Maxime Bernier

Background

Bernier was born in Saint-Georges, Quebec, the son of Doris (Rodrigue) and Gilles Bernier, a well known radio host, who represented the riding of Beauce from 1984 to 1997, first as a Progressive Conservative and then as an independent (He told John Geddes in an interview, he appreciates that his father was a Mulroney-era riding politician but tries not to emulate him). He has two sisters, Brigitte and Caroline, and one brother, Gilles Bernier, Jr. In his teens Bernier played football and was a member of the Condors, the team of the Séminaire St-Georges, when they won the Bol d’Or at the Olympic Stadium in 1980.

He obtained a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the Université du Québec à Montréal, and went on to complete his law degree at the University of Ottawa. He was called to the Quebec Bar in 1990. For 19 years, Bernier has held positions in several financial and banking institutions, including the National Bank, the Securities Commission of Québec, and Standard Life of Canada. He also served as Executive Vice-President of the Montreal Economic Institute, a prominent Quebec free-market think tank. During his time with the think tank, he co-authored a book on tax reform.

Personal life

The father of two children, Bernier and their mother have been divorced for several years. However, Bernier explains that he keeps his children's life private due to their importance to him, and is proud of them. He has participated in several marathons and runs daily. On September 29, 2013, he trained for and ran an ultramarathon for thirteen hours and raised $153,000 for a local food bank.

Political career

Bernier became the Conservative Party candidate in the riding of Beauce for the 2006 federal election. The Conservatives had been shut out of Quebec in the 2004 election but Bernier, whose father had previously represented the riding, was well known and well liked in the area, and was seen as one of the Conservatives' best hopes of electing an MP in the province.

The intention was to bring his father back into federal politics; however, he declined. Before 2006, Bernier, who was recruited, has explained he was not active in politics and decided to join the Conservative party, not because of his father affiliation, but their stance on federal centralization. Political pundits did attribute that some of Bernier's ideas lead to the unexpected Conservative breakthrough in Quebec, during the election.

Bernier has a history of quoting Friedrich Hayek, and Henry Hazlitt. His beliefs have led him to be nicknamed "Mad Max", the "Bloc-buster", or the "Albertan from Quebec" by his Ottawa colleagues. He has said that his views were shaped by his life experiences such as seeing how regulation affected small business.

In the 2015 federal election he released a viral retro campaign jingle, which had support from his constituents.

Minister of Industry

Bernier was one of the higher-profile freshman MPs from Quebec, and as such, on February 6, 2006, he was appointed Minister of Industry. He was also the minister responsible for Statistics Canada, and by virtue of being appointed as the Minister of Industry, Bernier also served as the Registrar General. During his time as Industry Minister Bernier set in motion/credited the steps that led to deregulation of the telecommunication industry. Professor Richard J. Schultz from McGill University lauded his attempt to deregulate the telecommunications industry, calling him "the best Industry Minister in 30 years, without challenge."

Minister of Foreign Affairs

On August 14, 2007, Bernier was appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs, replacing Peter MacKay who became the Minister of National Defence.

Bernier came under scrutiny after opposition parties informed the media that his former girlfriend Julie Couillard, predating their relationship, had romantic links with someone that had connections to the Hells Angels before 1999. Couillard herself does not have a criminal record, nor has she been charged with criminal activity and had not maintain any links with Hells Angels after 1999. In April 2008, Bernier inadvertently left a secretive briefing book at Couillard's home. Couillard gave the binder to a lawyer for transmittal to the government, and then the media revealed her links. Although Prime Minister Stephen Harper had initially dismissed Bernier's relationship with Couillard as irrelevant, he accepted Bernier's resignation. (International Trade Minister David Emerson became the interim minister of Foreign Affairs following Bernier's resignation, and in June became his permanent replacement.) The notes were related to a NATO summit in Romania, and addressed NATO's relationship with Russia; expansion to the Balkans; Afghan prisoners; the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; AECL reactors in Estonia; and the presence of Al-Qaida in Pakistan, among other topics. Bernier, who was separated from Couillard at that time, accepted blame for the incident and resigned his cabinet post on May 26, 2008. Bernier explained that this incident made him rethink about his political career. Since then, he kept government information within his parliamentary office while staying up late to finish duties.

Minister of State

On May 18, 2011, Bernier was appointed as Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism). His responsibilities were expanded with his appointment on July 15, 2013 to Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism and Agriculture). He served in this last role until the new cabinet was sworn in on November 3, 2015, following the Harper Government's defeat on October 19, 2015. During this time, he led the Red Tape Reduction Commission, which created a rule that for every regulation added another one has to be cut.

Opposition Critic

On November 20, 2015, Bernier was appointed by the interim Conservative Leader of the Opposition Rona Ambrose as Critic for Economic Development and Innovation.

On March 6, 2016, Bernier introduced a motion that would have required Bombardier executives to testify reasoning for the federal government to bail them out. However, the governing Liberal Party of Canada blocked it. Bernier has pointed out that instead Bombardier of asking for funding, they should do a corporate restructuring.

Political positions

Bernier previously flirted with Quebec sovereignty and was recruited to work in the office of Bernard Landry, then Quebec's finance minister, to handle fiscal reform. How Bernier voted in the 1995 Quebec referendum is unclear. In 2010, he said he voted no, explaining that while he did not favour the centralized approach of the federalist elite, he did not believe that the separatist establishment could address all of his concerns. However, in 2017, he stated that he was not sure how he voted, but that since he "was a separatist, [he] must have voted yes." Bernier has attributed these views towards the federal intervention into the provincial juristrictions and the failure of Meech Lake Accord. However, Bernier has move away from these leaning and suggested that repescting the Constitution Act, 1867 as a way to deter the movement from gaining support.

In the Times Colonist Bernier stated, "They can call me a fiscal conservative, they can call me a conservative who believes in freedom, they can call me reasonable libertarian, call me anything you want — call me Max, call me Maxime, call me 'Mad Max'."

Federalism

He told the Huffington Post in December 2015 that he would focus his platform on a "more decentralized federalism, a smaller government less involved in Canadians' day-to-day lives, as well as more personal freedoms".

In a February 2, 2017 speech, Bernier criticized equalization as a scheme that subsidized provinces with poor economic performance while creating a "poverty trap" for "have-not provinces".

Bernier has said that prosperity depends on entrepreneurship and individual liberty can lead to prosperity, and overcoming adversity in Canada.

In 2010, he told an audience at the Manning Centre that his view for Canada is not held by Pierre Elliott Trudeau or Jacques Parizeau by stating "Jacques Parizeau used to say that he and Pierre Trudeau agreed on almost everything, except where to put the national capital. They were both believers in big government. Left-wing Quebec nationalism and left-wing Canadian centralism feed off each other."

Bernier has said that the best way to strengthen unity in Canada is by respecting the constitution and not interfering in constitutionally granted jurisdictions.

Economy

On the subject of Corporate Welfare, Bernier stated, "It's not the job of the government to give money to businesses", he said at the 2016 Manning Centre Conference in Ottawa. "I think people understand that. Small businesses don't have the connections or the time to get a handout from the government."

In 2007, Bernier denied a request made by a local bicycle manufacturer to impose a quota against Chinese bicycles. The owner explained to him that he had two options if the quota did not get approved, invest $1-million in low-end bicycles, creating 300 new jobs in Saint-Georges, or a similar amount in high-end bikes that would bring considerably fewer jobs but keep the company more productive. Later, he explained that the bicycle company decided to retool its self as a high-end manufacturer and is still in business.

In an article in 2016, Bernier expressed concern that Donald Trump's economic plan could erode Canada's competitive advantage.

In 2010, Bernier was rumoured to be the MP that prevented the federal government from spending $175 million for Videotron Centre in Quebec City. Even though, most of his Quebec colleagues did support the investment. Even when there were rumours of the government making the investment, Bernier did not waver his position by pointing out the growing budget deficit as an issue.

Transparency

In 2016, Bernier explained that he would get rid of omnibus bills and wants to encourage more transparent debates before passing legislation in Parliament.

Environment

Bernier has suggested that there are uncertainties or exaggerations about anthropogenic climate change and its significance. Bernier later clarified that he wanted scientists not to politicize public policy. He also mentioned that he did not want the government to politicize scientific policy. Bernier believes that entrepreneurship and less interventionist polices can lead to a clearer environment.

Foreign policy

Bernier did not support the Iraq War. In an interview with The Globe and Mail Bernier criticised the $15-billion Saudi arms deal due to reports of Saudi Arabia using them for internal dissent. Bernier goes on to say that he would not approve it.

However, Bernier disagreed with the libertarian label, by stating that he sees "the role of the government at the international scene in different conflicts".

On March 19, 2016, at the Conservative Future's Conference, he cited the liberalization of China, India, "other 3rd world countries" that lifted "millions of people out of poverty", citing "less government and more freedom". In the same speech he also criticized policies creating "more government" to address poverty and unfairness in the free market as "nonsense". Bernier later clarified that his comments were a joke and questioned Press Progress due to their connection to the NDP.

Immigration

In 2017, Bernier stated that while it was "nice" that Canadians wanted to help refugees, it should not come at the cost of its citizens. He pointed out that he prefers private sponsorship over government sponsor due to logistical challenges that a government sponsor faces.

Leadership

On April 7, 2016, Bernier filed his nomination papers to be a candidate in the Conservative Party of Canada leadership election, which was held in May 2017. Bernier explained he ran to share his views while being authentic and not pandering to any special interest group. Before filing his nomination papers, he consulted with his family and supporters when making the decision. On May 27, 2017 he finished a close second in the final round of voting to Andrew Scheer.