(Ottawa) Unsurprisingly, Maxime Bernier remains leader of the People’s Party of Canada (PPC).
Almost 96% of the votes cast in a confidence vote were in favor of keeping Mr. Bernier at the head of the People’s Party of Canada (PPC).
Initiated on November 12, voting ended on Friday and was only open to members with a valid party membership as of September 20. In total, the PPC reported that 15,454 votes were cast, representing almost three-fifths of eligible voters.
Bernier released a statement saying he sees the results as a sign of unity within the party he founded three years ago following his much-publicized departure from the Conservative Party of Canada.
He added that he now plans to use his new tenure as leader to prepare the party for the next general election, regardless of when they are held.
The fall election was the second the PPC has taken part in since its founding, and the second in which it failed to win a seat in the House of Commons.
After presenting a platform in 2019 to drastically reduce immigration levels and withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, the party vigorously opposed restrictions linked to the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccine passports during the 2021 campaign.
The party garnered less than 2% of the popular vote in 2019, but more than doubled its share of the nationwide ballots in the September 20 poll, possibly costing the Conservatives a few seats, dividing the votes voters to the right of the political spectrum.
An analysis by University of Calgary economics professor Trevor Tombe suggested that there were 25 seats for which the votes for the Conservatives and the PPC combined were higher than the winner’s result.