David Marler

David Francis Herbert Marler (born October 3, 1941) is a Canadian lawyer in Knowlton, Quebec who specializes in transportation and international law. He has been a candidate for the House of Commons of Canada on two occasions.

Early life, career, and family

Marler was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. After graduating from Malvern College in England, Marler received a Bachelor of Arts degree in literature from Bishop's University (1962) and a Bachelor of Laws degree from McGill University (1965). ^[1] He has published articles on maritime law, served as city councillor in Lac-Tremblant-Nord (1970–72), and been a director of the Brome Lake Chamber of Commerce. ^[2] He is member of the United Church of Canada. Since 1995, he has been Senior & Managing Partner at the law firm of Marler & Associates. ^[3]

Marler's family has been active in politics and government for many decades. He is the grandson of Herbert Meredith Marler, who served as a cabinet minister in the government of William Lyon Mackenzie King, and a grand-nephew of George Carlyle Marler, who was a cabinet minister in the governments of Louis St. Laurent and Jean Lesage. ^[4]

Federal politics

Marler moved to Brome—Missisquoi in 2003 and ran for the Conservative Party of Canada in the 2006 federal election, after defeating Jacques Dalton for the nomination. ^[5] He highlighted his support for provincial rights within the Canadian constitution and actively supported his party's promise for more free votes in the House of Commons of Canada. Marler's campaign manager described him as "the least conservative of Conservative candidates." ^[6] He finished third against Bloc Québécois candidate Christian Ouellet.

In December 2006, Marler was appointed as a commissioner on the Eastern Townships School Board to replace an incumbent who had resigned. ^[7] He did not seek re-election in late 2007. ^[8]

Marler left the Conservative Party in January 2008. He has said that he refused to accept thirty thousand dollars via the party's controversial "in-and-out" transfer scheme during the 2006 election, ^[9] and that party officials later informed him they did not want him as a candidate in 2008. The Conservative Party rejected the accusation. ^[10] (Under the "in-and-out" scheme, the Conservatives transferred national campaign money into individual ridings and before transferring it out again to pay for national advertising. In this way, the party was able to avoid national spending limits. Marler has said that he refused the transfer because he did not know what the money was for and could not get a clear explanation from party officials. ^[11] )

In the 2008 election, Marler published a piece entitled, ""Sixty-Six Said Yes; a Personal Account of a Campaign and a Scandal," covering his involvement with the Conservative Party. He ran as an independent, saying that a Conservative majority government would be dangerous for Canadian democracy. ^[12]

Electoral record

v t e 2008 Canadian federal election : Brome—Missisquoi
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Bloc Québécois	Christian Ouellet	17,561	35.21	−3.12	$75,915
	Liberal	Denis Paradis	16,357	32.79	+4.82	$66,462
	Conservative	Mark Quinlan	9,309	18.66	−1.69	$78,614
	New Democratic	Christelle Bogosta	4,514	9.05	+3.20	$4,678
	Green	Pierre Brassard	1,784	3.58	+0.03	$126
	Independent	David Marler	354	0.71		$16,915
Total valid votes			49,879	100.00
Total rejected ballots			531
Turnout			50,410	65.78	−0.46
Electors on the lists			76,636

v t e 2006 Canadian federal election : Brome—Missisquoi
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Expenditures
	Bloc Québécois	Christian Ouellet	18,596	38.33	−1.33	$66,782
	Liberal	Denis Paradis	13,569	27.97	−14.11	$58,420
	Conservative	David Marler	9,874	20.35	+9.30	$69,104
	New Democratic	Josianne Jetté	2,839	5.85	+3.19	$2,722
	Progressive Canadian	Heward Grafftey	1,921	3.96		$60,081
	Green	Michel Champagne	1,721	3.55	−1.00	$2,460
Total valid votes			48,520	100.00
Total rejected ballots			554
Turnout			49,074	66.24	+3.61
Electors on the lists			74,088
Sources: Official Results, Elections Canada and Financial Returns, Elections Canada.

References

1. Curriculum Vitae Archived 2009-05-23 at the Wayback Machine , David Marler, accessed 18 November 2010.
2. Joshua Bleser, "Can Paradis eke out another victory in Brome-Missisquoi?: Federalist vote split four ways," Sherbrooke Record, 20 January 2006, p. 4; Norman Webster, "Bad stuff can happen on the election trail - just ask Harper," Montreal Gazette, 21 September 2008, A17; Canada Votes 2008: Brome—Missisquoi, candidates, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, accessed 18 November 2010.
3. Curriculum Vitae, Law Office of David Marler & Associates, accessed 29 November 2013.
4. Eric Marler, The Marler Family in Quebec, Musée McCord Museum, accessed 19 November 2010.
5. Maurice Crossfield, "Denis Paradis ready for the campaign trail," Sherbrooke Record, 3 May 2005, p. 3; Maurice Crossfield, "Marler makes ready for campaign trail in B-M," Sherbrooke Record, 20 May 2005, p. 4.
6. Joshua Bleser, "Marler promises autonomy in Harper government," Sherbrooke Record, 19 December 2005, p. 4.
7. "New names, new faces: Marler appointed to school board," Sherbrooke Record, 1 December 2006, p. 8.
8. "Woo hoo! Elections!", Sherbrooke Record, 2 October 2007, p. 6.
9. Richard Brennan, "Tory party frowned on plan to attend hearing, MPs told," Toronto Star, 13 August 2008, A15.
10. Elizabeth Thompson, "Ex-Tory candidate refused money scheme; Marler wouldn't accept funding manoeuvre," Montreal Gazette, 23 April 2008, A8.
11. Tim Naumetz, "Tories should be held in contempt of Parliament, say Liberals," Canadian Press, 12 August 2008, 19:50.
12. Elizabeth Thompson, "Harper a threat to democracy: independent," Montreal Gazette, 19 September 2008, A15.