Latest news with #MaximeBernier
CTV News
5 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
PQ leader welcomes Maxime Bernier's support for a third referendum
PQ candidate Alex Boissonneault, right, and Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, leader of the Parti Québécois, speak to media at an election party during a by-election in Quebec's Arthabaska riding, in Victoriaville, Que., on Monday, Aug. 11, 2025. (Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press) Paul St-Pierre Plamondon finds it 'quite interesting' that People's Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier has said he would support a possible referendum on Quebec sovereignty. He even praised the right-wing politician's 'consistency' and reiterated that 'it will take everyone' to achieve independence. 'We're going to take all our allies, even those who are quite far from my convictions (...) Just because I don't have the same ideas as Maxime Bernier doesn't mean we're going to start pointing fingers at each other; on the contrary,' said the PQ leader in a news scrum on Monday after his candidate Alex Boissonneault won the by-election in Arthabaska. In an email sent to PPC members on Sunday evening, Bernier indicated that he intends to support the YES camp in a possible referendum on Quebec sovereignty or in Alberta to 'break the stranglehold of imperial federalism and pave the way for a final attempt to rebalance our federation.' 'We'll tell him it makes sense,' said St-Pierre Plamondon. 'He really wants, in a libertarian approach that is not at all mine, that there be no more government, or as little as possible. And he says: if I am consistent with myself, then I will get rid of the level where there is the most waste. It's a consistency that we don't see in some other conservatives and that has merit.' 'Education' on independence On Monday, St-Pierre Plamondon admitted that voters in Arthabaska did not seem to be the most interested in the issue of independence. 'I won't hide from you that this byelection was more about choosing a member of parliament and the quality of representation,' he said. Despite everything, the PQ leader is maintaining his commitment to hold a third referendum on Quebec sovereignty during his first term. Freshly elected, new PQ member Boissonneault affirmed the importance of educating people about independence. 'Our party has always been committed to holding a consultation by 2030, and that hasn't changed. The question is how we are going to talk about it and how we are going to address these issues,' he said Monday evening after his victory. 'Breaking up the country' Bernier's party says, however, that it does not share 'the ultimate goal of the separatist movements in Quebec and Alberta to break up the country,' but that 'their demands are legitimate." 'Given the constant trend toward greater centralization, the only way to bring about meaningful change under the current government may be to take advantage of the constitutional crisis that would follow a majority vote in favor of secession in a provincial referendum,' the CPC website states. Bernier, who voted YES in the 1995 referendum, slammed the door on the Conservative Party of Canada after losing the leadership race to Andrew Scheer. Maxime Bernier People's Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier, centre, handshakes with a man as protesters against COVID-19 restrictions march through the streets of Montreal on Saturday, February 12, 2022. (Peter McCabe/The Canadian Press) In 2018, he founded the PPC, a political party on the federal scene that is further to the right than his former party. Since then, Bernier has never been re-elected. In the last federal election, his party won only 0.7 per cent of the vote. The CPC proposes to impose 'a moratorium on new permanent residents for as many years as necessary, until the housing crisis has been resolved, the negative economic impact of mass immigration has been neutralized, and the process of social and cultural disintegration due to mass immigration has been reversed.' He also wants to repeal the Multiculturalism Act and 'focus on integrating immigrants into Canadian society.' On the environment, Bernier wants to withdraw Canada from the Paris Agreement and abolish 'the taxes, regulations, subsidies, and programs adopted by the Liberal government to combat so-called climate change.' He also wants to create a ministry dedicated to reducing the size of government 'that will systematically review all programs with the goal of abolishing ideologically driven programs that promote wokeness, programs whose primary purpose is to buy votes, obsolete and ineffective programs that no longer serve a clear purpose, etc.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Aug. 12, 2025.
CBC
10-04-2025
- Politics
- CBC
People's Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier visits Windsor
Social Sharing Maxime Bernier, leader of the People's Party of Canada, is making a stop in Windsor Wednesday night. Bernier is expected to join local PPC candidates at the Windsor Club for an event beginning at 6 p.m. The club is located in the Windsor-Tecumseh-Lakeshore riding, where Nick Babic is the party's candidate. Jacob Bezaire is the PPC candidate in nearby Windsor West, while Jason Henry is running in Essex. Bernier's party is currently polling behind the Greens and the Bloc Québécois at 1.7 per cent, according to CBC's Poll Tracker. The party, which Bernier founded in 2018 after leaving the Conservatives, made vote gains in the last federal election, earning roughly 5 per cent of the vote share — but it has so far failed to win a seat in Parliament. Bernier has campaigned on stopping "mass immigration," ending gender-affirming care for transgender people, and slashing government programs and agencies among other things.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Maxime Bernier decries 'woke ideology' at campaign stop in Dartmouth
People's Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier made a campaign stop Monday in Dartmouth, N.S., where he condemned "woke ideology" and said Canada is on the precipice of going "down the drain." The former Conservative cabinet minister held a news conference on the Dartmouth waterfront on Day 9 of the federal election campaign. He highlighted one of the pillars of the PPC platform: ending what he calls "woke" policies. Specifically, he said he would end policies related to diversity, equity and inclusion in the military. "[Justin] Trudeau did everything he could to destroy our proud Canadian Forces by imposing his insane woke ideology on the military," said Bernier. He criticized vaccination requirements that resulted in nearly 300 service members being released, and "diversity hiring quotas." PPC Leader Maxime Bernier, centre, stands on the waterfront of Dartmouth, N.S., flanked by PPC candidates Ryan Slaney and Michelle Lindsay. (Jeorge Sadi/CBC) The Canadian military and Department of National Defence have, according to the military ombudsman, adopted many initiatives over the last two decades to address long-standing barriers to the recruitment and retention of women, visible minorities and Indigenous people. Yet the military is still largely made up of white males, and the ombudsman said in 2022 there has been little progress in increasing diversity. Bernier was flanked by two PPC candidates who are running in the Halifax area. The party has nominated candidates in 10 of 11 Nova Scotia ridings. The leader said his party will have a full slate in time for the April 28 election. This will be Bernier's third general election running as a PPC candidate in Beauce, the Quebec riding he used to represent as a Conservative MP. Bernier split from the Conservatives after he lost the 2018 leadership race to Andrew Scheer. As of Monday, CBC's poll tracker has the PPC in a distant sixth place with about two per cent of the projected vote share. Bernier's central campaign promises are pausing immigration, ending "woke" policies, boosting the economy by cutting spending and implementing policies related to national security. He said Monday that if the PPC platform isn't enacted in the coming months, Canada is heading "down the drain." "We are so different than the Liberals and the Conservatives on the most important issues for the future of this country. If you believe in this country, if you want to have a prosperous country, you need to support our candidates here in Nova Scotia and all across the country," he said. Bernier has been accused of courting far-right, conspiratorial racists, especially throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and appeared on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones's podcast as recently as March 22. The PPC has denied that people with "extreme views" are welcome in the party. It received five per cent of the national vote during the 2021 federal election and has never won a seat. MORE TOP STORIES
CBC
31-03-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Maxime Bernier decries 'woke ideology' at campaign stop in Dartmouth
Social Sharing People's Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier made a campaign stop Monday in Dartmouth, N.S., where he condemned "woke ideology" and said Canada is on the precipice of going "down the drain." The former Conservative cabinet minister held a news conference on the Dartmouth waterfront on Day 9 of the federal election campaign. He highlighted one of the pillars of the PPC platform: ending what he calls " woke" policies. Specifically, he said he would end policies related to diversity, equity and inclusion in the military. "[Justin] Trudeau did everything he could to destroy our proud Canadian Forces by imposing his insane woke ideology on the military," said Bernier. He criticized vaccination requirements that resulted in nearly 300 service members being released, and "diversity hiring quotas." The Canadian military and Department of National Defence have, according to the military ombudsman, adopted many initiatives over the last two decades to address long-standing barriers to the recruitment and retention of women, visible minorities and Indigenous people. Yet the military is still largely made up of white males, and the ombudsman said in 2022 there has been little progress in increasing diversity. Bernier was flanked by two PPC candidates who are running in the Halifax area. The party has nominated candidates in 10 of 11 Nova Scotia ridings. The leader said his party will have a full slate in time for the April 28 election. This will be Bernier's third general election running as a PPC candidate in Beauce, the Quebec riding he used to represent as a Conservative MP. Bernier split from the Conservatives after he lost the 2018 leadership race to Andrew Scheer. As of Monday, CBC's poll tracker has the PPC in a distant sixth place with about two per cent of the projected vote share. Bernier's central campaign promises are pausing immigration, ending "woke" policies, boosting the economy by cutting spending and implementing policies related to national security. He said Monday that if the PPC platform isn't enacted in the coming months, Canada is heading "down the drain." "We are so different than the Liberals and the Conservatives on the most important issues for the future of this country. If you believe in this country, if you want to have a prosperous country, you need to support our candidates here in Nova Scotia and all across the country," he said. Bernier has been accused of courting far-right, conspiratorial racists, especially throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and appeared on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones's podcast as recently as March 22. The PPC has denied that people with " extreme views" are welcome in the party. It received five per cent of the national vote during the 2021 federal election and has never won a seat.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Graphic showing surge for People's Party of Canada was aired by mistake
"Is that an 84 seat projection for PPC by CTV?" a March 24, 2025 post on X asks. It shares an image that appears to show a February 28 election data analysis by Nanos Research, visualized by CTV News. The graphic supposedly depicts parliamentary seat projections that would put Canada's ruling Liberals at 96 seats and the opposition Conservatives at 129, with the PPC -- which currently holds no seats -- in third place with 84. Different versions of the claim that the PPC outperformed the minority New Democratic and Bloc Quebecois parties in February 28 and January 1 projections by Nanos spread in videos and screenshots depicting the CTV clip on X, Facebook and Instagram. The PPC is led by Maxime Bernier, a former government minister who quit the Conservative Party in 2018. AFP has reported on misinformation spread by Bernier and supporters of his party. He enjoyed a surge in popularity from campaigning against Covid-19 restrictions during the 2021 federal election, but this did not translate into electoral wins for his party. As Canadians went to the polls that year, misrepresentations of election data graphics also sparked inaccurate claims about the PPC's performance. A snap election was called on March 23, 2025, nine days after the swearing-in of Mark Carney as Canada's new prime minister following his victory in the Liberal leadership race. The vote is scheduled for April 28, with five new electoral ridings bringing the total number of seats in Parliament to 343. The opposition Conservatives had been polling ahead for the past year, but public opinion surveys indicate the Liberals have been gaining support in recent weeks. However, this shakeup has not contributed to any dramatic leaps in voting intention for the PPC, according to data from The Economist, CBC and 338Canada, which projected the federal election would see the party again fail to obtain a seat as of March 26 (archived here, here and here). A spokesman for Bell Media, CTV's parent company, told AFP on March 26 that the graphic showing the PPC in third place did air on CTV National News and the CTV News Channel but contained an error. "It was quickly corrected for additional broadcasts," said spokesman Rob Duffy in an email. Keyword searches for the CTV broadcast reveal a March 24 video on the network's YouTube page (archived here) with the corrected graphic categorizing the 84 seats as "too close to call." CTV appears to pull seat projection data from information available to Nanos subscribers (archived here). AFP requested access to seat projection data but a response from the research company was not forthcoming. Publicly available Nanos reports from the weeks of December 27, 2024 and February 28, 2025 projected the PPC would receive 2.7 or 2.1 percent of the vote, respectively (archived here and here). The Nanos poll released on March 25 projected the Conservatives would receive 36.5 percent of the vote, the Liberals 34.1 percent and the PPC 2.1 percent (archived here). Read more of AFP's reporting on misinformation impacting the Canadian election here.
