With less than 1% of the vote, does the People’s Party of Canada have a future?
In the not-so-distant past, the People’s Party of Canada (PPC) was on the rise, poised to disrupt the traditional political landscape dominated by the Conservative and Liberal parties. Led by Maxime Bernier, a former Conservative MP, the PPC gained momentum with its anti-vaccine, anti-lockdown, and anti-immigration agenda during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the 2021 election, the party managed to secure five percent of the national vote, peeling supporters away from the more moderate Conservative Party led by Erin O’Toole.
Despite not winning any seats in the House of Commons, the PPC more than tripled its support from the previous election. However, fast forward to the 2025 election, and the party’s performance took a nosedive. The PPC only managed to secure 0.7 percent of the national vote, with Bernier himself coming in fourth in his own riding, losing by a significant margin.
The question now looms: does the People’s Party have a future? Bernier remains optimistic, declaring that the PPC will persist with the same ideas and platform in future elections. However, political experts are less convinced of the party’s prospects. Eric Merkley, a political polarization researcher, notes that the PPC’s success was largely dependent on specific economic and social conditions during the pandemic, which are no longer prevalent.
During the pandemic, the PPC capitalized on Canadians’ discontent with government COVID-19 measures, but as the crisis waned, so did the party’s support. Additionally, the Conservative Party, under Pierre Poilievre’s leadership, managed to reabsorb some of the voters who had previously aligned with the PPC.
David Coletto, from Abacus Data, highlights the challenge faced by smaller parties like the PPC in a binary political landscape dominated by the Conservatives and Liberals. With the pandemic no longer a pressing issue, the PPC’s purpose and relevance have been called into question.
Bernier, however, remains steadfast in his beliefs, campaigning on ending mass immigration, opposing what he deems as “woke” policies, and advocating for fiscal conservatism and national security. Despite facing accusations of courting support from far-right extremists, Bernier sees the UK’s Reform Party as a model for the PPC’s future success.
As the PPC conducts a leadership review in the coming weeks, Bernier remains uncertain about his own political future. Whether the party can regroup and regain lost ground remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: the People’s Party of Canada is not ready to fade into obscurity just yet.
