For political newbie Matthew Barrett, People’s Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier is an inspiration.
Barrett, 37, a driver for Golden Arrow Buses, says his interest in Bernier was piqued when he “came out of his shackles” in the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC).
“I immediately dug up everything I could on him for the last 10 years,” Barrett said this week. “He inspired me.”
Bernier, a former minister in the Stephen Harper government, introduced the Fort McMurray-Cold Lake candidate at a stop in Fort McMurray Tuesday during a 10-day tour of the province.
Bernier is hoping to mine the rich conservative base in Alberta in the October federal election, but he’s likely to find it rough going, said Dave Korzinski, a research associate with the polling firm Angus Reid Institute.
Looking at vote projections, “you see the Conservative Party is really resonating out there and really looking like they’re potentially going to run away with the province at this point,” Korzinski said.
The only bright spot for Bernier is that Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer is failing to make a connection with most Canadians, Korzinski said.
“That’s a spot where Maxime Bernier at this point is still able to make a bit of headway and why he might be having success in certain areas.”
Polling has found 17 per cent of Conservative voters in Canada indicate Bernier is their second choice, which is “quite considerable,” Korzinski said.
“If you’ve got a really strong People’s Party candidate in a place like Fort McMurray, or in areas that are choosing between the Conservatives and the People’s Party, there’s certainly a built-in base there.”
At this point, however, about five per cent of Albertans polled said they might support their People’s Party candidate, Korzinski said.
But Barrett says his party is what Albertans are looking for.
“Our platforms are such low-hanging fruit for this community — pipelines, you know, using the Constitution to make sure the pipeline goes through.”
As for his chances in knocking off incumbent CPC MP David Yurdiga, Barrett said experience isn’t everything.
“We have a prime minister whose resume probably wouldn’t get him in middle management in a mall.”
The Liberals, NDP and Green Party have yet to nominate candidates in Fort McMurray.