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Dan Coulter

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Canadian politician (1975–2024)

Dan Coulter
Coulter in 2020
Minister of State for Infrastructure and Transit of British Columbia
In office
December 7, 2022 – November 18, 2024
PremierDavid Eby
Preceded byBowinn Ma
Succeeded byBowinn Ma (Infrastructure)
Mike Farnworth (Transportation and Transit)
Parliamentary Secretary for Accessibility of British Columbia
In office
November 26, 2020 – December 7, 2022
PremierJohn Horgan
David Eby
Preceded byPosition created
Succeeded bySusie Chant
Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly for Chilliwack
In office
October 24, 2020 – September 21, 2024
Preceded byJohn Martin
Succeeded byHeather Maahs
Personal details
Born(1975-02-23)February 23, 1975
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
DiedDecember 12, 2024(2024-12-12) (aged 49)
Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada
Political partyNew Democratic
Residence(s)Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada

Daniel Alexander Coulter (February 23, 1975 – December 12, 2024) was a Canadian politician who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2020 British Columbia general election. He represented the electoral district of Chilliwack as a member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party caucus. He defeated the two-term incumbent John Martin; prior to the 2020 election, Chilliwack was considered a stronghold for the then-BC Liberal Party.

In addition to serving as MLA for Chilliwack, Coulter was Minister of State for Infrastructure and Transit, working within the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure in the Eby ministry.

Coulter was previously Parliamentary Secretary for Accessibility under the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction in the Horgan ministry, where his mandate included consulting with advocates, communities and businesses to ensure that the new Accessible British Columbia Act would be effective and well understood and working with the Attorney General and Minister responsible for Housing to work on BC Building Code changes to make new buildings more accessible.

In the 2024 British Columbia general election, Coulter was defeated in his bid for re-election by Conservative candidate Heather Maahs. He was appointed the interim Provincial Director of the British Columbia New Democratic Party after the resignation of Heather Stoutenburg. He died weeks later at the age of 49.

Background

Coulter was born on February 23, 1975 in Vancouver, British Columbia. He grew up in Edmonton and Abbotsford. After graduating from high school in 1993, he worked as a welder and then became a certified millwright with the Red Seal Program in 1999. Coulter was severely injured in a workplace accident in 1999 and was a wheelchair user. After his accident, he attended the University of the Fraser Valley.

In 2011, Coulter ran for school trustee in Chilliwack. He was unsuccessful, coming in 8th place and falling short of the 7th board seat by 384 votes. Coulter ran for school trustee again in the 2013 byelection and was successful. Coulter was re-elected in the 2014 general municipal election and received the third highest number of votes.

In October 2017, fellow Chilliwack school trustee Barry Neufeld made a Facebook post in which he called supporting transgender children in their gender identity child abuse, cited the American College of Pediatricians (an anti-LGBTQ organization) and said that he belonged "in a country like Russia, or Paraguay, which recently had the guts to stand up to these radical cultural nihilists." Coulter immediately took a stand for LGBTQ+ people and said, "I have friends that are Trans and I know students that are too. This hatred is aimed straight at who they are. It tries to make their existence illegitimate. It pisses me off! Our students and staff need to feel safe in our schools and a valued part of the school community—because they are!" In November 2017, Coulter called on Barry Neufeld to resign.

Coulter was reelected to the Chilliwack Board of education in 2018 with the highest number of votes. He served as board chair from November 2018 to November 2020. He resigned from the Chilliwack Board of Education on November 25, 2020, after being sworn in as MLA for Chilliwack.

Death

Coulter was rushed to the Chilliwack General Hospital following an undisclosed medical emergency on December 6, 2024, where he later died on December 12. He was 49. The British Columbia New Democratic Party said in a statement that Coulter was a "devoted advocate" for the people of British Columbia.

Electoral record

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 21,575 –
Total rejected ballots
Turnout
Registered voters
Source: Elections BC
2020 British Columbia general election: Chilliwack
Party Candidate Votes % ±% Expenditures
New Democratic Dan Coulter 7,349 41.56 +9.18 $5,919.34
Liberal John Martin 5,102 28.85 −19.57 $36,378.86
Conservative Diane Janzen 2,910 16.46 – $20,583.54
Green Tim Cooper 1,888 10.68 −6.42 $2,161.84
Independent Josue Anderson 257 1.45 – $2,965.16
Libertarian Andrew Coombes 177 1.00 – $0.00
Total valid votes 17,683 100.00 –
Total rejected ballots    
Turnout    
Registered voters
Source: Elections BC

References

  1. Azpiri, Jon (October 25, 2020). "B.C. election 2020: NDP candidate Dan Coulter projected to win in Chilliwack". Global News. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  2. Welsh, Eric (October 24, 2020). "BC Liberal candidate John Martin trailing NDP's Dan Coulter in Chilliwack riding". Chilliwack Progress. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  3. "Executive Council & Parliamentary Secretaries of B.C. - Province of British Columbia".
  4. "SDPR Coulter Mandate" (PDF). gov.bc.ca. November 26, 2020.
  5. "BC election 2024 results: Chilliwack North". Global News. Corus Entertainment. October 20, 2024. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  6. Richard Zussman (November 10, 2024). "Heather Stoutenburg is moving on from the job as Provincial Director of the B.C. NDP. Former MLA and cabinet minister Dan Coulter will be filling the job on an interim basis. #bcpoli" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  7. ^ "Former Chilliwack, B.C. MLA Dan Coulter has died | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  8. ^ "Daniel Alexander COULTER (Dan) Obituary". Vancouver Sun/Province. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  9. Interview with Dan Coulter by editor July 2021
  10. ^ Bartel, Katie (September 23, 2013). "Coulter first out of the gate in Chilliwack school board race". theprogress.com. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  11. "2011 Election Results - City of Chilliwack".
  12. "2013 By-Election Results - City of Chilliwack".
  13. "2014 Election Results - City of Chilliwack".
  14. Dunham, Jackie (October 24, 2017). "School trustee: Allowing children to change gender is 'child abuse'". ctvnews.ca. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  15. Peters, Jessica (October 24, 2017). "Educators speak out against Chilliwack school trustee's anti-LGBTQ post". theprogress.com. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  16. Peters, Jessica (November 22, 2017). "Education minister blasts Chilliwack school trustee on gender issues". theprogress.com. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  17. "2018 Election Results - City of Chilliwack".
  18. "New Chilliwack school board sworn in after divisive election". bclocalnews.com. November 13, 2018. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  19. Peters, Jessica (November 1, 2020). "Reichelt earns Chilliwack school board chair role as positions change at table". theprogress.com.
  20. Peters, Jessica (November 25, 2020). "Chilliwack school trustee officially steps down to assume MLA role". theprogress.com. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  21. Feinberg, Jennifer (December 13, 2024). "Former Chilliwack MLA Dan Coulter, 49, dies in hospital". Chilliwack Progress. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
  22. Feinberg, Jennifer (December 13, 2024). "Former Chilliwack MLA Dan Coulter, 49, dies in hospital". Agassiz-Harrison Observer. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
  23. https://globalnews.ca/news/10778985/bc-election-2024-results-chilliwack-north/
  24. "2020 Provincial General Election Final Voting Results". electionsbcenr.blob.core.windows.net. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  25. "Election Financing Reports". Elections BC. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
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