-Alex Pope: A computer programmer, Pope is an active cyclist, serving on the Cycling BC board of directors, along with a variety of other cycling-related associations. He is the treasurer of his local church, and is the treasurer of the Liberal Party’s federal riding association for the Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge-Mission riding.
Communist Party-Kimball Cariou: The editor of the People’s Voice newspaper, which bills itself as “Canada’s leading communist newspaper”, Cariou ran federally in Vancouver-Kingsway in 2006, but finished with just 162 votes.
Libertarians-Laurence Watt: Watt is one of eight people running for the Libertarian Party in this election.
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