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Conservative, Liberal, New Democrat and political agnostic go to a library.
There is no punchline. It's a fall Saturday in Canada's largest city. The four people are sitting in the meeting room on the floor of a Toronto Public Library branch with 15 strangers. Documents, including Elections Canada forms and volunteers' promises of good conduct, are stacked on a foldable table. There is a blank whiteboard with the exception of the letters "PPC".
The people in this room – some out of curiosity, out of frustration with the political status quo and out of Maxime Bernier's ideas – are the first followers of the dissident Conservative politician in the Toronto-St. Paul & # 39; s. Jokingly, they are here to "make sure there are people in the People's Party".
Robert Macklem, a 23-year-old journalist who voted for Thomas Mulcair last time. He is elected president of the county badociation, without opposition. Bradley Ransom, who works in the auto industry and wants to be a "good Canadian". Chuck Black, a writer whose vote in 2015 helped Justin Trudeau become premier, thinks nothing can be more open to Canadian politics with new ideas. Brendan O'Carroll, meanwhile, is here to support "an authentic politician".
Kevin Cooper, a low-key man who is trying to negotiate with Toronto after spending 10 years volunteering with the Conservative Party, is leading the series. He tells the group, all but three men, that he has already lost friends for the cause. But when others realize how "inherited" parties are rooted in the status quo, "we'll embrace them with open arms, because we've also made that mistake," he says.
For the people here today, the story of Bernier and his new People's Party of Canada is that of a politician with principles that is tired of political decisions motivated by polls, seeking to cancel the election. 39, influence of special interest groups on the government. These are supply management, corporate welfare and the Austrian School of Economics. It is a smaller government, an individual freedom and a willingness to debate controversial ideas.
Some would agree here, to a certain extent, with another point of view: it is actually a story of disruption and populism, not so much of Bernier or his ideas as what it represents for a riding that feels under-represented in modern Canadian politics. It is Donald Trump but also François Legault and Emmanuel Macron. It is the oppressed.
Others outside this building on Mount Pleasant Road are more cynical. Some think that the story of Bernier and his new party is about Maxime Bernier. This is the way the Conservative Party leadership slipped through Bernier's fingers a year and a half ago, and the rivalry he engendered with the winner, Andrew Scheer. It is a bitterness and an ego that threatens to break the conservative movement.
And for those most skeptical about Bernier, it's a story about how his party, out of conviction, opportunism or ignorance, flirts with some of the darkest currents in society.
Anything that proves the truth, even people eager to admit that Bernier admits it would be a joke, is a mistake to totally reject its potential impact on Canadian politics and political discourse. His eagerness to stand out from the politically correct rhetoric has made him stand out from other federal politicians – though it has sometimes meant staying alone.
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"So, generally, when you're organizing a party, you're a group of people, you have a convention, you have ideas, you have a platform," said Bernier. "But for us, we have ideas in the beginning, and people come because of these ideas."
Two days before the deadline of Halloween, midnight, so that the "founding members" can join his new party without paying anything, and Bernier, for the moment technically the independent deputy of the district of Beauce, in the Eastern Quebec, was in his office opposite Parliament. Hill, leaning heavily forward in his chair while he was talking. "It's like building a small business," he says. "I am a kind of entrepreneur."
On August 23, when the Conservatives were gathering in Nova Scotia for a political convention, Bernier was alone at the National Press Theater in Ottawa and told reporters that he was leaving his party "morally and intellectually corrupt." recently sought to lead.
Since he narrowly lost the Conservative leadership race in May 2017, Bernier was undoubtedly a source of trouble for Scheer. The news of his departure put Scheer and his entourage in a good mood for the rest of the weekend.
Bernier, 55, a father of two teenagers, worked in law and finance before embarking on a political career that made him a kind of cult figure among free market experts and those who use the law. expression "dairy cartel". in everyday life. Tall, charismatic and comfortable in the limelight – although his native French is still a little smoother than in English – Bernier verifies all the conditions that a retail politician must have: he feeds on the energy of a crowd, he knows how to navigate a room supporters, he rejoices, he looks warm and sincere.
Stephen Harper appointed Bernier to Cabinet in his first election to the House of Commons in 2006, replacing his father as a member of the Beauce. After dealing with the industry for a year and a half, Bernier was promoted to the coveted position of Minister of Foreign Affairs, but was removed from office nine months later, after leaving a sensitive information book at home. his girlfriend. In 2011, he joined the Cabinet as a younger state minister.
But Harper – who just 15 years ago sewed together the Conservative movement after the split of the reformist Reform People's Party – said nothing good about Bernier recently. "It is clear that Max never accepted the result of the vote of the leaders and only seeks to divide the Conservatives," he tweeted after the defection of the deputy.
Despite an avalanche of accusations that he was just a painful loser and the lack of a single leading endorsement, Bernier has accused him of announcing the name of his new party on September 14th.
"Nobody will cross the ground to come with us. And that's fine, "said Bernier in this interview a few weeks later. "We have the support of people, and it's more important to me."
On November 15, Elections Canada declared that the CPP could become an officially registered party after verifying the signatures of 250 founding members. After a short probationary period, once the party has submitted a candidate for a by-election or general election, it will be officially registered and will be able to begin issuing tax receipts for donations. This should happen early next year, when a Liberal official confirmed that the government was going to hold three by-elections in February.
Electoral district badociations, or EDAs, are created in each of the country's 338 constituencies through meetings such as St. Paul's. Bernier's team wants the 338 units to be operational by the end of December so that they can recruit a whole list of candidates next year.
The initial goal was to recruit 10,000 members by November 1st. A few days before that date, Bernier interrupted an interview to retrieve his iPad in order to show the post some figures in NationBuilder, a sophisticated fundraising software used around the world. the international political spectrum of Brexit activists to NDP leader Jagmeet Singh. The screen shows 27,896 members. At midnight on Halloween, they had tripled their target with over 31,500 members – the largest representation in Ontario, with 36% of members, Quebec with 21% and Alberta with 16%.
Once the CPP started charging $ 5 per membership, the pace slowed. As of Monday, the government had 32,696 members, 229 EDAs were created and the party raised $ 483,000. (In comparison, 259,010 Conservative members voted in last year's leadership election and the party raised $ 16.9 million in the first nine months of this year.)
The most important member of the party, apart from Bernier, is Martin Mbade, a long-time friend, an employee of his office while Bernier was Minister of Industry and deceased of the Montreal Economic Institute, after resigning to join Bernier in his leap into the unknown. The other architects of Bernier's almost successful leadership bid remained largely in the Conservative camp, noting Mbade's enormous influence on his friend.
Some long-time observers of Bernier believe that Mbade has shaped Bernier's ideas and political positions over the years and that he is largely the man behind the man. Every morning they talk to each other on the phone, Bernier said. They then decided on the priorities and their position in relation to the news of the day. Together, they manage his Twitter account, Mbade usually writes the actual tweets. In an interview with the Post, even when it was about Bernier rather than the party, Mbade was significantly less likely to say "he" than "we".
However, in its early days, the party is so decentralized that even Mbade does not know exactly how many organizers are doing what and where. "We will have to chart all this at one point to clarify things," he said. "We just told people: self-organize on these Facebook pages, via Twitter, email, etc., and do it. So they started doing it. It's a little the opposite of what you're supposed to do, it's usually what parties do with everything controlled by the center. "
Clinton Desveaux, who oversees the recruitment activities as national coordinator, said he had never seen a process as grbadroots as this one. "People literally call and say," Hey, I want to help, I want to do anything, "he said," We attract parties from all parties and people who are not affiliated. This is the part that excites me the most, it's the number of people who have never been involved in the political process, because they simply did not believe in the existing political parties. "
He said he saw "big crowds" coming to meetings across the country. "They try to make things happen in groups, but I look at these pictures and I see dozens of people attending meetings," said Desveaux. When asked if he had any theories about why a large majority of participants are men, according to these photos, he replied that he did not know it. . "I do not have an answer to that."
The organizers believe they can reach a group of voters in Canada – women as well and less white than some of the early constituency badociation meetings suggest – who are fed up with the way politics is done.
"I think that the main problem of our time is that there is a political clbad that systematically seeks to defend politically correct interests, which prevents them from dealing with serious problems that are of great concern to people and that feel deprived of their rights. , "Said Frédérick Têtu, organizer for the Quebec City region. He pointed out that Quebeckers had recently presented to the two oldest parties in the province their worst results in a provincial election. "People are leaving mbad traditional power parties to try new parties."
Ethan Erkiletian, organizer from Saskatchewan, said he found, among other things, the CPP's support for so-called Western separatists. He added that he believed that populist riddles of riddles were a loser game. "Not hoping for radical changes in the political paradigm as real and realistic expectations, it is to be short-sighted. I think when it comes to the PPC, it's not just an alternative, but a dynamic change in the way Canadians are asked to do it. to think politics, which is typical of populist movements around the world. "
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The People's Party focuses on four values: individual freedom, personal responsibility, fairness and respect. The ideas on the party's new website are largely those that Bernier has deployed to become the leader of the Conservative Party. Eventually, members will have a process to contribute to the party platform. "Yes, we will have a debate for sure," he said. "But for now, people have loved the platform I introduced during the leadership race."
Until now, Mbade had his hand tough, saying in the mail that he was responsible for developing Bernier's policy. "There are some that we have never had time to develop, so this is what I need to work on so that we can have our complete platform in the coming weeks," he said. declared. "Unlike the Conservatives, we do not poll and do focus groups to decide what to think."
The most important issues are those with which Bernier is most identified after more than a decade of political discourse: cessation of corporate welfare, dismantling of supply management, reduction ;Corporation tax. It wants to remove barriers to interprovincial trade, simplify firearms laws, and get Canada out of the Paris climate agreement. But since the party leadership race, he has also set a new political stance – a position that many eclipse all others – of bringing immigration back to 250,000 people a year, up from 300,000 at present. 350,000 goal of the Liberal government by 2021.
The party relies heavily on social media to promote its policies and reach out to potential supporters. Without the means to produce ads for the moment, he frequently uses the same and amplifies the videos made by the fans. Bernier recently shared a woman's cover of the song Roxanne with reworked lyrics that literally sang her praises. When the party posted on Facebook a video animated by a fan starring a train that hit the song on an April Wine song, some journalists confused it with an official announcement. It was removed after a considerable online bemusement. Mbade said that they had to remove her for fear that the party would violate copyright by using the song without permission. (April Wine did not respond to the request for comments from the post office.)
Most of the time, however, they write in Bernier's voice. "Our strategy is very simple. We watch the news every morning and we tweet or put something on Facebook in relation to the news, but also pushing our ideas, "he told the Post. Mbade has access to Bernier's Twitter account and writes many of the tweets, but Bernier agrees. Bernier is described as "proud" of those who follow him on social media. "I have people on Twitter who know my own platform better than me," he said with a laugh.
Social media, however, can be a tricky support for a party that claims to stand out from the extreme, while extolling the ideal of freedom of speech – and for a politician who seems intent on attracting Canadians to the world. are fed up with the political correctness. .
It's one thing when Bernier's Twitter account is used during a postal strike to demand the privatization of Canada Post; but perhaps most of the attention that Bernier has received from the public in recent months – largely condemned – is the result of his publications on immigration and the border. Bernier, Mbade and their organizers have publicly stated that fanatics are not welcome in their party. According to them, a tweet from Bernier's story suggesting that people who can afford plane tickets are not refugees is not a signal for those who want to close the border; that tweets about "extreme multiculturalism" do not in any way constitute an invitation to white nationalists; and that a tweet about the fact that "religious fanatics who want to behead you" does not belong in Canada is by no means an attempt to play on the fears of immigration. Even those who are inclined to give Bernier and Mbade the benefit of the doubt should admit that they are trying to cross a very fine line. Those who are not so inclined would say that they are at best foolhardy and at worst they look for racists.
The game tries to contain the problem. To become elected to a PPC constituency badociation, people such as Macklem and Ransom, members of St. Paul's Executive Council, must sign an undertaking that they support the party's values and principles and most of his program. They must provide criminal record checks and lists of their social media accounts, and agree to have their background checked by a specialized firm. "I pledge not to have said anything or done in the past and to do nothing that could embarrbad the party publicly," the form says. This seems to go a step further than oaths or codes of conduct that other parties require from candidates and more experienced party leaders.
Some unofficial groups focused on the CPP have emerged on other social media platforms, such as the game Discord application. Even here, the group moderators specifically warn participants to make comments that fall into the category of "ethno-nationalism, racial realism, anti-Semitism, alt right, etc." – as these comments would have the effect of harming the group itself. -even. , "Undoubtedly harm the whole movement of Maxime Bernier and the image of the party". In recent weeks, some moderators have stepped in to warn and block accounts sharing these views.
Mbade even suggested that Conservative Party members may be trying to sabotage Bernier's project by posting extreme views on CPP social media pages and forums. "It is the danger of having a decentralized organization where we rely on the base is that there are all kinds of people with strange opinions who are attracted to this and try to turn us away," he said. he declared to the Post Office. A spokesman for Scheer said that he had "no comment" on this allegation.
It is unclear to what extent Bernier, who sometimes calls reporters on the phone to alert them of tweets, is aware of some online discussions coded around him. A minor rage erupted during the Conservative Party leadership race when one of Bernier's accounts released a message that shows he's been urging a supporter to "pick the red pill" – a trope of the franchise. sci-fi The Matrix, the far right, has adopted to represent reality on fantasy. When asked about the same, Bernier said that he thought it was only a reference to the film.
His cooperation with The Rebel, a Canadian media widely criticized last year for his favorable coverage of a right-wing gathering in Charlottesville, Virginia, which is regularly accused of fomenting Islamophobia, is another example of precariousness. the path taken by Bernier. . After Charlottesville, Scheer distanced himself from the site, saying that he would no longer do interviews with rebel personalities. Bernier is not only happy to interview The Rebel, the PPC pays to promote itself to fans of the website, by sending advertising on its mailing list. For example, a recent explosion touted his proposal to end any foreign aid. At a rebel event in Calgary this month, during which he was promoted as a guest, Bernier delivered a speech that recalled some of his Twitter account's speeches.
"We need to start fighting against this politically correct nonsense that is destroying our society and our culture," he said, according to a transcript of the speech posted on the CPP website. Later: "Our immigration policy should not be designed to change the cultural character and social fabric of Canada, as the radical proponents of multiculturalism want."
Bernier defended the point of sale by telling the Post Office that he would not leave his place in The Rebel, unlike Scheer. "I think for me it's an important medium. They have a million viewers, and that's another type of media, and I think they play an important role in Canada, "he said. "You can not agree with everything that they say, but I can not agree with everything CTV does as well. … they are not perfect. I'm not perfect. And they can make mistakes, like other media. "
At the St. Paul County Association meeting, a man noted that Bernier's affiliation with The Rebel "attracted some kind of attention". Another worried about what could result. "Expect to be attacked by the radical left," he said. "Expect to be demonized by MSM," an online acronym for "traditional media" used by skeptics on both sides of the political spectrum. Upon hearing that a Post reporter was in the room, a third man asked aloud early in the meeting when he was free to say what he thought about it given the presence of the "police of thought".
The Post asked Bernier if it bothered him that some call him a right-wing sympathizer – and that, intentionally or not, he mobilizes marginal support. He denied any intention to do so. "If they read all our policies, they are free market policies based on freedom and responsibility," he said. "I believe in freedom of expression and expression, so that journalists can say something. But for me it's not true.
He does not care what people think? "Yeah, for me, we use the intelligence of Canadians, which is why I said it was a little populism, yes, but I'm not trying to play with people's emotions, I'm not trying to do that.
Bernier even feared to call himself "right". He said his Canadian political hero is Wilfrid Laurier, a liberal and a clbadic Liberal. "You know, Bill Clinton was supposed to be a leftist politician, but he cut the budget and spending in the United States more than on Bush," he said. "For me, right, left, I want a smaller government."
***
Until now, there have been few public polls on the reputation and support of Bernier's party – and although Bernier himself readily admits that the brand has little name recognition – early indications are that win the support of a population in general still deeply seduced by Trudeau be a difficult battle.
In its last two weekly weekly follow-up polls, Nanos Research provided 1.5% support to the People's Party. After the week ending November 23, the firm found that only 12% of voters would consider supporting the new party, while 28% were uncertain and 60% did not consider it. (The survey, which takes a sliding sample over four weeks, had 1,000 respondents and a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.)
Senior Conservative Party officials, who have no love for their former colleague, told the Post that they were less worried about the possibility of a populist uprising than about the decline in Bernier's support, even if only a few points. this could cost them close runs in the 2019 elections.
Bernier does not have the discipline necessary for all the effort necessary to organize a new political movement.
"He's never been particularly known for being a hard worker when he was a minister," the source said. "The truth is that his friend at the Montreal Institute gives him a lot of his points of view."
According to this source, Bernier lacks experienced organizers who know how to get people to the polls so that they can vote. "I do not think he has boots on the floor, that's right. Boots on the ground, field organizers. Social media is the easy way to create the impression of growth and impact, but it does not translate into votes. "
Another conservative source dismissed the idea that Bernier's policy represents any type of threat. "On most issues, his party is not so different from ours," the source said. "It is perfectly clear that if you vote for the People's Party, you will find Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister. But this is the result that seems to go against most of the things that Maxime Bernier says he believes. "
If Bernier's populist rhetoric on immigration is a strategic attempt to win the support of the anti-immigrant mob, it will fail, the source said. "I do not think there's a lot of anti-immigration activists saying" 250,000, that's OK, "said the source, citing Bernier's annual contribution." I do not do not know what "populist" problem he can attack and we do not see coming. "
The rivals are however quite worried about Bernier to publicly mark their territory. Chiefs do not show up in every constituency to announce their candidates for the next election. But a few weeks ago, Scheer was in Beauce to attend a rally in support of former Mayor Richard Lehoux. Conservative candidate Scheer now hopes to beat Bernier for his seat in the House. "If you want to change your government in 2019, you have to vote Conservative," he proclaimed.
Asked whether the party was worried, Bernier will pose a real threat in next year's elections, Scheer spokesman Brock Harrison said: "Mr. Scheer unites the Conservatives across the country and we are confident that Canadians will respond to our vision in 2019. "
Pendant ce temps, le PPC s'attend à un soutien tacite de la part des libéraux, car si Bernier réussissait même un petit peu, ce succès se ferait aux dépens des conservateurs, ce qui aiderait potentiellement les candidats libéraux à remporter la victoire dans certaines circonscriptions. Même deux ou trois points dans les sondages pourraient faire la différence.
Un responsable libéral a confirmé qu’il prévoyait de tenir des élections partielles en janvier pour pourvoir trois sièges vacants à la Chambre des communes – York-Simcoe en Ontario, Outremont au Québec et Burnaby South en Colombie-Britannique -. Le vote aura lieu en février.
Si le gouvernement avait organisé ces élections à l'automne, comme le souhaitaient Scheer et d'autres dirigeants de l'opposition, cela aurait «étouffé (d) notre croissance», a expliqué Mbade, car Élections Canada exige qu'il s'écoule deux mois entre le dépôt de la paperbade et la pouvoir participer à une élection. Maintenant, lorsque le décret sera déposé en février, le CPP sera autorisé à émettre des reçus aux fins de l'impôt à ses donateurs. C’est bon pour les libéraux, a déclaré Mbade. «Nous pouvons concurrencer les conservateurs, ce qui, je suppose, est dans leur intérêt».
En ce qui concerne sa propre stratégie, Bernier a du mal à déterminer ce qu’il considérerait comme une victoire l’année prochaine. «Je ne sais vraiment pas combien de circonscriptions nous pouvons gagner», a-t-il déclaré. «Je fais campagne. Nous avons les idées et j'espère que cela aidera d'avoir beaucoup de députés. Mais je ne peux pas vous dire. Je vise le maximum. "
Il a souligné que, même s'il se ferait un plaisir d'élire une liste de députés à l'automne prochain, il ne s'agit pas d'un projet à court terme. "Nous pouvons être une grande surprise", a-t-il déclaré. "Mais je suis ici pour le long terme, aussi."
Malgré leur empressement à le renvoyer, les sources conservatrices avec lesquelles la Poste a parlé s'accordaient pour dire que ce serait une erreur de sous-estimer Bernier – et de sous-estimer son impact potentiel à long terme, certains chuchotant avec pessimisme qu'une "décennie de ténèbres" pourrait . Après tout, il avait fallu plusieurs élections à Preston Manning pour renforcer le Parti réformiste après sa grève, et il avait fallu beaucoup de temps et d’efforts pour réunir à nouveau les conservateurs sous une seule bannière fédérale. L’unité est le slogan de Scheer – mais comme l’a reconnu un conservateur, «je pense que ces bouleversements se vendent bien ces jours-ci».
Des gens comme Cooper ont le sentiment que ce risque de perturbation et les poches d’enthousiasme populaire naissant dans les bibliothèques et les cafés du pays sont plus importants que la fracture du mouvement conservateur.
«Je préférerais avoir les personnes que nous avons maintenant, les personnes formidables que nous contactons, les personnes engagées, plutôt que les personnes expérimentées», a déclaré Cooper à la Poste, alors que ses nouveaux compatriotes se retiraient de la salle du conseil d'administration. Il répétait sans cesse ce mot: les gens, les gens, les gens.
"Il arrivera un moment où des personnes autrefois réservées viendront", a-t-il ajouté, de telle sorte qu'il est difficile de dire s'il le croit vraiment ou s'il le souhaite vraiment. "Il va arriver un moment où les gens qui sont sur la clôture vont dire:" C'est réel. "
• Courriel: [email protected] | Gazouillement: Mariedanielles
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