Heather Maahs MLA | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia for Chilliwack North | |
| Assumed office October 19, 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Dan Coulter |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | BC Conservative |
Heather Maahs is a Canadian politician who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2024 British Columbia general election. She represents the electoral district of Chilliwack North as a member of the Conservative Party of British Columbia. [1]
In 1993,Maahs and her husband moved from North Vancouver to Chilliwack. [2] They ran a construction company together,until her husband passed away in 2009. She has 3 children,and is also a grandmother ro 11 grandchildren. [2] [3] She cites her family as a driving force behind her commitment to politics. [3]
Maahs has been involved in various initiative and organizations in her community. She has taken specialized training in Orton Gillingham tutoring and Early Assessment from the University of Hull in the UK,to learn more about the enhancement of educational methods. [2] For many years she moderated an email listserv for stakeholders such as school trustees,teachers,and parents to discuss educational issues. [2]
In 2008,Maahs successfully ran for school trustee in the Chilliwack School District. [2] [4] She has since won 5 subsequent elections over the past 16 years. Throughout her tenure,she has prioritized foundational reading skill attainment and the importance of literacy in the learning process. Her principle which guides her approach to education states that "first,we learn to read,then we read to learn" [2] She has been an outspoken trustee over the way sexuality is taught in the classroom and in library books such as All Boys Aren't Blue . [5]
In December 2024,Maahs submitted her resignation on a positive note as the current longest serving member of the Chilliwack Board of Education to go "all in as an MLA" [6] as a result of winning her riding in the 2024 BC provincial elections. [6]
In February 2024,Maahs was nominated as the Conservative Party of BC's candidate for Chilliwack North. She went on to win her seat in the 2024 British Columbia general election,unseating NDP incumbent and cabinet minister Dan Coulter. [1] [7]
She currently serves in the official opposition's shadow cabinet as the Critic for Children and Family Development - Indigenous Self-Government in Child and Family Services. [2] Her priorities include education,parental rights,and combatting homelessness and addictions. [2] [8]
During her time as school trustee Maahs was censured 3 times by the Chilliwack school board. [9] In March 2023,she was censured for violating the trustee code of conduct because she opposed a student-led event that promoted the school district's core values. In December 2023,she was censured over an apparent refusal to remove a news story from her social media that was considered critical of the school district and its policies. [9]
In February 2024 she was censured for not upholding board member confidentiality guidelines laid out in section 7.4 of bylaw 5. The board did not reveal the exact nature of the breach of confidentiality,but she was removed from in-camera meetings for the rest of the school year. [9] Maahs noted that earlier that week,her motion requesting a report on vandalism to washroom facilities since the implementation of gender-neutral washrooms was entirely excluded and denied. [9]
| 2024 British Columbia general election : Chilliwack North | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Heather Maahs | 11,776 | 54.6% | |||||
| New Democratic | Dan Coulter | 8,125 | 37.7% | |||||
| Green | Tim Cooper | 1,187 | 5.5% | |||||
| Independent | Dan Grice | 487 | 2.3% | |||||
| Total valid votes | ||||||||
| Total rejected ballots | ||||||||
| Turnout | ||||||||
| Registered voters | ||||||||
| Source: Elections BC | ||||||||
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