Maxime Bernier was a Member of Parliament of the Conservative Party of Canada, but following some controversies and other disagreements, has decided to leave the Conservative Party and start his own party, the People’s Party of Canada.
In June, Maxime was removed from the Conservative Party’s Shadow Cabinet. This was following some disagreements with the ranks of the CPC in regards to supply management. An anonymous Convervative MP said the reason for the removal was because of Maxime republishing a chapter from his book regarding supply management, which also accused Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer of having won the leadership because of “fake Conservatives” that joined for the purpose of protecting supply management. This controversy also raises the important issue of party discipline and its resulting implications.
Shortly after Maxime announced his departure from the Conservative Party, there was some controversy at the Conservative national conference in Halifax. A Dairy Farmers of Canada briefing book was leaked, detailing their plans for how to proceed in some given scenarios regarding motions on supply management. Notable was their “Safety Net”, which said that Andrew Scheer’s power as leader can prevent a policy against supply management, and that Andrew would be willing to use it to protect supply management. Both Andrew’s office and DFC say the info put into the book was false, but it nevertheless generated speculation. There is also some interest in being able to see the booklet, otherwise.
Supply management is a common theme. What is the PPC’s stance on it? How important is it?
When Maxime announced his departure from the Conservative Party, causing some more controversy. Maxime accused the party of being “too intellectually and morally bankrupt to be reformed”, and many Conservatives accused him of seeking to divide conservatives, or even help Justin Trudeau win next election. Is vote splitting a concern?
The potential appeal to Prince George citizens and university students, as well as possible broader value of the existence of this new party are also discussed.
Links:
http://cfur.ca/home/2018/12/13/due-north-jason-morris-interview-about-the-ppc-20181213
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/maxime-bernier-removed-front-bench-1.4703609
https://globalnews.ca/news/4270595/andrew-scheer-removes-maxime-bernier-cabinet/
https://globalnews.ca/news/4405803/maxime-bernier-andrew-scheer-conservative-party-reaction/