Jump to content

People's Party of Canada

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 63.92.233.153 (talk) at 22:57, 15 December 2018 (Simplifying it since the editing is betting a bit over aggressive). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

People's Party of Canada
Parti populaire du Canada
AbbreviationPPC
LeaderMaxime Bernier[1]
FounderMaxime Bernier
FoundedSeptember 14, 2018
Split fromConservative Party
Headquarters205–290 St-Joseph Blvd
Gatineau, QC J8Y 3Y3
Membership (2018)Increase 33 000[2][dead link]
IdeologyConservatism[3]
Classical liberalism[4]
Libertarianism[5]
Populism[6][7][5]
Political positionRight-wing[8][7][5]
Colours  Navy blue   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 right-wing federal party in Canada founded by Maxime Bernier on September 14, 2018, shortly after his resignation from the Conservative Party. Bernier is a former Conservative Party leadership candidate, cabinet minister and the first leader of the party. He has announced plans to form electoral district associations across the country and after they are completed to run a full slate of candidates in the upcoming elections.

History

Formation

The People's Party of Canada was launched a few weeks after the resignation of Maxime Bernier from the Conservative Party of Canada. In his resignation speech, Bernier stated he left the party as a result of disagreements with Conservative leader Andrew Scheer, to whom Bernier finished runner-up in the 2017 Conservative Party leadership election. He cited issues such as political correctness, corporate welfare, equalization reform and supply management as examples when he felt that the party abandoned their principles.[9] Bernier expressed frustration with the party, stating: "I've come to realize this party is too intellectually and morally corrupt to be reformed".[10] 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.[11] 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. Bernier reiterated his belief that the Conservative Party cannot be reformed to end this practice and that a new political party is required.[12]

Bernier was accused by prominent Conservative politicians such as former Prime Ministers Stephen Harper[13] and Brian Mulroney[14] of trying to divide the political right. Bernier 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.[15][16] Bernier later cited the break through 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.[16][17]

Prior to his resignation from the Conservative Party, Bernier had began re-establishing contact with individuals who supported his 2017 Conservative leadership bid. Le Devoir reported that members of seven Conservative constituency associations defected to the party.[18] Individuals close to Bernier stated they believed Bernier had the necessary support to register a party with Elections Canada.[19] Few days after announcing his party name, Libertarian Party leader Tim Moen remains open to the idea of a merger with the People's Party which could accelerate the party's fundraising efforts and nominated candidates.[20][a] However, Bernier reaffirmed he has no interest in a merger when asked by Global News.[21] When asked about organizing his party, Bernier mentioned that he will use tools that did not exist in the past, such as the use of social media.[22][23][b][24][c]

Bernier plans to run candidates in all of Canada's 338 federal ridings in the 2019 federal elections.[25] The party's registration documents were officially submitted to Elections Canada on October 10.[26] Bernier stated that electoral district associations (EDAs) will be in place by December 2018 and the EDAs will nominate candidates in January 2019.[27][d] On October 31, Bernier revealed to CBC News that the party had over over 30,000 "founding members" since its formation.[28]

Registration

The party has received its eligibility status on November 11 and is expected to registered after the by-elections of Outremont, York-Simcoe and Burnaby South after December 10.[29][30][e]

Principles and policies

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".[22] He mentioned that his platform will be based around the principles of freedom, responsibility, fairness and respect.[8][31] 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.[32] He stated that party is neither left-wing or right-wing, but free or not free.[33] Apart from advocating from these principles, it plans to advocate for "smart populism" which has Bernier define it plans to speak for "all Canadians" and not appease the "special interest groups".[34][35] The party has been referred to as conservative,[36] libertarian, populist[37] and right-wing.[38]

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.[39] Prominent platform planks include ending corporate welfare and supply management and opposing government intervention. Bernier 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.[40] 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.[41] Bernier stated in an interview with CTV News 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.[42]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ Bernier 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.
  5. ^ The People's Party had formed 239 constituency associations, covering 59% of the voting territory. Elections Canada regulations state that a party must run a candidate in a by-election before it can issue tax receipts and nominate candidates. In addition, it must take 60 days after submission for the application registration before it submits a candidate in the by-election.

References

  1. ^ "Maxime Bernier Says He Will Lead 'People's Party Of Canada'". Huffington Post. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
  2. ^ "Maxime Bernier s'abstient de condamner Ford".
  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 "Canada former foreign minister unveils new party". Business Standard. September 15, 2018.
  6. ^ "Maxime Bernier on next steps for The People's Party of Canada". Le Devoir (Interview) (in French). September 15, 2018.
  7. ^ a b "Conservatives 'paying attention' to Bernier's new party, MP says". Toronto Star. September 14, 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. ^ "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.
  10. ^ "Bernier quits Conservatives to start new party". CTVNews. August 23, 2018. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  11. ^ "Bernier didn't tell anyone from the Conservative Party about his dramatic exit | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  12. ^ "Maxime Bernier: Why my new political movement? Because Canada has been hijacked". National Post. August 31, 2018. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  13. ^ "Stephen Harper Calls Out Maxime Bernier As A Sore Loser". HuffPost Canada. August 23, 2018. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  14. ^ "Bernier's departure from Tories will make it harder to beat Trudeau: former PM - iPolitics". iPolitics. September 11, 2018. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  15. ^ "Maxime Bernier: "J'aimerais bien être le Macron canadien" | Mylène Crête | Politique canadienne". La Presse (in Canadian French). August 24, 2018. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  16. ^ a b "Maxime Bernier files to officially register the People's Party of Canada | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  17. ^ Médias, Groupe des Nouveaux. "Le parti de Maxime Bernier prend forme | Segment | Les coulisses du pouvoir | ICI Radio-Canada.ca". Radio-Canada (in Canadian French). Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  18. ^ "Maxime Bernier débauche des organisateurs conservateurs au Québec". Le Devoir (in French). Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  19. ^ Rabson, Janice Dickson and Mia (August 24, 2018). "Bernier has enough support to go forward with new party, source says". CTVNews.
  20. ^ "Libertarian Party considering a merger with Bernier's People's Party | CBC News". CBC.
  21. ^ "'I am not a communist': Maxime Bernier doubles down on People's Party name amid criticism". Global News. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  22. ^ a b "Maxime Bernier lance le Parti populaire du Canada | JOËL-DENIS BELLAVANCE | Politique canadienne". La Presse (in Canadian French). September 14, 2018. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  23. ^ "Bernier using social media to rally supporters in his People's Network - iPolitics". iPolitics. September 13, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  24. ^ "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.
  25. ^ "MP Maxime Bernier quits federal Conservatives, 'will win the next election' | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
  26. ^ 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.
  27. ^ "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.
  28. ^ "Maxime Bernier's People's Party claims 30,000 'founding members' | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  29. ^ Thorpe, Ryan (November 28, 2018). "Fledgling party gains traction in province". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
  30. ^ 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.
  31. ^ "Bernier faces a challenge keeping racists out of his new party, says Stockwell Day | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  32. ^ "Bernier team trying to keep up with unwanted content | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  33. ^ 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 Canadian French), retrieved November 13, 2018
  34. ^ The Canadian Press (October 11, 2018), Maxime Bernier says his new party offers ‘smart populism’, retrieved October 17, 2018
  35. ^ "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.
  36. ^ "Maxime Bernier officially launches new conservative People's Party". Global News. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
  37. ^ "Maxime Bernier launches People's Party of Canada". CTVNews. September 14, 2018. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
  38. ^ "Maxime Bernier announces the People's Party of Canada - iPolitics". iPolitics. September 14, 2018. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
  39. ^ "Platform". People's Party of Canada.
  40. ^ "Maxime Bernier launches the People's Party of Canada". CBC News. September 14, 2018. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  41. ^ "Airlines, telecoms, Canada Post: Maxime Bernier unveils People's Party vision for Canada - BNN Bloomberg". BNN. September 14, 2018. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  42. ^ "People's Party under Bernier to champion more privatized healthcare, unity over diversity". CTVNews. September 16, 2018. Retrieved September 16, 2018.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=People%27s_Party_of_Canada&oldid=873917922"