People’s Party

The People’s Party of Canada or simply the People’s Party is a federal political party in Canada. The party was formed by Maxime Bernier, on September 14, 2018, shortly after his resignation from the Conservative party. Bernier stated that his party is "a coalition of people who are disenchanted with traditional politicians who say one thing one day, and another the next". He mentioned that his platform would be based around the principles of freedom, responsibility, fairness, and respect. Bernier has stated that these principles are non-negotiable, but that members…   would have input on policies as they are refined, and that a candidate questionnaire asks potential candidates about which policies they want in the platform. In addition to these principles, the party would advocate for "smart populism", which Bernier defines as "populism without emotions", speaking for "all Canadians", and not appeasing "special interest groups". Bernier has described the party as a "grassroots party". He has also stated that the party is neither left-wing or right-wing, but the difference between being free and not free. Bernier told Vassy Kapelos that the party will debate discussions that "the leadership and the caucus" did not want to have while he was a Conservative Party member, also stating that people who espouse racist, antisemitic, or xenophobic positions "are not welcome" in the party. A spokesperson has stated that the party does not debate the science of climate change. The party has been referred to as conservative, libertarian, populist,, and classical liberal, while being seen on the right part of the spectrum. At the time of its formation the party indicated that its formal platform would be gradually unveiled, but it would generally follow the platform that Bernier ran on during his 2017 Conservative leadership campaign. Bernier stated that the platform "will be built on facts". Prominent platform planks include ending corporate welfare and phasing out supply management over a number of years to allow farmers to adapt through compensation yet "save Canadians billions of dollars annually" through lower prices. Following the launch of the party, Bernier stated in a TV interview with BNN Bloomberg that the telecom industry deregulation, increasing airline competition, reducing tax brackets and having a discussion about the privatization of Canada Post, which were key components of his original 2017 Conservative leadership platform, are all areas that he has an interest in. He said that socially conservative policies such as abortion and gender identity would not be part of the party platform.