A Maxime Bernier rally should begin with the national anthem, and no one’s shy about singing the original lyrics.
They enunciate them clearly: “In all our sons command.”
Some hold their hands on their hearts. One man raises his in the air. Lionel Fauchon dutiful removes his People’s Party of Canada ball cap and stands at attention, his pants supported by a pair of camouflage suspenders. It’s Tuesday just after noon, and more than 50 supporters are united in song at the steps of the Saskatchewan Legislative Building.
Fauchon voted for Andrew Scheer to become Conservative leader two years ago. But he was put off by how he buckled to “13,000 French Quebecer cow milkers” over supply management.
He wants principle, not pragmatism. And his principles are decidedly to the right.
“Immigration’s a big one. They’re going to weed out the bad Islam,” he says of the PPC, later clarifying that he was referring to ISIS and “the extremists.”
“The open borders, it’s a disaster for Canada,” he adds.
Fauchon believes he’s found the right man for him in Bernier, who was in Regina on Tuesday as part of a two-day Saskatchewan tour. Bernier stands for cutting immigration, ending supply management and backing out of the Paris Climate Agreement. He rails against political correctness and what he calls the dangers of multiculturalism.
“He’s the only guy who makes any sense,” says Fauchon.
Bernier says he wants to attract supporters from across the political spectrum. His Regina Lewvan candidate, Trevor Wohk, spends much of his speech celebrating outgoing NDP MP Erin Weir and quoting former Chinese nationalist leader Sun Yat-sen. “The revolution has just begun,” he says twice each in Chinese and English. Bernier says even former Liberals are welcome in his party.
But his message seems targeted at one group above all others: “real conservatives” like Fauchon, who fault Scheer for a supposed lack of ideological purity.
“There is no compromise with our principles and no more political correctness with us,” Bernier tells the crowd.
He thinks it’s a message that will work in true-blue Saskatchewan.
“It’s a conservative province, yes,” Bernier says. “But the real conservatives should come with us because Andrew Scheer isn’t a conservative anymore.”
He even sees parallels between his party’s emphasis on limited government and the Reform movement that once ruled the West. He says 90 per cent of the platform is the same.
“Come with us. We’re the new Reform Party, but the pan-Canadian reform party,” he says.
Bernier says his party will be successful in Saskatchewan because its people believe in themselves, not “big-fat government.”
Strangely, that call for self-reliance is similar to the message Scheer has brought to chambers of commerce and economic clubs across the country. But Bernier argues that Scheer is indistinguishable from Trudeau on several issues, including corporate subsidies, fiscal discipline and immigration.
“We don’t believe in mass immigration, as you know,” Bernier says. “We don’t believe in no immigrants also. We believe in fewer immigrants — a maximum of 150,000 a year.”
He contrasts that with the 350,000 the Liberals are proposing to admit. Scheer’s immigration plan matches Bernier’s in its emphasis on economic immigration and blocking “illegal border crossings,” but doesn’t explicitly call for a reduction, saying that levels should be set to accord with Canada’s interests.
Bernier insists the future of his party in Saskatchewan is “looking very good,” thanks to his candidates. But most have limited political experience. Cypress Hills-Grasslands candidate Lee Harding comes closest to the traditional mould, having worked as a parliamentary assistant to the riding’s Conservative incumbent and as Saskatchewan director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
The rest of the slate includes an audiologist, an accountant, a banker, a contractor, an IT analyst and a natural health practitioner who hosts a YouTube channel.
Some, like Harding, speak with ease and crack jokes. Others stare at prepared notes and pause as their papers rustle in the wind.
In Bernier’s view, their unpolished style is the party’s strength.
“They are not traditional politicians,” he says. “They are regular people that want to help their citizens… I like to have people who are new in politics and that’s what we need.”
It’s clear the party will have an uphill battle though, even on fertile conservative ground. Harding, who’s seen the strength of the Conservative Party organization, says his new party is “starting from scratch.”
“There are many challenges,” he says. “There is a need for people with campaign experience and the willingness to get out and do the work. The established parties have that, they have the databases of voters.
“We are establishing those new relationships, and in some ways those things that are weaknesses can actually be our strengths, because it delivers an old-time authenticity.”
This content was originally published here.