Maxime Bernier decries 'woke ideology' at campaign stop in Dartmouth

Taryn Grant · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 31, 2025 6:11 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

People's Party of Canada Leader Maxime Bernier made a run halt Monday successful Dartmouth, N.S., wherever helium condemned "woke ideology" and said Canada is connected the precipice of going "down the drain."

The erstwhile Conservative furniture curate held a quality league connected the Dartmouth waterfront connected Day 9 of the national predetermination campaign. He highlighted 1 of the pillars of the PPC platform: ending what helium calls "woke" policies.

Specifically, helium said helium would extremity policies related to diversity, equity and inclusion successful the military.

"[Justin] Trudeau did everything helium could to destruct our arrogant Canadian Forces by imposing his insane woke ideology connected the military," said Bernier.

He criticized vaccination requirements that resulted successful astir 300 work members being released, and "diversity hiring quotas."

The Canadian subject and Department of National Defence have, according to the subject ombudsman, adopted galore initiatives implicit the past 2 decades to code long-standing barriers to the recruitment and retention of women, disposable minorities and Indigenous people.

Yet the subject is inactive mostly made up of achromatic males, and the ombudsman said successful 2022 determination has been small advancement successful expanding diversity.

Bernier was flanked by 2 PPC candidates who are moving successful the Halifax area. The enactment has nominated candidates successful 10 of 11 Nova Scotia ridings.

The person said his enactment volition person a afloat slate successful clip for the April 28 election.

This volition beryllium Bernier's 3rd wide predetermination moving arsenic a PPC campaigner successful Beauce, the Quebec riding helium utilized to correspond arsenic a Conservative MP. Bernier divided from the Conservatives aft helium mislaid the 2018 enactment contention to Andrew Scheer.

As of Monday, CBC's canvass tracker has the PPC successful a distant sixth spot with astir 2 per cent of the projected ballot share. 

Bernier's cardinal run promises are pausing immigration, ending "woke" policies, boosting the system by cutting spending and implementing policies related to nationalist security.

He said Monday that if the PPC level isn't enacted successful the coming months, Canada is heading "down the drain."

"We are truthful antithetic than the Liberals and the Conservatives connected the astir important issues for the aboriginal of this country. If you judge successful this country, if you privation to person a prosperous country, you request to enactment our candidates present successful Nova Scotia and each crossed the country," helium said.

Bernier has been accused of courting far-right, conspiratorial racists, particularly passim the COVID-19 pandemic, and appeared connected conspiracy theorist Alex Jones's podcast arsenic precocious arsenic March 22.

The PPC has denied that radical with "extreme views" are invited successful the party.

It received 5 per cent of the nationalist ballot during the 2021 national predetermination and has ne'er won a seat.