TORONTO -- After 15 years in politics and more than his fair share of controversies, Maxime Bernier is persistent, if nothing else.
The 58-year-old leader of the libertarian-leaning appears to be just as determined to promote his ideal vision for the country, as he was when he made his political debut as a cabinet minister under Stephen Harper in 2006.
鈥淚 believe in a smaller government that will respect people鈥 that will respect the Constitution. That鈥檚 why I鈥檓 in politics. That鈥檚 why I decided to be in politics,鈥 Bernier told CTVNews.ca during a phone interview in late July.
His commitment to the Constitution and smaller government is unwavering despite some rather large bumps along the way.
The corporate lawyer-turned-MP from Quebec was forced to defend his past support for separatism in the late 鈥90s when he won the seat previously held by his father in the rural riding of Beauce in 2006.
He then resigned as foreign affairs minister in 2008 after he was ousted from cabinet for leaving secret documents at his then-girlfriend Julie Couillard鈥檚 home in a highly publicized scandal that should have torpedoed any future political aspirations.
But not Bernier's.
He rehabilitated his reputation and went from being a disgraced foreign affairs minister to nearly winning the Conservative Party leadership race in 2017 with more than 49 per cent of the vote 鈥 he lost to Andrew Scheer by a hair.
Not to be deterred, however, Bernier split with his long-time party in dramatic fashion 鈥 describing the Conservatives as 鈥渢oo intellectually and morally corrupt to be reformed鈥 鈥 and founded his own.
鈥業 WON鈥橳 CHANGE鈥
Enter the People鈥檚 Party of Canada.
The party was formed in September 2018 and 鈥渂rings together common sense, populism, classical conservatism, and libertarianism,鈥 according to its .
鈥淭his party stands for individual freedom, personal responsibility, respect, and fairness and all our policies are in line with these four principles,鈥 Bernier said.
These policies include phasing out the supply management system for the country鈥檚 dairy farmers; reducing equalization payments to provinces; reducing government interventions in the free market; lowering the number of immigrants and refugees accepted to Canada, withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accord; restricting the definition of hate speech in the Criminal Code; and withdrawing from all United Nations commitments.
If these platform pledges sound familiar, it鈥檚 because they鈥檙e the same ones championed by the PPC during the 2019 federal election when the party ran for the first time.
鈥淲e did run on the same platform in 2019 and this year, it will be the same one, and the next election in 2024, it will be the same one,鈥 Bernier said.
And while it may seem questionable to run on the same platform after the party received only 1.6 per cent of the popular vote and no seats 鈥 Bernier even lost his own seat in Beauce 鈥 the leader explained that remaining loyal to their core principles is what distinguishes the PPC from their opponents.
鈥淚鈥檓 a politician who is doing politics differently based on conviction and I won鈥檛 change,鈥 he said.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 do any polling to know what Canadians want to hear and tell them that. We believe we have a vision for this country, a strong vision for a better Canada, and that鈥檚 our platform, that鈥檚 the foundation.鈥
Bernier is also convinced they will have an easier time campaigning this time around because they won鈥檛 have to defend themselves against persistent allegations of racism and xenophobia within the party, which he blames, in part, on the Conservative Party.
鈥淒uring the last campaign, I was on the defensive, always trying to justify that we are not a racist party. So that was a difficult campaign,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hat will be behind us, so that's why it will be easier.鈥
The PPC leader said he also thinks many Canadians misunderstood the party鈥檚 stance on immigration because the topic isn鈥檛 openly debated among English speakers as it is in Quebec.
鈥淲e always debate on immigration and that's normal, but in English Canada, that was the first time and so that's why people didn't take the time to read our platform,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e are open for immigration. We are not for mass immigration. We want more immigrants coming here as skilled immigrants.鈥
In an update on the PPC鈥檚 website, the party has proposed a moratorium on immigration due to COVID-19 and lockdowns until the economy has 鈥渇ully recovered鈥 and the 鈥渟ituation is back to normal.鈥
FREEDOM OF CHOICE
Speaking of the pandemic, there is one new addition to Bernier鈥檚 campaign ahead of the election in 2021 and that鈥檚 his vow to fight against COVID-19 lockdowns.
For the past few months, the PPC leader has toured Canada as part of his 鈥淢ad Max Summer 2021 Pre-Election Tour鈥 to share his opposition to government-imposed lockdowns and vaccine passports.
In June, arrested and charged Bernier under the Public Health Act for allegedly gathering at an outdoor public place and for failing to self-isolate when he arrived in the province.
Bernier called the incident 鈥減olitical repression鈥 and said he was arrested so that he wouldn鈥檛 be able to attend a larger rally he had planned for the next day in Winnipeg.
鈥淚 was the only one to receive a ticket and I was the only one that was arrested,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 was in jail, handcuffed, and put in jail like a criminal for a non-crime after a political gathering just to be sure that I won鈥檛 be able to do the rally in Winnipeg. So that鈥檚 Canada in 2021.鈥
His court case has been adjourned until late August.
And while Bernier said he鈥檚 against lockdowns and vaccine passports 鈥 he thinks they will create two classes of citizens 鈥 he鈥檚 not opposed to masks or COVID-19 vaccines for others.
鈥淚鈥檓 not anti-mask. I鈥檓 not anti-vaccine. I said publicly that we believe in freedom. We believe in freedom of choice, every Canadian must be able to decide if they want the vaccine or not,鈥 he said.
As for his own choice, Bernier said he has not received a COVID-19 vaccine 鈥 the only major political leader not to 鈥 and has no intention to do so because he believes the virus鈥檚 risk to his health is low.
鈥淚鈥檓 58 years old and my chances of dying if I have COVID are only 0.05 per cent. So the statistics and the data are on my side. So it's a personal decision,鈥 he said.
Public health officials, on the other hand, have repeatedly urged all adults to get vaccinated to protect against severe illness and prevent the virus from spreading to vulnerable groups.
鈥榃E WILL BE READY鈥
Bernier鈥檚 message appears to be resonating in Western Canada where he said they鈥檙e enjoying a 鈥渂it more support," according to a poll by Abacus Data that came out in early July, than in other parts of the country. However, he stressed that the PPC is appealing to voters across Canada and not just former Conservatives.
鈥淭he person in charge of my organization in Winnipeg [RB Ham] is a former NDP that was a volunteer for the NDP for the last 20 years and that person decided to come with us because of the COVID hysteria,鈥 he said. 鈥淟eftist people are coming to me and [saying] 鈥榊ou鈥檙e the only one. You鈥檙e the only one who鈥檚 going to save our country.鈥欌
It鈥檚 sentiments like these that are bolstering Bernier鈥檚 confidence leading up to the election.
鈥淲e鈥檙e travelling across the country and we will be ready for the next election. We have more than 200 candidates selected up until now, our goal is to have a full slate of candidates,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 think this time, we'll be able to have 338 candidates. We want to give the opportunity to every Canadian to be able to vote for the PPC.鈥
Bernier said he鈥檚 also not concerned about the conservative vote being split amongst his party, the Conservatives, and other fringe parties, including the Western Canada separatist Maverick Party and Independent MP Derek Sloan鈥檚 yet-to-be-named new party.
The PPC leader said during the last election, Canadians told him that they didn鈥檛 vote for him because they didn鈥檛 want to split the conservative vote and allow the Liberals to win. This time, however, he said voters, especially in B.C. and Alberta, are approaching him and telling him they鈥檙e not worried about that this time.
鈥淚 said 鈥榃hy?鈥 They said 鈥楤ecause we know that Erin O'Toole won't win and I don't want to waste my vote,鈥欌 Bernier said.
鈥淭he only person that is splitting the vote is Erin O鈥橳oole. His goal is to split the liberal vote and he's doing that pretty well.鈥
said in their current polling, the PPC has four per cent support, but that it鈥檚 difficult to tell whether these other fringe parties will cut into that piece of the pie when the election is called.
He said the existence of the PPC, Maverick Party, and Sloan鈥檚 new party doesn鈥檛 look good from an optics perspective for O鈥橳oole.
鈥淓ven if these parties amount to zilch, diddly squat, the optics is not good because it just speaks to conservatives not being united,鈥 he told CTV News鈥 Trend Line podcast in July.
However, Rupen Seoni at , who has analyzed voting data from the last federal election, said he doubts the PPC and other fringe parties will be able to hurt the Conservatives in the vote share, even when they鈥檙e combined.
鈥淚f we look at any one voter segment, the biggest supporters are at best going to be a little over three points, combined, with the PPC and all the other parties,鈥 he said, looking at the results of the last election.
Even if he looks at the voting results in Alberta, where the PPC had significantly more support with 2.2 per cent of the vote in 2019, Seoni said the Conservatives still had a whopping 69 per cent.
鈥淚t just doesn鈥檛 matter,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 see where the People's Party could really have much of an impact in any real results, or even actually win over any voter segments, unless there was an absolutely dramatic movement en masse of a whole lot of voters to them.鈥
As for whether he thinks Bernier will win back his old seat in Beauce, Seoni said the PPC leader is 鈥渃ompetitive鈥 in the riding, but he would have to win back a lot of seats the Conservatives claimed there in the last election.
鈥淗e could certainly do it,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t's possible, but he's got a big gap to close with the Conservatives there.鈥
While it may be a crowded playing field for conservative-leaning parties, Bernier said he thinks the PPC will be a real contender this election.
鈥淲e鈥檙e ready. We'll have candidates. We have more money in the bank than the last time. We will be competitive,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 believe that our percentage of the vote will grow and the PPC will, therefore, [be around] for a long time."
Environics is a Bell Canada company
