To understand the growing right-wing movements in this province, I subjected myself to the convention for Maxime Bernier’s People’s Party of Canada at the Atlantica Hotel in Halifax on Friday, January 18. Fully aware of the United States’ MAGA movement and the disgusting politics of the alt-right, I was still not prepared for what I was about to see.
Make no mistake, this event was a white supremacy rally.
The former Conservative Party member kicked things off as expected, declaring war on “supply management” and “corporate welfare,” talking about ending federal equalization payments, expressing a deep desire to cover Canada from coast to coast in pipelines, all to a mostly muted response from the crowd. Taking advantage of the silence, Bernier introduced his next topic.
“I want to speak about immigration.” The room shook as the crowd erupted into wild applause, hooting and hollering with rabid enthusiasm. Bernier didn’t stop at denouncing illegal border crossings, going further to attack legal immigration and describe a nightmare policy proposal that sounded like an incredibly difficult and exploitative path to citizenship. He implored that a reduction in the number of immigrants is not only important to the Canadian economy, but also in maintaining “Canadian values” and “Western civilization” for the next 20 to 50 years.
It was around this time that I could overhear hateful comments from the crowd. An older man a few feet away indiscreetly whispered something about “learning the language” to a nearby onlooker.
Bernier could not contain his own glee as he watched the crowd scream in excitement. He closed out by borrowing Trump’s familiar phrase, “Let’s make Canada great again!” But before he could finish saying “make” the entire audience joined in unison and it led to the second-biggest applause of the night. A few other moments gained traction during the 60-minute dog whistle: defunding CBC, privatizing Canada Post and ending foreign aid. Climate change wasn’t up for debate—it wasn’t mentioned once.
This was not just a handful of internet trolls or NCA members either. I caught glimpses of the security guard’s fire-safety compliance app and saw the room reach 300 people; many were forced to stand. This was echoed by Bernier’s shocking enrolment stats—34,000 new PPC party members in four months compared to the 20,000 members currently registered with the 35-year old Green Party of Canada.
If the number of people was overwhelming, the diversity was not. The room was around 97 percent white and 94 percent male. There were the expected 80-plus, silver-haired, white men with their crested blazers, but there was a staggering number of young Canadians who emerged from their parents’ basements to attend as well. Halifax’s most famous Faith Goldy supporter, Matt Whitman, was also there. While Bernier thanked each person for coming out, the controversial city councillor was elated during his turn at shaking hands with the new party leader.
Describing some of the people in attendance sounds like a joke, but right-wing hate groups also appeared to be well represented. The combination of faux-motorcyclists with a cash bar made me wonder if the hotel would even have been safe for a counter demonstration. To be clear, these people were not joking.
The PPC convention painted a bleak and terrifying picture for the future of the Canadian political landscape. We live at a time in which we are continually confronted by the failures of liberal capitalism and are increasingly presented with only two solutions: egalitarian, international socialism; or fascist and barbaric white supremacism. The latter has now found a party, a leader and is seeking candidates to run in Nova Scotia for this year’s upcoming federal election.
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This article appears in Jan 31 – Feb 6, 2019.
Wow, 300 people out of half a million in HRM, and some of those people probably drove from other, farther reaching parts of the province. I’ve seen more people at a corn boil in the valley ffs, lol. Are we really afraid of 80 year old men armed with Viagra and blood pressure medication?
Maxime Bernier is a joke, do you really think he’ll ever be the PM?
Just stop with the alarmist journalism, just stop!!
Maxime Bernier has a natural ability to appeal to individuals who are most often economically suppressed, untraveled, uneducated and scared of losing their unskilled jobs to new Canadians. Essentially, trying to protect what little they have from anyone who wants to work harder than them to succeed in a new live in Canada. This is formula we see time and time again that is pitched to consumers.., like instant weight loss pills, where you don’t have to do any exercise to loose the pounds and become a winner again. Maxime Bernier is still a Conservative in my books as he would have stayed with them, had we been a winner… but for now, he’s just a huge embarrassment to all Canadians.
LOL…What a joke this publication has become. “white supremacy rally”? Don’t even try to disguise your leftist liberal mental health disorder. Thank you for making it clear what The Coast represents…….fake leftist fear mongering.
$595,000,000.00 Liberal bribe working wonders for this writer, and this site.
1. To learn English or French is a requirement, so that’s not racist.
2. We are very happy with immigration from all over the world. Any race, culture, religion, sexual preference, sexual orientation or gender. We have no issues with any of that. By ‘Canadian values’ we mean equality in respect and treatment for all. Including Women, minorities and the LGBTQ community.
3. This writers lack of understanding or even attempt to leave preconceived ideas at the door shows how far the ‘Left’ has gone.
The PPC believes we are all equal. Our strength is in our unity and we’re happy to speak with anyone about common ground to move forward for the best interest for all Canadians.
This exactly what Americans thought of Trump that he woild never get to where he is now. You gotto hit them down as soon as these idiots try to rise.
>libertarian
>White Supremacy
Pick one.
Oh, right, anyone who doesn’t agree with you is a klan member.
Divisive propaganda…
Can you please explain to me why wanting controlled and maintainable immigration is akin to being a racist?
What are the horrors of capitalism?
Why is international socialism the only savior to the wretched destitute of “liberal capitalism”?
I’m first and foremost an individualist so I find the collective social justice groupthink as nothing more that a power grab.
I’m not trying to accuse or defame I’m only seeking answers and building bridges of understanding. Without understanding, civility is virtually impossible.
You know you’re fucked when libertarianism is white supremacy…
I really enjoy seeing comments like “Maxime Bernier is a joke, do you really think he’ll ever be the PM?”. You people are too slow to wrap your heads around how Trump became president.
There is nothing in the description of the attendees that justifies labelling them as white supremacist. Also, nothing in Bernier’s speech smacks of white supremacy. So why is it that the reporter felt compelled to to call this a white supremacist rally?
This “article” is a complete joke and completely dismisses what Maxime actually has to offer to Canadians (which is equality for ALL Canadians). The writer is completely oblivious to the PPC platform, nor did he actually take the time to research and listen.
Canadians ARE concerned about unfettered immigration, i.e. Roxham Rd and UN Compact on Migration.
Canadians ARE concerned about corporate welfare (i.e. Bombardier, GM)
Canadians ARE concerned about losing our values to cultures that clash with our Western values.
What is wrong with being concerned? Ahhhh! “Bikers” and white people! They are so terrifying… *le sigh*
No. Stop with the identity politics, do some actual research and understand why Maxime has chosen to start his own party. Educate yourself of the geopolitical landscape of Europe in the current moment. What do you want your country to be in 20-25 years?
With regards to the previous comment about 300 people not being a big deal… That is the same number of people that showed up to vote for provincial PC leadership last fall. Only 1,000 people showed for Trudeau’s town hall last January. Don’t dismiss 300 people as an insignificant turn out for a newly formed federal political party with only one elected member. This is indeed a big deal.
Believe it or not, people can attend these events or believe in his policies without being white supremacists. Your usage of the lazy trope of young men emerging from their parents basement is not only unfounded, it is wholly untrue.
There is nothing wrong about wanting to preserve traditional Canadian values. When someone travels to a foreign country on vacation, they desire the experience of that country’s traditional culture, monuments, and people. I want to take pictures of the great wall of China, not the McDonalds 30 miles to the East.
Your tags of “racism” and “white supremacist” are a pathetic attempt to get more clicks on your content. In the words of your precious Michelle Obama, “be better”!
Im an Albertan, who dearly loves Canada. This article offends me. Im a founding member of the Peoples Party of Canada, although Im white skinned, some of my ancestors were native. I assure Im far from being a white supremacist, whatever that is, seems like a racist comment to me. I support Mr Bernier because we have, at last, someone who is willing to step forward and bring sanity back to Canada. Trudeau in three and a half years has nearly destroyed our once very proud country. If hes allowed to continue, I guarantee he will completely do the job and Canada as we know it will cease to exist. In fact, confederation will be no more. Alberta will separate and you in Halifax, among others who have reaped the benefits of my province, will no longer be able to prop up your economy with our generosity.
Mr Bernier is our last chance to stop the damage and he offers hope to all Canadians.
Having been there myself, there are some discrepencies with the authors comments. I would say the female to male ratio was MUCH different (go closer to 60 men 40 women). Climate change was addressed and referenced in this Global article (https://globalnews.ca/news/4864722/maxime-…). He was also questioned on his stance following his speech during the question period. This is not the white-supremacist party Alex speaks of and frankly, despite knowing the leanings of The Coast, this is extremely disappointing that the author would go into outright lies regarding the event. Like or dislike the guy, we should be talking facts rather than fiction to get clicks.
People dont get it. All this fear mongering from the left about immigration.
Max Bernier doesnt care what race, gender, sexual orientation etc. any immigrant is. All he wants is to make sure the immigrants will be good people. There are good and bad in every race, gender, sexual orientation etc.
The reason for reducing the amount of immigration is so our immigration support system can provide proper housing language and job skill training.
Bringing as many immigrants as we presently are into Canada overwhelms the system and the immigrants suffer and end up falling through the cracks and ending up dependant on government handouts. This has the effect of further suffering for those immigrants because regular accepting open tolerant Canadians begin to resent the illegal immigrants because they are seen to passing ahead of or own homeless our impoverished our First Nations people our veterans etc.
We dont lock our doors because we dont like the people outside our homes. We lock our doors because we have a responsibility to those inside to make sure they are safe.
And before you say we lock our doors but dont build walls make sure you dont have a fenced in yard.
That is not racism that is common sense which if you bothered checking Maxs platform you would find that common sense is a recurring theme.
Haha damn… Typical leftist garbage
Who cares? They ALL seem to forget they are immigrants to . If u arent indigenous u arent from here……But hey carry on
If you want to know why there seems to be such a disparity between the comments posted and the thumbs up or down they get.. it’s because the comments are so heavily censored by the coast.
But it’s everyone ELSE who is fascistic…. right.
White supremacy is left wing ideology, created by Democrats. Whos writing these articles?
I find it interesting that the bias is now either support ‘Diversity’ or be branded a White Supremacist. Diversity has done nothing to benefit Europe, Scandinavia or Great Britain. if nothing else it has made life intolerable & dangerous for the indigenous citizens. If standing up to this takeover of Canada by the invaders who have already shown their aim of violence towards us is racist then so be it. TOO BAD! Funny how it is OK to have a Muslim Brotherhood but not OK to have a White Support Group that stands against our demise. Funny how White Christians can’t get Refugee status even though they are being slaughtered in South Africa as well as other examples. Just another Double Standard within our society.
I notice that NO FACT observed in your article actually demonstrates white supremacism.
Huh.
Maybe these wet behind the ears millennial journalists should learn their history correctly? Everything they dont agree with is either racist or white supremacist.. was there a bunch of white hoods with slits for for everyone to wear at this meeting?
Differing opinions does not mean white supremacy. Typical leftists lol
How many family members spew the same hate and call it wisdom, the alternative left with their leader true dope is the anointed one. No logic can be twisted enough to make liberal policy make sense. But they really have this fear that they will be seen as bigots if they allow our laws to be applied equally. Outcome it seems is the measure of a fair society. But outcome can’t be “fair” if opportunity is skewed. They see t as logic vs. love.
It is our message that love includes responsibility, with preference given to family first. If our family is harmed by your policy then it needs to be changed for the better. If you help others and bring sickness upon all through your work, is it good?
These comments pretty much make Macnab’s point.
Anyone care to explain “Traditional Canadian values” to me? Do you mean kicking Indigenous people off of their land? Hockey? Double doubles?
I am impressed by the strength and rapidity of Berniers troll army responses, as trite as they are. Its obvious that his organization has set up a rapid response system to try to overwhelm online commentary with their talking points. Its straight out of the Trump/Brexit/Ford etc. playbook and rhetoric. Canada is better than this. Lets stand up to the BS.
I cannot believe The Coast is endorsing this opinion piece. Lacking facts, unable to hold up to the incredibly offensive and slanderous title. I could write an entire article myself on how this is worthy of the coast being sued. In no way shape or form is Maxime Bernier or his platform white supremacist and unless you send a shred of tangible evidence my way don’t bother to reply. What a gross hit piece.
Agitprop masquerading as honest, informed commentary. Author should enroll in a creative writing class, where such manipulations of reality into contorted fantasies may bear something resembling honest fruit.
Max Bernier may very well be a megalomaniacal twit, but white supremacist? So. Lazy. jeez louise man, if we are just going to throwing names at people lets put some pizzaz on it.
Some Suggestions: “The Berninator” as in “Berninating all the People” a la trogdor the burninator. “Maxof Bernler” is a bit on the nose… Personally i like “Max “The White Death” Bernier” just because i’m a romantic ;D
come on people, work with me here
@alibythesea oh you’re so silly! 😀 its as if you dont think that people can write their own opinions on a comment thread, rather its a concerted effort mobilized by the council of Trump, Doug Ford & Co. to harangue poor social justice zealots that just want to slander people in peace. My heart bleeds for you.
Roughly 21 dislikes on any comment without a fedora on it. Is it Matt Witt-less just opening incognito windows over and over again?
“It is our message that love includes responsibility, with preference given to family first. If our family is harmed by your policy then it needs to be changed for the better. If you help others and bring sickness upon all through your work, is it good?” -Me Lawn
And that’s really the heart of it; these right-wing fuckwits cry “I’m not racist! I just want stricter immigration!”. What you -really- want is to block refugees and migrants or those that are fleeing here with nothing. You want the ability to pick and choose new Canadians based on which ones will shine your boots the best. You hold out “love” in one hand and expect something in return in the other. What sleaze.
If this is that horrible “white supremacy” I keep hearing about, SIGN ME UP.
I read this horrible article from the The Coast. Mr Mcnabb is so far from the truth. I met Maxime Bernier, and he is a wonderful man. If you read his platform and met him you would not think the way this reporter does. He is genuine and sincere and wants to take the corruption out of government . He is not racist at all or anti immigrant and is there for all canadians. Read his platform ppc .ca . Maybe The Coast should do a one on one interview with Max.
Nothing could be further from the truth. What a bunch of fear mongering going on here. Halifax doesnt have an influx of immigrants but come here to Ottawa and you wont be able to avoid people of colour. Every 3rd person is non-white. Ottawa has so many immigrants that they are flooding the streets as homeless people. Theres no accommodations for them anywhere and the city has to pay to put them into motels at $3,000 per month. Its easy to sit in Halifax assuming all of these things but I can assure you weve got a severe issue with way too many immigrants coming into Canada. Bernier isnt building walls or stopping immigration. His plan is to reduce it to more sensible levels. Where is this idea coming from that we need to be bombarded with immigrants to the point we cannot support them? Im sorry but Im paying enough taxes thank you very much. What a slanted story this is full of misrepresentations. This event in Halifax was live on Periscope and I watched the entire thing. What youre describing is not what I witnessed at all. Recent immigrants stood up to ask him questions and even they liked the idea of suppressing the number of people coming into the country. If you ask me Id say you hate white people to be making such horrible accusations about them. Go and move to Somalia if you hate your own culture so much. Unbelievable.
Wow. What a smear piece! PPC is not racist or white supremacist! Though I don’t share all of Maxime Berniers views on immigration, I sure don’t share Trudeau’s & Scheers!
I don’t know if you are aware but a big demographic joining the PPC are Truther Libertarian types- those aware that all the establishment parties in Canada are controlled and serve their private & elite interests. They are both Globalist and both have no problem selling g Canadians out to the Queen’s interests.
Max has bee very approachable & responsive. He is willing to learn and most of all he will fight for Canada’s Sovreignity.
Please don’t split the vote & screw the country over, Mad Max or bust. This attack piece is fake news. Sadly misleading. The Conservatives have already begun misleading g people about Bernier. Have a balanced interview with him so Haligonians can make an informed decision about Canada’s new party taking up the middle as the others go to the extreme left and right
Alex Macnab, what do you think about your liberal deity, the Dalai Lama, being a white supremacist?
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/dalai-lama-europe-refugee-crisis-immigration-eu-racism-tibet-buddhist-a8537221.html
Does not compute!!! Abort!!
Honestly I hope you liberal freaks keep doubling down because it’s extremely effective at waking up the general public to how our media is nothing but propaganda. Keep it up!
White Supremacy in Halifax eh? I think not. Now, I would not vote for him based on his backwards climate policy but he is by no means a white supremacist. He has strong libertarian views and wants to put Canada first.
The bias in this article is ridiculous. Politics is about discussion and compromise. You need parties on all ends of the political spectrum in order to have the push and pull that a country needs. To immediately label him as a racist and fascist leader because he does not have the same vision of the allocation of resources as you is not right. We cannot be throwing around these words that represent ACTUAL hate to people that don’t represent it.
I believe Maxime Bernier will garner a lot of votes for the simple reason that people don’t what to be told what to do. Similarly as Donald Trump did.
I appreciate that this piece is opinion-based and I respect your right to express that freedom. However, your “opinion” on white supremacy and crowd turnout shows a lack of focus on the party and its values and instead hones in on your observations and best guesses. If you disagree with the party and the ideals, you should argue and rally against them rather than attack the members in attendance. To observe that most of the population was white may have been a fact, but to assume their agenda is white supremacy is bias. To make assumptions about the young Canadians “emerging from their parents’ basement” makes your arguments clouded by your clear discontent with the People’s Party.
White supremacy is also a very strong phrase to be thrown around. I am from the US and I have worked with people from the deep south who actively practice white supremacy. This gathering and demonstration are not like that. The white supremacy I know is a young man who salutes the Confederate flag and supports the ideals of his ancestors. It’s his blatant support for indentured slaves and falsifying the true events of slavery. What you have here is a strong conservative stance on politics, but nothing close to a white supremacy movement.
Finally, to paint the black-and-white picture of only a two-option future is bleak and pessimistic. If you want to see Canada be an emergent global leader in the coming years, you have to recognize all the available options and be open to hearing them. We have more than simply two options.
For the record, I do not support the People’s Party or any of their ideals. I am a climate change scientist and supporter of diversity and inclusion. However, I cannot judge the intent of the People’s Party and its supporters based on their race and sex.
This is why the term “Fake News” has become so popular. Does this “author” even have a journalism degree or is this some sort of Junior High School joke or maybe a failed attempt for The Onion? This biased and childishly written “news” receives a failing grade.
If this is what you consider journalism you are sadly mistaken. What shockingly one sided news coverage you are providing. If I was an advertiser I would cancel any future business dealings with you. Your coverage of this event is disgracefully opinionated. NOT impressed!
The race of the illegal immigrants is irrelevant.
The only thing that’s relevant is that they’re illegally entering the country.
We need immigration, but in the same way we’re selective about who we let into our homes, usually keep the door locked, and call the police where there’s a B&E, we need to have some form of structure to our immigration policy. It should not be an open door policy.
Crying racism when literally nothing mentioned is racist, is just entitled morons trying to shut down any form of conversation based on false moral high ground and it’s disgusting.
Calling this rally racist, is such a far fetch. Just because someone has different views and beliefs then you, let alone belongs to a different political party doesnt make them racist, or a white supremacist.
Fascinating as a white, heterosexual Canadian citizen male who is an active supporter of economic understanding, innovating and improving the Canadian economy, and who is tired of #Inclusion programs in Canada from the last 15 years placing my social demographic dead last in priority for zero ethical reason, I’m now deemed by some as supportive of “white supremacy”. I encourage the intelligent, responsible People’s Party of Canada to sue The Coast for libel. I’m pleased to consider myself a member of this fantastic Canadian political organization.
Believing what’s in the Coast is like believing what’s in the National Enquirer.
There’s a lot about this I hate, but “I went to a political rally in Atlantic Canada and the audience was majority white” has to be the worst. Yes, there are a lot of white people here. And? First time?
This comment section attracted the attention of every white-haired conservative in Nova Scotia. Born in Philadelphia, having spent decades in America, these people are depressingly familiar to me.
As you can see ‘The Coast’. Nobody believes your BS. I was at that rally, and all of those topics were covered yes, but that does not make us white supremacists. The real problem with this society is how easy it has become to call someone a white supremacist when they are talking about national issues and only interested in saving our own country and culture. it is not about race. Canada is many faces and colors. Its about preserving what Canada is. All of these things are to that effect.
The content and tone of this article makes me sick. Trump is president because of this broken record Liberal BS.
Fake news? Yep!
The Coast is a waste of bandwidth. Such biased reporting is laughable
My wife and I attended the same meeting. Impressed by a lady of Arab descent that stood to speak in the question period, I took the time afterwards to thank her for her comments and principled position. She informed me that she had been frequently called a racist, for her views, by members of her own community. Her comments in the question period and in private, with myself, mirrored those of Rahaf Al-Qunun, who Liberal Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland referred to as “A very brave new Canadian”. The term racist is often bantered about simply to attempt to shut off conversation. Conversation that is not continued, in the most part, because the accusers have little of value to contribute to it and need a convenient way out. By that action attempting to negate the comments of those that do have something of value to add to the conversation. The Coast piece is more of that attempt to muzzle democracy and freedom of expression. An attempt that is becoming all too common. Real racism is a subject that demands serious conversation. A boy crying wolf when there is none, for purely political purposes, diminishes that conversation. That and that alone is what the article accomplished.