People's Party of Canada
Party Leader: Maxime Bernier
Bernier stated that his party is "a coalition of people who are disenchanted with traditional politicians who say one thing one day, and another the next". He mentioned that his platform would be based around the principles of freedom, responsibility, fairness, and respect. Bernier has stated that these principles are non-negotiable, but that members would have input on policies as they are refined, and that a candidate questionnaire asks potential candidates about which policies they want in the platform. In addition to these principles, the party would advocate for "smart populism", which Bernier defines as "populism without emotions", speaking for "all Canadians", and not appeasing "special interest groups". Bernier has described the party as a "grassroots party". He has also stated that the party is neither left-wing or right-wing, but the difference between being free and not free. Bernier told Vassy Kapelos that the party will debate discussions that "the leadership and the caucus" did not want to have while he was a Conservative Party member, also stating that people who espouse racist, antisemitic, or xenophobic positions "are not welcome" in the party. A spokesperson has stated that the party does not debate the science of climate change. Labels used to describe the party include "classical liberal", "conservative", "libertarian", and "populist"; it is generally seen as being on the right-wing to far right of the political spectrum. At the time of its formation, the party indicated that its formal platform would be gradually unveiled, but it would generally follow the platform that Bernier ran on during his 2017 Conservative leadership campaign. Bernier stated that the platform "will be built on facts". He said that socially conservative policies such as abortion and gender identity would not be part of the party platform. The party supports removing trade barriers between Canada's provinces.
Thunder Bay Superior North Candidate
Rick Daines
Rick Daines was born in Windsor, ON and attended high school in Toronto. Rick has been married for 22 years and has 3 children ages 23, 21 and 19 years. Rick attended Mohawk college where he earned his diploma with honours in a condensed 2-year Police Foundations program. He had a 12-year career as a Police Constable with the Peel Regional Police and the Ontario Provincial Police. As someone who always strives for improvement, Rick successfully completed several training courses while Policing such as Domestic Violence and Sexual assault investigator. He was also a member of the Crisis Outreach and Support Team in Peel, which is a program where Police officers work closely with nurses whereas both have specialized training in handling mental health crisis situations. While Policing in northern Ontario, Rick spent several multi-week durations on northern fly-in First Nation reserves. Rick left his policing career in 2015 to partner with his wife Teresa operating a high-volume grocery store as well as several rental properties. Rick is an individual who takes great pride in living a life of honesty and integrity. He is hard working and strives to succeed in all areas in his life and to be a positive role model for his community and he actively seeks challenges for personal growth.