People’s Party leader hopeful for better result this federal election

The leader of the People’s Party of Canada (PPC) arrived in Saskatchewan feeling confident that voters will send a few of its candidates to Ottawa.

Speaking to reporters in Regina on Wednesday, Maxime Bernier said he believed the PPC can raise its vote share this election from 1.6 per cent to four or five per cent nationally.

“I’m not telling you that I will be prime minister after this election. I’m not telling you that I will be the leader of the opposition after this election,” Bernier said.

“But if we have a minority government, we can play a role. We may be able to have the balance of power with a couple of MPs elected.”

During the 2019 election, the PPC failed to win a single seat. Bernier himself was defeated in his riding.

The party is running 312 candidates in the Sept. 20 election, covering most ridings in the country. In every riding in Saskatchewan, there will be a PPC option on the ballot.

An alternative is what the PPC is offering to voters, with Bernier casting the positions of Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole as non-conservative.

“Erin O’Toole said that he will balance the budget in 10 years but he said also he will do that without cuts,” he said.

“Erin O’Toole is saying the same thing that Justin Trudeau said couple of years ago, that the budget will balance itself.”

Bernier promised to balance the federal deficit within four years by doing away with COVID-19 benefits and supports. He would also refuse to spend the $1 billion that the Liberals have promised to help provinces create vaccine passports.

The question of vaccine passports is “the most important subject of this election,” Bernier said.

He opposes them, believing they would create two tiers of citizenship. Bernier also said painting unvaccinated Canadians as a safety risk amounts to “segregation.”

“We don’t want a show-me-your-papers society,” Bernier said.

Bernier insisted his party is not against vaccines or masking but simply in favour of personal freedom, adding he believes Canadians are “tired of that COVID hysteria.”

“The choice that we have right now is: Do we want more government control or more freedom? And I choose freedom. And I believe that a lot of Canadians will choose freedom also,” he said.

Members of the Conservative Party unhappy with the direction of the party were invited to join the PPC. Bernier also courted members of the NDP and the Liberal Party.

He touted his party as the only one that would not sign the Paris Climate Accord, would reduce immigration and change the equalization formula.

“We will be less generous,” he said. “We’ll give the right incentive to other provinces to develop their own natural resources.”