Maxime Bernier attends Calgary’s “rally for freedom” on the final weekend of the federal campaign | The Canadian News

Police estimate that around 1,000 people packed Central Memorial Park in Calgary on Saturday for a rally against the vaccination mandate that was attended by the leader of the People’s Party of Canada, Maxime Bernier.

The anger of the crowd was equally directed at the federal and provincial governments over the COVID-19 restrictions.

Some of the attendees were former Conservative Party of Canada voters who have found a new home with the People’s Party of Canada.

“All he said was exactly what I’m looking for: to be a father, a business owner and a grandfather,” said Susanne Muller, a Calgary hair salon owner.

“We need our rights and we need our freedoms. We have all these other political leaders who seem to be following the same platform and he has a different platform. “

Carol Grant works in the oil and gas industry. He came to hear Bernier speak at the rally.

“Your platform is very important to me because it is pro-pipeline. You want to fix the compensation formula. He wants to get rid of the carbon tax. It’s about freedom of choice, ”Grant said.

“You can be proud of yourselves freedom fighters,” Bernier told the cheering crowd.

Bernier says the PPC is the only national political party speaking out against COVID-19 vaccination passports and mask mandates.

This is Bernier’s third stop in Alberta during the federal election campaign.

The conservative heart doesn’t usually get much attention from federal leaders, but the People’s Party of Canada leader has encountered an issue that has galvanized some voters: opposition to mandatory vaccinations and vaccine passports.

A national Leger poll showed that 23 percent of Albertans surveyed oppose a vaccine passport system, and Bernier seeks to capture those voters.

“There are between 20 and 25 percent who oppose the mandates. Some of these people may not be opposed to vaccines. They may just be opposed to vaccine mandates, but that’s a broad group of people that could be mobilized, ”said Mount Royal University political science professor Duane Bratt.

“He hasn’t mobilized all of them yet. He probably has a third of those votes, but it is not a small number in political terms. It’s a small number in electoral terms, ”Bratt said.

Mount Royal University associate professor Lori Williams said Bernier’s influence may play a role in leading the Calgary Confederacy and some constituencies in Ontario.

“On those tight three-way beltways that everyone says is too close to call, this could be it. This could make a difference. This is very bad news for federal conservatives in Ontario.

“With those kinds of poll numbers (PPC) in the mid-teens, I think it’s starting to get a little hit and miss,” Williams said.

The party’s platform also includes more provincial autonomy, significant changes to the federal equalization plan, and a withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accords.