Canada鈥檚 brief brush with the People鈥檚 Party of Canada showed that attacking the country鈥檚 multiculturalism won鈥檛 score a spot in Ottawa, according to Simon Fraser University professors.
鈥淲e do hear Canadians concerned about immigration, but the way it was framed with the PPC didn鈥檛 resonate with more than a handful of Canadians across the country,鈥� said political science instructor Stewart Prest.
The People鈥檚 Party was shut out of the House of Commons, with even he鈥檇 held since 2006 in Beauce, Que. His father had held the riding for more than two decades.
Bernier formed the right-leaning party in 2018, after he lost the Conservative leadership race to Andrew Scheer by only a couple percentage points.
The party espoused views that denied climate change and asked for immigration to be cut in half.
On Twitter, Bernier thanked the Canadians who voted for his group, saying the 鈥渞esults were disappointing鈥� but the struggle for a better society never ends.鈥�
Thank you to the 300k Canadians who supported candidates yesterday. The results were disappointing. But the struggle for a better society never ends. And the principles and policies we proposed are more relevant than ever.
鈥� Maxime Bernier (@MaximeBernier)
Nationally, the People鈥檚 Party got just 292,703 votes, or 1.6 per cent. Albertans cast the most, at 2.2 per cent of all ballots cast, while B.C. came in at 1.7 per cent.
That鈥檚 a distance sixth place behind the Liberals, Conservatives, NDP, Bloc Qu茅b茅cois, and Green Party.
However, even if anti-immigration views alone can鈥檛 carry a party to Ottawa, Prest said, it doesn鈥檛 mean they鈥檙e not there.
鈥淚t was only four years ago we had members of then-prime minister [Stephen] Harper鈥檚 government musing about a barbarian practices tip line,鈥� he noted.
鈥淭hese conversations can pop up in different centre-right circles.鈥�
Cara Camcastle, who also teaches political science at SFU, said the party鈥檚 poor showing sets Canada apart from the U.S., especially in how it responds to immigration.
She said she believes that after this election, where a 鈥渇ringe鈥� party got less than two per cent of the popular vote, proportional representation should make it back into the discussion.
鈥淭his was why the Liberals were so fearful of considering proportional representation,鈥� she said. 鈥淸But] it didn鈥檛 happen.鈥�
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