Maxime Bernier facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Honourable Maxime Bernier PC
Bernier in 2023
Leader of the People's Party of Canada
Incumbent
Assumed office September 14, 2018
Preceded by	Office established
Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism, and Agriculture)
In office May 18, 2011 – November 4, 2015
Prime Minister	Stephen Harper
Preceded by	Rob Moore
Succeeded by	Bardish Chagger
Chair of the National Defence Select Committee
In office March 9, 2009 – June 20, 2011
Preceded by	Rick Casson
Succeeded by	James Bezan
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office August 13, 2007 – May 26, 2008
Prime Minister	Stephen Harper
Preceded by	Peter MacKay
Succeeded by	David Emerson
Minister of Industry Registrar General of Canada
In office February 6, 2006 – August 13, 2007
Prime Minister	Stephen Harper
Preceded by	David Emerson
Succeeded by	Jim Prentice
Member of Parliament for Beauce
In office January 23, 2006 – October 21, 2019
Preceded by	Claude Drouin
Succeeded by	Richard Lehoux
Personal details
Born	(1963-01-18) January 18, 1963 (age 62) Saint-Georges, Quebec, Canada
Political party	People's
Other political affiliations	Conservative (until 2018)
Spouses	Caroline Chauvin ​ ​ (m. 1991; div. 2005)​ Catherine Letarte ​ (m. 2019)​
Children	2
Parents	Gilles Bernier (father) Doris Rodrigue (mother)
Residences	Saint-Georges, Quebec, Canada
Education	Université du Québec à Montréal (B.Com.) University of Ottawa (LL.B.)
Profession	Author, businessman, consultant, lawyer

Maxime Bernier (born January 18, 1963) is a Canadian politician. He is the founder and leader of the People's Party of Canada (PPC). Before starting his own party, Bernier was a member of the Conservative Party. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Beauce from 2006 to 2019. He also served as a minister in the government led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Before becoming a politician, Bernier worked in law, finance, and banking. He was first elected to the House of Commons in 2006. He won the election in the same area his father, Gilles Bernier, had represented earlier. Bernier held several important jobs in Prime Minister Harper's government. He was the Industry Minister from 2006 to 2007. Then he became the Foreign Affairs Minister until 2008. After 2011, he was appointed Minister of State for small business and tourism.

In 2017, Bernier ran to become the leader of the Conservative Party. He promised to end government funding for businesses and change how the dairy industry works. He came in second place in the leadership race. In 2018, Bernier left the Conservative Party. He then created his own party, the People's Party of Canada. He lost his seat in Parliament in the 2019 election. Since then, he has run for election in different areas but has not won. During the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, he spoke against rules like mandatory vaccinations.

Early Life and Education

Maxime Bernier was born in Saint-Georges, Quebec. His mother was Doris Rodrigue and his father was Gilles Bernier. His father was a well-known radio host and also served as an MP for Beauce.

When he was a teenager, Bernier played football. His team, the Condors, won a championship in 1980. Bernier earned a degree in Commerce from the Université du Québec à Montréal. He then studied law at the University of Ottawa. He became a lawyer in Quebec in 1990.

Early Career Before Politics

For 19 years, Bernier worked in law and finance. He was a lawyer at a firm called McCarthy Tétrault. He also worked at the National Bank. He was a director at the Securities Commission of Québec. He also advised Quebec's finance minister, Bernard Landry. Later, he became a Vice-President at Standard Life of Canada. He also worked for the Montreal Economic Institute, which is a group that promotes free-market ideas.

Political Journey

In 2005, Bernier decided to run for politics. He became the Conservative candidate for Beauce in the 2006 federal election. He won with a large number of votes. Many people thought his ideas helped the Conservative Party do well in Quebec that year.

Serving as Industry Minister (2006–2007)

On February 6, 2006, Bernier was chosen to be the Minister of Industry. This meant he was in charge of things like telecommunications and Statistics Canada. During his time as Industry Minister, he worked to make the telecommunications industry more open. Some experts praised his efforts to reduce government rules in this area.

Serving as Foreign Affairs Minister (2007–2008)

Bernier as Minister of Foreign Affairs with Pranab Mukherjee, Minister of External Affairs for India, 2008

On August 14, 2007, Bernier became the Minister of Foreign Affairs. This job involves managing Canada's relationships with other countries. He was well-liked by foreign leaders.

In May 2008, Bernier accidentally left some confidential documents at his girlfriend's home. Prime Minister Stephen Harper accepted Bernier's resignation from this role. Bernier later said this event made him think differently about his political career.

As a Member of Parliament (2008–2011)

Bernier was re-elected as an MP in 2008. He became the head of the National Defence Select Committee. From 2009, Bernier started a blog and traveled across Canada. He gave speeches about political issues. Some people criticized his speeches, while others praised them.

In 2010, Bernier spoke out against a plan to invest government money in a new arena in Quebec City. He believed it did not make financial sense. The government later decided not to make the investment.

Serving as Minister of State (2011–2015)

On May 18, 2011, Bernier was appointed Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism). This was a junior minister role. He later said he accepted the job to regain credibility.

His responsibilities grew in 2013 to include agriculture. During this time, he led a project to reduce government rules. This project created a rule that for every new rule added, an old one had to be removed.

In Opposition (2015–2016)

After the 2015 election, the Conservative Party was no longer in power. Bernier was appointed as the Critic for Economic Development and Innovation. He resigned from this role in April 2016 to run for the Conservative Party's leadership.

In March 2016, Bernier tried to make a company called Bombardier explain why they needed government money. He believed the company should fix its own problems instead of asking for public funds. The government blocked his request.

Running for Conservative Leadership (2016–2017)

On April 7, 2016, Bernier officially announced he was running to be the leader of the Conservative Party. He said he wanted to promote his ideas based on freedom, responsibility, fairness, and respect.

Bernier had different views from some of his Conservative colleagues on certain issues. For example, he disagreed with the supply management system in Canadian agriculture. He believed it did not fit with his "free-market principles."

Key Policy Ideas

Bernier's campaign focused on several ideas:

• Making the government smaller.
• Lowering taxes.
• Paying off the national debt.
• Increasing investments.
• Building more pipelines.
• Opening up markets.

He suggested balancing the budget within two years. He also proposed reducing the number of tax brackets and increasing the basic tax exemption. He wanted to get rid of capital gains taxes and lower corporate taxes. Bernier also suggested giving provinces more control over health care funding.

He was against a "Canadian values" test for immigrants. He proposed getting rid of the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission. He also wanted to privatize Canada Post Corporation and end supply management for dairy and poultry. He supported expanding free trade and ending trade barriers between provinces.

Bernier also wanted to allow foreign companies to own airlines. He aimed to make it easier to hire specialized workers from other countries. He wanted to focus more on economic immigration and less on family reunification. He also believed that Indigenous communities should be consulted before changing the Indian Act.

Results of the Leadership Race

Bernier gained a lot of support in the leadership election. He finished in a close second place on May 27, 2017. He received 49.05 percent of the votes, while Andrew Scheer won with 50.95 percent.

After the Leadership Race (2017–2018)

On August 31, 2017, Bernier was again appointed as the critic for Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada.

Bernier planned to publish a book called Doing Politics Differently: My Vision for Canada. In April 2018, he shared a chapter online. This chapter explained why he wanted to abolish the supply management system. Some of his Conservative colleagues saw this as an attack on the party leader. Bernier agreed to delay publishing the book.

On June 12, 2018, Andrew Scheer removed Bernier from his role in the shadow cabinet. Scheer said Bernier had broken his promise by posting the chapter online again. Bernier denied breaking his promise. He believed his stance on supply management was the real reason for his removal.

In August 2018, Bernier made headlines for criticizing Prime Minister Trudeau's comments about "diversity." He tweeted that naming a park after Muhammad Ali Jinnah was an example of "extreme multiculturalism." These tweets were seen as controversial by many. Bernier later clarified that he wanted a discussion about what unites Canadians, not what divides them.

Starting the People's Party of Canada (2018–2019)

Logo of the PPC

On August 23, 2018, Bernier announced he was leaving the Conservative Party. He said he planned to start a new political party. He stated that the Conservative Party was "too corrupt" and avoided important issues.

Former Conservative Prime Ministers Stephen Harper and Brian Mulroney criticized Bernier's decision. They suggested that his new party might split the vote and help the Liberals win the next election. However, some columnists praised his courage.

On September 14, 2018, Bernier announced the creation of the People's Party of Canada. He said the party would promote "smart populism" based on freedom, responsibility, fairness, and respect. The People's Party is generally seen as being to the right of the Conservative Party.

The 2019 Federal Election

During the 2019 Canadian federal election campaign, Bernier and his team focused on issues like reducing immigration to Canada. He also criticized multiculturalism. This was a change from his earlier focus on free-market ideas. Bernier also proposed lowering federal income taxes and reducing the federal government's role in health care. He was the only party leader in Parliament to reject the scientific consensus on climate change. He said he would do "nothing" about climate change and wanted Canada to leave the Paris Agreement.

In the election, Bernier lost his seat in Beauce to Conservative candidate Richard Lehoux. The People's Party did not win any seats in Parliament.

COVID-19 Pandemic and 2021 Election

Bernier was very critical of the public health measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic. He traveled to many anti-lockdown protests across the country in 2021. He was issued tickets for violating public health orders at some of these gatherings. For example, he was arrested and fined in Manitoba for attending a rally against COVID-19 rules. In August, he stated he would not get a COVID-19 vaccine.

Bernier led the PPC in the 2021 election. He campaigned against vaccine mandates, vaccine passports, and lockdowns. He ran in Beauce again but lost to Richard Lehoux. However, the People's Party increased its share of the popular vote significantly, even though they did not win any seats.

Since the 2021 Election

Bernier supported the Canada convoy protest in Ottawa in early 2022. He said that governments were violating human rights with their health measures during the pandemic.

In May 2023, Bernier announced he would run for MP in a special election in Portage-Lisgar, Manitoba. He lost this election to the Conservative Party candidate.

Personal Life

Maxime Bernier has two daughters. In 2019, he married Catherine Letarte. Bernier enjoys quoting famous thinkers like James M. Buchanan, Friedrich Hayek, and Henry Hazlitt. His colleagues in Ottawa sometimes call him "Mad Max".

In 2013, Bernier ran an ultramarathon (a very long race) across his riding. He did this to raise money for a local food bank. In 2014, he took part in a "Rodeo de Cochons" (pig rodeo) after being challenged by a local mayor.

See also

In Spanish: Maxime Bernier para niños