Chapter 76: People’s Party

300     first national convention  Joanna Smith, “Maxime Bernier Tells Party Faithful He Will Make It into the Leaders’ Debates,” Canada’s National Observer, August 19, 2019, www.nationalobserver.com/2019/08/19/news/maxime-bernier-tells-party-faithful-he-will-make-it-leaders-debates.
 
300     “Canada is ill and suffering . . .” BJ Dichter quoted in Smith, “Maxime Bernier tells party faithful he will make it into the leaders' debates,” www.nationalobserver.com/2019/08/19/news/maxime-bernier-tells-party-faithful-he-will-make-it-leaders-debates.
 
300     A banker  Laura Payton, “Maxime Bernier, the ‘Albertan from Quebec,’” CTV News, March 2, 2017, www.ctvnews.ca/politics/article/maxime-bernier-the-albertan-from-quebec.
 
300     a Member of Parliament . . . foreign minister . . .  Payton, “Maxime Bernier, the ‘Albertan from Quebec,’” www.ctvnews.ca/politics/article/maxime-bernier-the-albertan-from-quebec; and David Ljunggren and Randall Palmer, “Canadian Foreign Minister Quits over Secret Papers,” Reuters, May 26, 2008, www.reuters.com/article/world/us/canadian-foreign-minister-quits-over-secret-papers-idUSN26353616; and Stephanie Levitz, “Maxime Bernier Rejects Climate Science and Vaccinations: Will He Get to Do It at the Leaders’ Debates?” Toronto Star, August 20, 2021, www.thestar.com/politics/federal-elections/maxime-bernier-rejects-climate-science-and-vaccinations-will-he-get-to-do-it-at-the/article_c212dd8f-d811-5093-b7bb-1de30a60f783.html.
 
300     in second place . . . to lead . . .Tories  “Canada’s Conservatives Elect Andrew Scheer as New Party Leader,” BBC News, May 28, 2017, www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40067879.
 
300     “too intellectually and morally corrupt . . .”  Maxime Bernier quoted in Catharine Tunney, “MP Maxime Bernier Quits ‘Morally Corrupt’ Conservatives, Plans to Start New Party,” CBC News, August 23, 2018, www.cbc.ca/news/politics/bernier-statement-conserative-1.4795894.
 
300     founded the People’s Party in 2018 Christian Paas-Lang, “Maxime Bernier Retains Leadership of People’s Party of Canada after review vote,” CBC News, December 5, 2021, www.cbc.ca/news/politics/maxime-bernier-leadership-party-review-1.6274329.
 
300     recruited members . . . Northern Guard Sarah Rieger, “Maxime Bernier Photographed with Members of Alleged Hate Group in Calgary,” CBC News, July 9, 2019, www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/maxime-bernier-northern-guard-1.5205881.
 
300     flashed the “White power” hand sign  Rieger, “Maxime Bernier Photographed with Members of Alleged Hate Group in Calgary,” www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/maxime-bernier-northern-guard-1.5205881.
 
300     reached out to . . . the leader of the Canadian Nationalist Party  Justin Ling and Laura Stone, “Maxime Bernier Confirms Call with Anti-Immigrant Party,” Globe and Mail, September 10, 2018, www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-maxime-bernier-confirms-call-with-anti-immigrant-party.
 
300     pushing for . . . on the basis of race or ethnicity  Ling and Stone, “Maxime Bernier Confirms Call with Anti-Immigrant Party,” www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-maxime-bernier-confirms-call-with-anti-immigrant-party.
 
300     “he was unfamiliar” Ling and Stone, “Maxime Bernier Confirms Call with Anti-Immigrant Party,” www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-maxime-bernier-confirms-call-with-anti-immigrant-party.
 
300     “Maxime was aware of our party”  Travis Patron quoted in Ling and Stone, “Maxime Bernier Confirms Call with Anti-Immigrant Party,” www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-maxime-bernier-confirms-call-with-anti-immigrant-party.
 
300–301 did not lead . . . first election in 2019  In the 2019 Canadian election, the People’s Party won no new seats in Parliament. Its sole representative in the legislature, founder Maxime Bernier, also lost his seat in this election. See Seán Clarke and Cath Levett, “Canada Election 2019: Full Results,” The Guardian, October 23, 2019, www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/22/canada-election-2019-full-results.
 
301      ran hard on . . . taking away the freedoms of Canadians  Levitz, “Maxime Bernier Rejects Climate Science and Vaccinations: Will He Get to Do It at the Leaders’ Debates?” www.thestar.com/politics/federal-elections/maxime-bernier-rejects-climate-science-and-vaccinations-will-he-get-to-do-it-at-the/article_c212dd8f-d811-5093-b7bb-1de30a60f783.html; and “People’s Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier Makes 1st Alberta Stop in Campaign,” CBC News, August 31, 2021, www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/bernier-alberta-ppc-election-federal-1.6159405.
 
301      “Before, when I was talking about freedom . . .’”  Maxime Bernier quoted in Levitz, “Maxime Bernier Rejects Climate Science and Vaccinations: Will He Get to Do It at the Leaders’ Debates?” www.thestar.com/politics/federal-elections/maxime-bernier-rejects-climate-science-and-vaccinations-will-he-get-to-do-it-at-the/article_c212dd8f-d811-5093-b7bb-1de30a60f783.html.
 
301      “And now, they know . . .”  Bernier quoted in Levitz, “Maxime Bernier Rejects Climate Science and Vaccinations: Will He Get to Do It at the Leaders’ Debates?” www.thestar.com/politics/federal-elections/maxime-bernier-rejects-climate-science-and-vaccinations-will-he-get-to-do-it-at-the/article_c212dd8f-d811-5093-b7bb-1de30a60f783.html.
 
301      nearly triple his party’s vote total  Nicholas Keung, “‘We Will Continue This Battle’: People’s Party of Canada Triples Support at the Polls Despite Not Winning a Seat,” Toronto Star, September 21, 2021, www.thestar.com/news/canada/we-will-continue-this-battle-people-s-party-of-canada-triples-support-at-the-polls/article_f65af0ce-4a11-5509-a667-da90dc6d8839.html.
 
301      about 5 percent . . . not enough . . . to enter Parliament  John Clarke, “The Political Death of the ‘Moderate’ Tory,” Canadian Dimension, July 22, 2022, canadiandimension.com/articles/view/the-political-death-of-the-moderate-tory.
 
301      did not even win back his parliament seat Andrew Russell, “Maxime Bernier, PPC Leader, Defeated in Quebec Riding of Beauce,” Global News, September 20, 2021, updated September 21, 2021, globalnews.ca/news/8206324/maxime-bernier-ppc-leader-defeated-in-quebec-riding-of-beauce.
 
301      started stockpiling gas and food and guns  Elizabeth McMillan, “N.S. Gunman Liquidated Assets, Stockpiled Gas and Food Due to COVID-19 Fears, RCMP Say,” CBC News, June 29, 2020, www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/mass-shooting-rcmp-investigation-gunman-covid-paranoia-1.5628184; and Michael Tutton, “Detailed Portrait Emerges of Gun Acquisitions, Cash Stockpiles of N.S. Mass Killer,” Global News, December 17, 2020, globalnews.ca/news/7527903/detailed-portrait-emerges-of-gun-acquisitions-cash-stockpiles-of-n-s-mass-killer/.
 
301      believed . . . only the beginning . . . feared . . . would collapse  Leyland Cecco, “Nova Scotia Gunman Was Paranoid Survivalist but Not Informer, Say Police,” The Guardian, June 29, 2020, www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/29/nova-scotia-gunman-paranoid-survivalist-not-police-informer; Elizabeth McMillan, “N.S. Gunman Liquidated Assets, Stockpiled Gas and Food Due to COVID-19 Fears, RCMP Say,” www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/mass-shooting-rcmp-investigation-gunman-covid-paranoia-1.5628184.
 
301      started liquidating assets  Cecco, “Nova Scotia Gunman Was Paranoid Survivalist but Not Informer, Say Police,” www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/29/nova-scotia-gunman-paranoid-survivalist-not-police-informer; and McMillan, “N.S. Gunman Liquidated Assets, Stockpiled Gas and Food Due to COVID-19 Fears, RCMP Say,” www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/mass-shooting-rcmp-investigation-gunman-covid-paranoia-1.5628184.
 
301      a denturist, he operated two oral care clinics . . . in Halifax and Dartmouth Ruth Davenport and Haley Ryan, “N.S. Mass Shooter Had a History of Intimidation, Violent Altercations,” CBC News, July 12, 2022, www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/n-s-mass-shooter-had-a-history-of-intimidation-violent-altercations-1.6517256.
 
301      were forced to close during the pandemic  “Families Grieve as Police Search for Motive for Mass Shooting in Canada,” France 24, April 21, 2020, www.france24.com/en/20200421-families-grieve-as-police-search-for-motive-for-mass-shooting-in-canada.
 
301      “almost a career criminal” . . . “a lot of stuff but never got caught”  Wortman’s cousin, quoted in Andrew Russell and Brian Hill, “‘Preparing for the End’: Mindset of Nova Scotia Gunman Described in Court Docs,” Global News, September 21, 2020, updated September 22, 2020, globalnews.ca/news/7348914/nova-scotia-shooting-gunman-mindset-court-docs.
 
301      had wanted to become a police officer  Robin Levinson-King and Jessica Murphy, “Nova Scotia Shooting: ‘They Had No Idea the Hell They Were Going to Face,’” BBC News, April 24, 2020, www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52373798; and Andrea Woo and Greg Mercer, “Nova Scotia Mass Shooter Was a Denturist with an Obsession for Policing,” Globe and Mail, April 19, 2020, updated April 20, 2020, www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-nova-scotia-mass-shooter-was-a-denturist-with-an-obsession-for.
 
301        collected . . . and enjoyed restoring . . . Levinson-King and Murphy, “Nova Scotia Shooting: ‘They Had No Idea the Hell They Were Going to Face,’” www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52373798; and Woo and Mercer, “Nova Scotia Mass Shooter Was a Denturist with an Obsession for Policing,” www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-nova-scotia-mass-shooter-was-a-denturist-with-an-obsession-for.
 
301      argued with his common-law spouse. He tied her up . . .  Adrian Humphreys, “N.S. Mass Shooting: Documents Show Killer Was ‘Paranoid’ About COVID-19 Pandemic Before Rampage,” National Post, May 19, 2020, nationalpost.com/news/canada/n-s-mass-shooting-new-documents-show-killer-had-five-guns-ready-to-fire-when-he-was-killed-at-gas-station.
 
301      twenty years of abuse  Lindsay Jones, “Lisa Banfield Was Abused for Nearly 20 Years, Her Abuser Murdered 22 People: Why Is She on Trial?” Chatelaine, updated March 30, 2023, chatelaine.com/living/features-living/lisa-banfield-nova-scotia-inquiry.
 
301      poured gasoline . . . did not light a match  Humphreys, “N.S. Mass Shooting: Documents Show Killer Was ‘Paranoid’ About COVID-19 Pandemic Before Rampage,” nationalpost.com/news/canada/n-s-mass-shooting-new-documents-show-killer-had-five-guns-ready-to-fire-when-he-was-killed-at-gas-station.
 
302      dressed up in a uniform . . . packed . . . with guns and gasoline  “Warning signs of N.S. Mass Shooter’s Paranoia, Guns, Prior Abuse Noted in Warrant,” CityNews, May 19, 2020, calgary.citynews.ca/2020/05/19/warning-signs-of-n-s-mass-shooters-paranoia-guns-prior-abuse-noted-in-warrant.
 
302      escaped and found shelter in the woods  Humphreys, “N.S. Mass Shooting: Documents Show Killer Was ‘Paranoid’ About COVID-19 Pandemic Before Rampage,” nationalpost.com/news/canada/n-s-mass-shooting-new-documents-show-killer-had-five-guns-ready-to-fire-when-he-was-killed-at-gas-station.
 
302      In sixteen different places across Nova Scotia  Paula Newton and Holly Yan, “9 of the 22 Victims of the Nova Scotia Rampage Died in Fires Set by the Gunman, Investigators Say,” CNN, April 29, 2020, www.cnn.com/2020/04/29/americas/nova-scotia-shooting-investigation/index.html.
 
302       shot thirteen people and . . . nine people and their pets  Newton and Yan, “9 of the 22 Victims of the Nova Scotia Rampage Died in Fires Set by the Gunman, Investigators Say,” www.cnn.com/2020/04/29/americas/nova-scotia-shooting-investigation/index.html.
 
302      slaughtered twenty-two people in total  Newton and Yan, “9 of the 22 Victims of the Nova Scotia Rampage Died in Fires Set by the Gunman, Investigators Say,” www.cnn.com/2020/04/29/americas/nova-scotia-shooting-investigation/index.html.
 
302      only a day later . . . during a pit stop for more gas in Enfield  Humphreys, “N.S. Mass Shooting: Documents Show Killer Was ‘Paranoid’ About COVID-19 Pandemic Before Rampage,” nationalpost.com/news/canada/n-s-mass-shooting-new-documents-show-killer-had-five-guns-ready-to-fire-when-he-was-killed-at-gas-station.
 
302      “condolences to the family and friends of the victims . . .”  Maxime Bernier, Twitter, April 19, 2020, 7:28 p.m., x.com/MaximeBernier/status/1252016336169046017, archived at archive.today, February 9, 2026 capture, archive.ph/wip/zNnlw.