The People鈥檚 Party of Canada has established riding associations in both 91原创 electoral districts and organizers say each has about 100 members.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have to go to people, people come to you,鈥� said PPC regional organizer for the Fraser Valley Ben Besler.
Cloverdale-91原创 City and 91原创-Aldergrove recently saw the PPC, headed up by former Conservative MP and cabinet minister Maxime Bernier, form new electoral district associations.
Bernier narrowly lost to current Conservative Party leader Andrew Scheer in that party鈥檚 last leadership race in the spring of 2017
Then earlier this year, he left the Conservatives, calling his former party 鈥渢oo intellectually and morally corrupt.鈥�
The PPC is a small-c conservative party, Besler said, but he said their new members are coming from a variety of backgrounds.
鈥淭here鈥檚 definitely disenfranchised Conservatives, there鈥檚 members who haven鈥檛 been politically active before,鈥� Besler said.
He said the party is even drawing in some left-leaning people who are upset by corporate bailouts.
The party supports policies for the working class, opposes corporate welfare, and the 鈥渄airy cartel,鈥� said Besler. Bernier was one of the leading Conservative voices in favour of ending supply management in the Canadian dairy industry.
The party is now preparing to choose candidates next spring for an expected fall election in 2019.
In Cloverdale-91原创 City the PPC will go up against incumbent Liberal MP John Aldag, as well as newly-nominated Conservative candidate Tamara Jansen.
In 91原创-Aldergrove, incumbent Conservative MP Mark Warawa is expected to run again.
Despite running against a long-serving Conservative in one of 91原创鈥檚 ridings and a Liberal in the other, Besler isn鈥檛 worried about splitting the conservative vote between the PCC and the Tories.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 think we鈥檙e splitting the opposition, we think we鈥檙e forming the opposition,鈥� he said.
Besler said the party plans to field candidates in all 338 ridings across the country.
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