Libertarian Party wants Bernier as its leader
In the wake of Maxime Bernier’s loss to Andrew Scheer in the federal Conservative leadership race, another party has offered the Quebec MP its leadership: the Libertarian Party of Canada.
The Libertarian Party’s current leader, Tim Moen, posted a video to YouTube Sunday promising to immediately step aside and nominate Bernier as leader should he accept the offer. The party also plans to adopt Bernier’s platform whether or not he joins them, Moen said.
“I know Max and I know he’s a solid libertarian,” Moen said in an interview with the National Post. He hopes Bernier’s supporters shift their allegiance to the Libertarians, which he says will force the Conservative Party to consider adopting libertarian policies.
“He could take a lot of political market-share away from the Conservative Party," he said. "I think they need to be disciplined by the market."
Bernier finished a close second to Andrew Scheer in the Conservative leadership race, taking roughly 49 per cent of the available points to Scheer’s almost 51 per cent. He campaigned on a platform that included lowering corporate taxes from 15 to 10 per cent, eliminating the capital gains tax and abolishing Canada’s supply management system for dairy, eggs and poultry.
Moen said the popularity of Bernier’s platform shows that voters are interested in taking “baby steps” towards libertarian policies.
“Max’s platform offers people something that is realistic and something that a libertarian can live with and embrace,” he said. “It’ll show that we’re serious about winning some votes here.”
Bernier’s office did not respond to a request for comment before deadline Monday.