Maxime Bernier's People's Party of Canada gaining support in Sask.

Maxime Bernier's Saskatchewan supporters say they're well on theway to hitting their leader's big goal for 2018.

WhenBernier filed the Elections Canada paperwork seeking official party status for his new People's Party of Canada in early October, he told reporters he wants to set up associations for his new People's Party of Canada in all of the country's 338federal ridings.

Bernier takes next step to create new party

6 years ago

Duration 0:43

Maxime Bernier mailed the required documents to Elections Canada Wednesday from a post office in Gatineau

It was a big ask for a party that just got its name in September, only a month after Bernier shocked conservatives across Canada by announcing he'd be leaving the party to create his own.

Bernier told CBC previously he expected about 70 founding meetings tohave been held by now.

Saskatchewan already has nine out of 14 set up, including one in each of thesix combined ridingsin Saskatoon and Regina. Efforts are underway all of the remaining ridings.

Rural areas are lagging behind,according to EthanErkiletian, who has been key in formingPPCriding associations in the province.All ridings are pending registration under Elections Canada.

Bernier on immigration and the People's Party of Canada

6 years ago

Duration 1:13

Quebec MP and former Conservative cabinet minister Maxime Bernier talks about immigration at the launch of the People's Party of Canada.

The party claims to have signed up more than 22,477 members nationally but told CBC it won't be sharing regional membership statistics until November at the earliest. South SaskatchewanPPC field organizer Nigel Sharp said Regina's biggest riding association has nearly 100 members right now.

With Bernier's headquarters in Gatineau, QC housing only four paid PPC staffers, the heavy lifting and credit for membership growth lands on the shoulders of Bernier's loyal supporters, most of whom supported his failed Conservative leadership bid.

The Saskatoon-University riding has been a hotbed of PPC activity in the province. A newly-formed PPC club at the University of Saskatchewan is hosting an information panel on Thursday night to discuss the policies that Bernier is proposing.

'I've never felt this way about politics'

Saskatoon accountant Cody Payant spends 30 to 40 hours a week attending PPC meetings, organizing, recruiting and promoting the party in Saskatoon-University.

"Literally when I'm not at work I'm going full steam ahead," he said.

Payant's urgency is born from a sense of excitement that came the second Bernier left the Conservative Party after losing the leadership race to Andrew Scheer. Payantsaid he andmany early PPC adopterslost faith in theConservative Party even before Bernier'sdefeat.

When Bernier left the Conservatives he called the party "morally and intellectually corrupt." Payant said Bernier now represents a return to old Conservative values.

Mesa Komarevich,treasurer of the U of S's PPC club, said the party gives supporters something torally behind instead of feeling forced to pick between the "lesser of two evils."

Many, including Sharp in Regina, are drawn to Bernier's anti-establishment attitude.

"I want bold ideas and I want somebody I can trust," Sharp said.

Bernier's party advocates smaller government, lower taxesand a reduction in immigration to Canada.

This position is arguably what's fueling racist parties everywhere else in the world so how is that not something that they're thinking about here? And I think they have to defend that.- Charles Smith, associateprof in political science, St. Thomas More College

Payant said Bernier's leadership makes him feel proud to be Canadian.

"Just talking about it now I get chills. I've never felt this way about politics in my entire life," he said.

"I feel hopeful, and I think a lot of Canadians feel hopeful as well that there are other Canadians like me and everyone else who have their back."

Payant was the first in Saskatchewan to publicly state his intent to run for candidacy with the party. His riding was ground zero for organizing efforts that have since branched out to the rest of the province.

For now, Saskatoon-University remains the core.

"That's where our groundswell of support is up here. All of this, remember, is quite spontaneous and quite self-actualized. So as we've seen support spring up it's really just completely self-motivated," Erkiletian said.

Few women were involved in the main Facebook page for building up thePPCin Saskatchewan butPayantand others said some of the women who are involved are quite active.

Much support in Saskatoon-University comes from 18 to 35-year-olds, said Payant. He's critical of baby boomers who are concerned about splitting the conservative vote.

Regina has more diversity in age, Sharp noted. One new member is VictorLau, a former Saskatchewan Green Party leader. He said he's "shoppingparties" right now and was impressed by the different people that are looking into what the party stands for.

Life on the ground floor has its perks.

"I can't recall ever having been able to simply access the party leader of a large political party just by firing off a message and asking to schedule a phone call. That's pretty unique," Erkiletian said.

"The answers [from Bernier] are all very unapologetic and real."

Controversy on multiculturalism

Bernier has made headlines for his comments on diversity and refugees, most notably in August when he tweeted asking where to draw the line on diversity in Canada.

Bernier would like to drop immigration levels down to Harper era numbers, around 90,000 less than current projections for 2020. Another August tweet elaborated on that:

He said too much immigration becomes a burden to Canadians.

Charles Smith, associate political science professor at the U of S's St. Thomas More College, has been eyeing those tweets closely. He said it echoes far-right populist movements in Brazil, France, Scandinavian countries and the United States.

"This position is arguably what's fueling racist parties everywhere else in the world so how is that not something that they're thinking about here? And I think they have to defend that," he said.

Erkiletian said people online have called him everything from xenophobe to a white supremacist.

"When you do draw yourself into the public debate people will resort to these tactics, especially if you are part of a movement such as Maxime Bernier's which is trying to speak openly and honestly about issues of contention," he said.

Payant said they're not racist, they're just not willing to pander to people, something he and Bernier say Trudeau does.

Everyone joining the PPC's riding associations are signing a pledge to "not say anything embarrassing to the party," Sharp said. He takes that to mean people are not to deviate from Bernier's platform,or to push things further by, for example, advocating for deportations of specific races.

The past few years in Saskatchewan havepulled at race relations, particularly with Indigenous people. Smith said the PPC will not have a good impact on the healing, inclusion and respect needed to move ahead.

Bernier tweeted the following in August on a story about creating a statutory holiday to mark the residential school legacy:

Sharp is optimistic that Bernier is developing policy relating to First Nations and Mtis people, based on comments Bernier made at a meet and greet in Ottawa in September.

"I think it's important, based on property rights on reserves. And so we need to have something different, I'm working on that," Bernier said in the video.

What's next?

While the PPCseems to be gaining some support in Saskatchewan, Smith questions whether there's enough of an appetite in Canada for a party with far-right libertarian ideals. By his estimation, the PPC is capitalizing on a "generic anger" that tends to flame out as mainstream political parties respond.

The PPC in Saskatoon-University won't be recruiting Brad Trost, the Conservative MP who lost his last nomination and will no longer be running for that party in the next election. He told CBC he will not be involved with the PPC.

Payant is one of the few who has started door-knockingand Erkiletian said he's just received a letter from Elections Canada to confirm that he is a party member. It takes 250 confirmed members to officially be declared a party.

For now, members are willingly taking on expenses like booking meeting rooms and travel with no promise of being reimbursed until the party is official.