Pitt Meadows – Maple Ridge MP out of running for Conservative leader

Pitt Meadows – Maple Ridge MP Marc Dalton is officially out of the leadership race for the Conservative Party of Canada.

Dalton first announced his leadership bid on March 20, in a video posted online, promising a national inquiry into the pandemic if he became leader.

However, after failing to raise $300,000 in registration fees and a compliance deposit by the April 29 deadline, Dalton was dropped from the ballot.

A big thank you to all who supported me in my bid for the Conservative leadership race. The financial bar of approx $345K dollars has now passed. Though over $100K came in on the last 2 days & there was great moment, I needed just a bit more time

— Marc Dalton (@MarcDalton) April 30, 2022

Dalton said he had mixed feelings.

“I always knew it was going to be a really big hurdle to climb,” he said.

Given two or three more days, he believes, he would have been able to raise the money. He managed to raise more than $200,000 for his bid, with more than $100,000 coming in the two days before the deadline.

In addition, he needed to have 500 signatures from party members.

Six candidates got their names on the ballot including Pierre Poilievre, Jean Charest, Patrick Brown, Leslyn Lewis, Scott Aitchison, and Roman Baber.

Dalton said running for the leadership was a positive experience. Over the weekend at the Ridge Meadows Home Show Dalton said he talked to hundreds of people who were very positive about his leadership bid.

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He said not only has this experience raised his profile across the nation, but will raise his effectiveness and voice as an MP for Pitt Meadows Maple Ridge going forward.

Dalton is not throwing his support behind any single candidate just yet. He wants to give his decision some time. For now, he said, he is happy to do his work and to represent the community.

The new Conservative Party leader will be announced on Sept. 10.