Image: Fraser Valley Today / Heather Maahs has won the Chilliwack North riding in Saturday's provincial election.

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Provincial election

Heather Maahs wins Chilliwack North riding in decisive fashion

Oct 19, 2024 | 8:18 PM

CHILLIWACK — GlobalBC now projects that Chilliwack school board trustee Heather Maahs has defeated incumbent MLA Dan Coulter in the Chilliwack North riding.

As of 8:58 p.m. Saturday night, results from Elections BC show Heather Maahs leading in a four-way race for the Chilliwack North riding in the 43rd general election in British Columbia. Maahs of the B.C. Conservatives has 11,328 votes, or 54.96 per cent, ahead of Dan Coulter’s 7,682 votes (37.31 per cent). Dr. Tim Cooper of the B.C. Greens and independent candidate Daniel Grice each have less than 10 per cent.

Maahs, the longest-current serving trustee on the Chilliwack Board of Education, announced in February 2024 she would seek the nomination for the Conservative Party of B.C. According to her biography on the party’s website, Maahs consistently pressed for foundational reading skills and literacy in her 15 years on the Chilliwack school board. First elected in 2008, Maahs has repeatedly emphasized the critical role of literacy in the reading process and advocated for parental rights to ensure a collaborative and supportive educational environment, the party’s website indicated.

Coulter, a former school board trustee on the Chilliwack Board of Education, cruised to victory in October 2020 when he earned 41.5 per cent of the votes cast, easily beating former BC Liberal MLA John Martin who garnered 28 per cent.