Norton was born in Saint John, New Brunswick and started his early life on Grand Manan.
[1] Norton was admitted to the New Brunswick Bar in 2000 and has practiced law with Lawson Creamer since that time, becoming a partner in 2010.
Norton has been involved in the Canadian Bar Association as a past chair of the Young Lawyers Section as well as an executive member of the Labour and Employment Group.
He served five years as a legal officer with the Canadian Forces during which time he also sat on the CBA's Lawyers Assistance Program committee.
[2] On May 14, 2012, he was elected as the 66th mayor of Saint John in a landslide victory, earning 75.6 per of the vote and taking every poll in every neighbourhood.