A Conversation With Max Bernier

Conservatism in Canada has taken a beating over the past year, but things may be turning around now that Brad Wall has won his third term and Brian Pallister ended the Manitoba NDP. Conservatism is on the rise in the provinces, but at the federal level it is at a crossroad. How do we move forward in the face of Justin Trudeau’s 24/7 celebrity party?
This
question brings us to Maxime Bernier.
As
returning Poletical visitors know, Maxime Bernier has a lot of fans
here, both among our readers and our writers. We’ve written
multiple articles about him and his libertarian-style conservative
brand over the years. We even floated him as a leadership candidate
back in 2013. An online poll we conducted that year had Bernier
support for leadership at 33%. Today, you can see him winning our
latest
poll.
I
was very happy to sit down with Mr. Bernier for the first interview
we’ve had with him on the site and ask some questions about his
goals, his ideas and where the Conservative Party needs to go.
Jeff Hodgson: Tell us about the state of your campaign right now.
Maxime Bernier: First of all, I can tell you that I am very happy with the reception I had when I launched my campaign. Very good positive feedback. We received a lot of emails from across the country and we are building the organization right now. People can contact me on my blog and we will have our campaign website ready on May 15th and this is also when I’ll do a speech in my riding talking about why I’m running and what my vision is for the country.
Hodgson: Your vision has some strong principles.
Bernier:
I received a lot of questions when I tabled my documents to the
party. I said I was running because I want to have a freer and more
prosperous country. I believe in free markets and I think we must
have less government in our day-to-day lives. The first question I
received from the journalists was, “If you are a free market
politician, then what is your position on supply management?”
I
think that was a good question, because it is a contradiction to
believe in supply management and free markets at the same time. I do
have a position and I will explain why and I told them I will release
my position in May, and my intention is to release policy positions
on a regular basis after that.
Hodgson:
The
media tells us that there are many divisions between different types
of conservatives in the Conservative Party. If you become the leader
how will you balance the different interests of social conservatives,
libertarians, and red tories?
Bernier:
I won’t use the word “division”. We are all conservatives, we
all believe in smaller government and more freedom in Canada. Other
candidates can have a different point-of-view and that will be great
to debate with them. But at the end-of-the-day conservatives don’t
believe the government has the solution to every social challenge.
Contrary to the Liberals and the NDP, we think Canadians themselves
know better than the politicians or civil servants in Ottawa. Like I
said in a speech...I want to shrink the government, not your
paycheck. The Liberals and the NDP want to shrink your paycheck in
order to expand programs, but what unites Conservatives is this
belief in freedom and less government intervention and I will promote
this.
Hodgson:
Are
social conservatives contrary to libertarians?
Bernier:
Even
social conservatives don’t want the state to interfere in their
lives. They don’t want the government imposing social values. I was
very happy to have people who want to work with my organization who
told me they are social conservatives, but they like my principled
position and I respect other conservative ideas.
Hodgson:
What about when it comes to abortion?
Bernier: I don’t want to open the debate on abortion, but if members of my party, or another party, want to bring forward a private member’s bill then that’s their right. That’s democracy. If someone does that then we will do a free vote on it and social conservatives respect that position.
Hodgson: Right now the media is being fair to you, but when you get closer to winning the leadership they will likely be more critical as they have in the past and try to ridicule you. How are you prepared for this?
Bernier:
I’m
not concerned about that. When I resigned as Foreign Affairs Minister
eight years ago every journalist in French and English were saying,
“Bernier is dead or Bernier won’t be re-elected” and I’ve
been re-elected since then with the biggest majority in Quebec. The
same journalists now are saying, “Bernier is a credible candidate”.
I made a mistake,
I learned from that and what journalists think about me or write
about me, I’m not concerned. I’ll do what I have to do and in the
end the Conservative Party members will choose.
Hodgson:
But the media bias is difficult for Conservatives.
Bernier:
The
most important thing for me is that the media will have to cover what
I’m saying and what the other candidates will be saying on
different issues. So if editorialists or journalists don’t agree
with what I’m saying, that’s okay. I don’t want to have
everybody on my side. You can win an election with 45% of the votes.
I hope I will have a lot of people believing in freedom, personal
responsibility and fairness and respect. These are the four themes of
my campaign.
Hodgson:
What
do you mean by fairness and respect?
Bernier:
For
example, I said I’m against subsidies to GM and Bombardier, because
it’s unfair for small businesses and entrepreneurs to pay taxes to
fund big businesses. The government shouldn’t pick winners or
losers, taxes should be lowered for everyone. As for respect, I think
we need to respect the constitution, respecting provincial
jurisdiction and respecting taxpayers. These are the things I will
speak about.
Hodgson:
Sounds
like the Libertarian Party.
Bernier: My goal is to have more people becoming members of our party. The Conservative Party. As you know a lot of people from the Libertarian Party like my candidacy. They like me being out there as a leadership option and I hope these people will sign up with the Conservative Party and vote for me.
Hodgson:
Have
you read Michelle Rempel’s recent piece about sexism in Ottawa
for
the National Post?
Bernier:
Yes,
I had time to read it yes.
Hodgson:
Do
you have a response to it?
Bernier:
First of all, when you read things like that it’s not good for
politicians in Ottawa. We have a code of conduct and in that code
there are clauses speaking about sexual harassment. I signed that and
so did all of my colleagues. This is a part of our ethical code.
There’s a way to deal with this...there is a process. It’s too
bad that in 2016 things like this still happen and I wish all members
would respect the code of ethics.
Hodgson:
Western
Canadians haven’t voted in large numbers for a Quebec Prime
Minister since Brian Mulroney in 1984. Is regionalism going to be a
problem for you?
Bernier:
No,
I don’t think so, because what I believe applies to all
conservatives. I’m a candidate from
Quebec, but I’m a candidate for
all regions. I want to grow the party in Quebec, as you know we more
than doubled from five seats in Quebec to twelve and that will be my
job...growing the party not only in Quebec but across the country.
The values I believe in will resonate in every region across Canada.
Hodgson:
It’s
2027 and we’ve had two Maxime Bernier majority governments. What
does Canada look like?
Bernier:
You
will pay less taxes and have more money in your pocket. We’ll have
a smaller federal government that will not interfere in provincial
jurisdiction. A government that respects the constitution. Free trade
with more countries. A more open economy. No referendum threat in
Quebec. Balanced budgets with surpluses. Shrinking debt. Responsible
government that responds to Canadians. Principle based policy. No
more omnibus bills, I want debate. We have the best ideas and we need
to share this with Canadians. We have to openly and passionately
defend our principles with conviction. It’s for these things that I
am running.