People's Party of Canada

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People's Party of Canada

Parti populaire du Canada
AbbreviationPPC
LeaderMaxime Bernier[1]
FounderMaxime Bernier
FoundedSeptember 14, 2018
Split fromConservative Party of Canada
Headquarters205–290 St-Joseph Blvd
Gatineau, QC J8Y 3Y3
Membership (2018)Increase 33,800[2]
IdeologyConservatism[3]
Classical liberalism[4]
Libertarianism[5]
Right-wing populism[6][7][5]
Political positionRight-wing[8][5]
Colours     Purple navy      Red
Senate
0 / 105
House of Commons
1 / 338
Website
peoplespartyofcanada.ca

The People's Party of Canada (PPC; French: Parti populaire du Canada) is a federal political party in Canada. The party was formed by Maxime Bernier, on September 14, 2018, shortly after his resignation from the Conservative party. The party has been referred to as conservative,[9] libertarian,[5] populist,[10] classical liberal,[11] and right-wing.[12] The PPC has formed electoral district associations (EDAs) in all of Canada's 338 ridings and plan to run a full slate of candidates in the 2019 Canadian federal election, nominated between May 7 to 13, 2019.

Bernier, a former cabinet minister and leadership candidate for the Conservative Party of Canada, is the party's only Member of Parliament, having represented the riding of Beauce since 2006.

History[edit]

Formation[edit]

Other logo of the PPC, used in some places on the website and in some party-branded apparel.

The People's Party of Canada was formed a few weeks after the resignation of Maxime Bernier, a former Conservative Party leadership candidate and cabinet minister from the Conservative Party of Canada. In his resignation speech, Bernier stated his reasons for leaving: "I've come to realize this party is too intellectually and morally corrupt to be reformed" and mentioned issues such as political correctness, corporate welfare, equalization reform and supply management, where he felt that the Conservative party abandoned their principles under leader Andrew Scheer, to whom Bernier finished runner-up in the 2017 Conservative Party leadership election.[13] He later told Vassy Kapelos that his party will debate discussions that "the leadership and the caucus" did not want to have when he was a party member.[14] In a National Post op-ed, Bernier stated that his motive for forming the party was to reverse the "public choice dynamic" in the Canadian political system resulting in vote-buying and pandering by prominent political parties in Canada. He reiterated his belief that the Conservative Party cannot be reformed to end this practice and that a new political party is required.[15]

Bernier was accused by prominent Conservative politicians such as former Prime Ministers Stephen Harper[16] and Brian Mulroney[17] of trying to divide the political right. He responded to Power & Politics that he wanted to focus on the disaffected voters, stating that "there is 20 per cent of the population who do not even bother to vote" and cited the political rise of French President Emmanuel Macron as an example.[18][19][20] Bernier later cited the breakthrough of the People's Alliance of New Brunswick in the 2018 New Brunswick election and the Coalition Avenir Québec win in 2018 Quebec elections as examples of voters disdaining traditional parties and a desire for change by wanting to vote for new parties.[19][21]

Prior to his resignation from the Conservative Party, Bernier had begun re-establishing contact with individuals who supported his 2017 Conservative leadership bid; they believed he had the necessary support to register a party with Elections Canada.[22] Le Devoir reported that members of seven Conservative constituency associations defected to the party.[23] A few days after announcing the party name, Libertarian Party leader Tim Moen, who previously offered the leadership to Bernier stated that he was open to the idea of a merger with the People's Party which could accelerate the party's fundraising efforts and nominated candidates.[24] However, Bernier reaffirmed he has no interest in a merger, when asked by Global News.[25] When asked about organizing the party, he mentioned that he will use tools that did not exist in the past, such as the use of social media.[26][27][28]

Bernier plans to run candidates in all of Canada's 338 federal ridings in the 2019 federal elections.[29] The party's registration documents were officially submitted to Elections Canada on October 10.[30] In addition, he stated that EDAs will be in place by December 31, 2018, and the EDAs would start focusing on finding candidates starting in January 2019.[28] On November 1, the party revealed that it had over 30,000 "founding members".[31] The party held rallies in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa–Gatineau,[32] Winnipeg,[33] Saskatoon,[34] and Quebec City.[35] In 2019, it held rallies in Saint John and Halifax.[36] On December 21, 2018, the party established EDAs in all 338 electoral districts.[37]

Registration[edit]

The party received its eligibility status on November 11, 2018, and was registered by Elections Canada on January 19, 2019, after nominating candidates for by-elections in Outremont, York-Simcoe, Burnaby South which were called for February 25, 2019, and Nanaimo—Ladysmith.[38][39] [40] In the February 25th by-elections the party received 10.9% of the vote in the Burnaby South but 1.5% in York—Simcoe or Outremont.[41]

Bernier told the National Post that the party would start candidate nominations for the October general election after the by-elections.[42] On March 25, 2019, Bernier announced in a press conference that the party has opened an online search for candidates until April 23, with candidate selection meetings to follow between May 7 and May 13.[43][44] In an interview on Power Play, he said that the party plans to have their first convention on June 1 to 2.[45]

In November 2018, Minister of Democratic Institutions Karina Gould said that Maxime Bernier would qualify for debates hosted by the Leaders' Debates Commission if the party nominated candidates in 90% of ridings.[46]

In April 2019, Vancouver Quadra district association president Angelo Isidorou resigned stating the party was an "utter free for all" and had been "hijacked by egomaniacs". Resignations have also occurred over accusations that the party has been infiltrated by "racist, homophobic, xenophobic and hateful influences".[47]

In July 2019, the entire People's Party of Canada board in a Winnipeg riding resigned, claiming the upstart party is being taken over by racists, anti-Semites and conspiracy theorists. The resignation letter from the former executive in the Elmwood-Transcona riding says they cannot sit by as bigoted views hold prominence in public discussions about the party.[48][49][50]

Principles and policies[edit]

French logo for the PPC

Bernier stated that his party is "a coalition of people who are disenchanted with traditional politicians who say one thing one day and the other the next".[26] He mentioned that his platform will be based around the principles of freedom, responsibility, fairness and respect.[8][51] Bernier encourages members of the party to share these principles which are non-negotiable, but they will have input on policies as they are refined.[52] He has also stated that the party is neither left-wing or right-wing, but the difference between being free and not free.[53] In addition to these principles, Bernier says the party will advocate for "smart populism", which as Bernier defines it plans to speak for "all Canadians" and not appease "special interest groups".[54][55] The party has been referred to as conservative,[56] libertarian,[5] populist,[57] classical liberal,[58] and right-wing.[12]

Currently, the People's Party of Canada platform has not been finalized, but it will follow the platform that Bernier ran on during his 2017 Conservative leadership campaign.[59] Prominent platform planks include ending corporate welfare and supply management and opposing government intervention. He also wants to have a wider debate about immigration and consider possible changes to the system for immigration reform such as reducing family reunification and focusing on economic immigration.[60] Following the launch of the party, Bernier stated in a TV interview with BNN Bloomberg he continued to have interest in deregulating the telecom industry, increasing airline competition, reducing tax brackets, and having a discussion around the privatization of Canada Post which were key components of his original 2017 Conservative leadership platform.[61] He stated in an interview with CTV News that his new party will consider ceding control of health care to provinces by ending federal health transfers and granting the provinces the ability to raise their own revenue, allowing for more private health care while maintaining the Canada Health Act.[62] Bernier has mentioned that his environmental platform would focus mainly on "clear air, clean water, population and private property rights" while directing climate change priorities to the provinces and private sector.[63][64] He said that social conservatism policies such as abortion and gender identity would not be part of the party platform.[65]

Immigration reduction[edit]

In September 2018, Bernier initially said he wanted to reduce immigration from 300,000 per year to 250,000 per year.[66][67] In July 2019 he expanded this, saying if elected the party would limit immigration to no more than 150,000 people a year. He called for all intended immigrants to undergo in-person interviews with immigration officials to determine whether their values and ideas accord with Canadian "societal norms".[68][69] He also said the party would build border fences if elected.[70][71]

Electoral results[edit]

Electoral results
Election Leader Candidates Votes % Seats +/− Position Government
2019 Maxime Bernier
0 / 338
 TBD TBD
0 / 338
 Steady Steady

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Maxime Bernier Says He Will Lead 'People's Party of Canada'". Huffington Post. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
  2. ^ "People's Party of Canada set up in all 338 ridings ahead of 2019 federal election, Bernier says" – via The Globe and Mail.
  3. ^ "Maxime Bernier officially launches new conservative People's Party". Global News. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  4. ^ "Maxime Bernier's new party stakes out classical liberal values: Don Pittis". CBC.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Conservatives 'paying attention' to Bernier's new party, MP says". Toronto Star. September 14, 2018.
  6. ^ "'The nastier side of populism': Why founding organizers are quitting Maxime Bernier's new party". CBC. May 24, 2019. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  7. ^ "Maxime Bernier on next steps for The People's Party of Canada". Le Devoir (Interview) (in French). September 15, 2018.
  8. ^ a b Pinkterton, Charlie (September 14, 2018). "Maxime Bernier announces The People's Party of Canada". iPolitics News. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  9. ^ "Maxime Bernier officially launches new conservative People's Party". Global News. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
  10. ^ "Maxime Bernier launches People's Party of Canada". CTVNews. September 14, 2018. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
  11. ^ Sep 17, Don Pittis · CBC News · Posted:; September 17, 2018 4:00 am ET | Last Updated:. "Is the People's Party of Canada liberal? It depends on the definition: Don Pittis | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  12. ^ a b "Maxime Bernier announces the People's Party of Canada – iPolitics". iPolitics. September 14, 2018. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
  13. ^ "Read the full text of Maxime Bernier's speech: 'Scheer keeps talking about his positive Conservative vision. But nobody knows what that is'". National Post. August 23, 2018. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
  14. ^ "Bernier didn't tell anyone from the Conservative Party about his dramatic exit | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  15. ^ "Maxime Bernier: Why my new political movement? Because Canada has been hijacked". National Post. August 31, 2018. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  16. ^ "Stephen Harper Calls Out Maxime Bernier As A Sore Loser". HuffPost Canada. August 23, 2018. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  17. ^ "Bernier's departure from Tories will make it harder to beat Trudeau: former PM – iPolitics". iPolitics. September 11, 2018. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  18. ^ "Maxime Bernier: "J'aimerais bien être le Macron canadien" | Mylène Crête | Politique canadienne". La Presse (in French). August 24, 2018. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  19. ^ a b "Maxime Bernier files to officially register the People's Party of Canada | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  20. ^ The Agenda with Steve Paikin (September 24, 2018), The People's Party of Canada, retrieved March 27, 2019
  21. ^ Médias, Groupe des Nouveaux. "Le parti de Maxime Bernier prend forme | Segment | Les coulisses du pouvoir | ICI Radio-Canada.ca". Radio-Canada (in French). Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  22. ^ Rabson, Janice Dickson and Mia (August 24, 2018). "Bernier has enough support to go forward with new party, source says". CTVNews.
  23. ^ "Maxime Bernier débauche des organisateurs conservateurs au Québec". Le Devoir (in French). Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  24. ^ "Libertarian Party considering a merger with Bernier's People's Party | CBC News". CBC. Libertarian leader Tim Moen had offered to step aside for Bernier following the results of the 2017 Conservative leadership race and adopted Bernier's platform.
  25. ^ "'I am not a communist': Maxime Bernier doubles down on People's Party name amid criticism". Global News. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  26. ^ a b "Maxime Bernier lance le Parti populaire du Canada | JOËL-DENIS BELLAVANCE | Politique canadienne". La Presse (in French). September 14, 2018. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  27. ^ "Bernier using social media to rally supporters in his People's Network – iPolitics". iPolitics. September 13, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018. By asking his followers on Facebook and Twitter to join regional groups to form what he is calling The People's Network, Bernier is encouraging supporters to work together to start groups for their own regions.
  28. ^ a b "L'Essentiel avec Esther Bégin: En voie d'être reconnu : le Parti populaire du Canada – 10 octobre 2018". CPAC (in French). Retrieved October 15, 2018. Bernier explains that he is using social media to fundraise in which he argues that it gives him a lower net cost than either the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party and plans to hire an independent outside firm to investigate the candidates' backgrounds in addition to having a background check, which he argues that neither the Conservative Party or the Liberal Party do.
  29. ^ "MP Maxime Bernier quits federal Conservatives, 'will win the next election' | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
  30. ^ Aiello, Rachel (October 10, 2018). "Maxime Bernier registers People's Party with Elections Canada". CTV News. Retrieved October 18, 2018. People's Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier paid a visit to Elections Canada's headquarters Wednesday morning, to submit his application to register a new political party.
  31. ^ "30Â 000 membres chez Maxime Bernier". Le Devoir (in French). Retrieved January 21, 2019. Founding members is an original member of a group
  32. ^ canadienne, Mélanie Marquis, La Presse. "Maxime Bernier se vante de faire mieux que le Parti réformiste". L’actualité (in French). Retrieved December 25, 2018.
  33. ^ Thorpe, Ryan (November 28, 2018). "Fledgling party gains traction in province". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
  34. ^ "Bernier makes pitch for People's Party in Saskatoon | CTV News Saskatoon". saskatoon.ctvnews.ca. Retrieved December 25, 2018.
  35. ^ ICI.Radio-Canada.ca, Zone Politique-. "" Le consensus, il n'y a rien de pire que ça " – Maxime Bernier". Radio-Canada.ca (in French). Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  36. ^ "Bernier looks to strike some popular chords during first East Coast stops | CTV News". www.ctvnews.ca. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  37. ^ "Maxime Bernier says People's Party set up in all 338 ridings ahead of 2019 election | Globalnews.ca". globalnews.ca. December 23, 2018. Retrieved December 25, 2018.
  38. ^ Times, The Hill (November 21, 2018). "Trudeau to call remaining byelections in January, to take place in February: feds – The Hill Times". The Hill Times. Retrieved November 23, 2018. For the February 25 by-elections, they announced candidates Laura-Lynn Tyler-Thompson for Burnaby South In subsequent weeks the party ran Robert Geurts for York-Simcoe on January 15 and Jamie Seale for OutremontJennifer M. Clarke, the party candidate for Nanaimo—Ladysmith by election was called for May 6, 2019
  39. ^ Jan 28, Charlie Pinkerton Published on; 2019 4:40pm (January 28, 2019). "Bernier officially into the fold of future candidate count, Conservatives still tops". iPolitics. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
  40. ^ ICI.Radio-Canada.ca, Zone Politique-. "Maxime Bernier obtient le feu vert d'Élections Canada". Radio-Canada.ca (in French). Retrieved January 21, 2019.
  41. ^ Tasker, John Paul. "Maxime Bernier's People's Party posts mixed-bag results after its first byelection test". February 26, 2019. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
  42. ^ News; Canada (February 21, 2019). "Maxime Bernier on the SNC-Lavalin scandal — and how he plans on winning the October election | National Post". Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  43. ^ Mar 25, Charlie Pinkerton Published on; 2019 12:42pm. "People's Party opens online search for candidates – iPolitics". Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  44. ^ Global News (March 25, 2019), Maxime Bernier's People's Party of Canada won't 'do anything special' to attract diverse candidates, retrieved March 25, 2019
  45. ^ "Power Play: One-on-one with Bernier | CTV News". www.ctvnews.ca. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  46. ^ Vigliotti, Marco (November 22, 2019). "Bernier can join leaders' debates if People's Party meets nomination threshold: Gould". iPolitics. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  47. ^ "Mad at Max: Bernier's People's Party of Canada is revolting in British Columbia". The Toronto Star. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  48. ^ Elmwood-Transcona, PPC- (July 16, 2019). "We can't be a part of the party if this is the direction it's going. We're out. #ppc #elxn43 #canpolipic.twitter.com/BFaok7bIEX".
  49. ^ https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/people-party-canada-winnipeg-elmwood-transcona-resigns-quits-1.5215988
  50. ^ "People's Party board in a Winnipeg riding quits over concerns about racism". ca.news.yahoo.com.
  51. ^ "Bernier faces a challenge keeping racists out of his new party, says Stockwell Day | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  52. ^ "Bernier team trying to keep up with unwanted content | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  53. ^ numériques, Direction des médias (October 3, 2018), Entrevue avec Maxime Bernier, Table ronde : La vie après une attaque sauvage de pitbull, l'espace | Les francs-tireurs | Zone Vidéo Télé-Québec (in French), retrieved November 13, 2018
  54. ^ The Canadian Press (October 11, 2018), Maxime Bernier says his new party offers ‘smart populism’, retrieved October 17, 2018
  55. ^ "Le Parti populaire du Canada s'étend d'un océan à l'autre – L'Éclaireur Progrès". L'Éclaireur Progrès (in French). November 23, 2018. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
  56. ^ "Maxime Bernier officially launches new conservative People's Party". Global News. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
  57. ^ "Maxime Bernier launches People's Party of Canada". CTVNews. September 14, 2018. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
  58. ^ Sep 17, Don Pittis · CBC News · Posted:; September 17, 2018 4:00 am ET | Last Updated:. "Is the People's Party of Canada liberal? It depends on the definition: Don Pittis | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  59. ^ "Platform". People's Party of Canada.
  60. ^ "Maxime Bernier launches the People's Party of Canada". CBC News. September 14, 2018. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  61. ^ "Airlines, telecoms, Canada Post: Maxime Bernier unveils People's Party vision for Canada – BNN Bloomberg". BNN. September 14, 2018. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  62. ^ "People's Party under Bernier to champion more privatized healthcare, unity over diversity". CTVNews. September 16, 2018. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
  63. ^ The Rubin Report (February 1, 2019), Maxime Bernier: The Next Prime Minister of Canada? (Full Interview), retrieved February 25, 2019
  64. ^ Toronto Sun (February 15, 2019), THE PEOPLE'S CANDIDATE: Anthony Furey's sit-down interview with Maxime Bernier, retrieved February 25, 2019
  65. ^ "Bernier says abortion, gender identity not on People's Party of Canada platform – 660 CITYNEWS". www.660citynews.com. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
  66. ^ https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-maxime-bernier-confirms-call-with-anti-immigrant-party/
  67. ^ https://www.maximebernier.com/reduce_the_total_number_of_immigrants_to_250_000_per_year
  68. ^ Shivji, Salimah· (July 24, 2019). "Maxime Bernier says his party would cap immigration levels at 150K". CBC News. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  69. ^ Potter, Mitch (July 24, 2019). "Maxime Bernier vows to slash immigration and impose a values test on newcomers". Toronto Star. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  70. ^ Dib, Lina (July 24, 2019). "Bernier promises to build border fences if elected PM". CTV News. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  71. ^ Lum, Zi-Ann (July 24, 2019). "Bernier Proposes Building Fences To Block 'Irregular' Border Crossers". HuffPost. Retrieved July 25, 2019.

External links[edit]

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