- by Anne Finlay-Stewart, Editor

The People's Party of Canada (PPC) officially has a presence in Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound.

Bill Townsend of Durham, former CKNX radio host who is now a broadcast engineer and on the faculty at Humber College, has been acclaimed as the first candidate in the riding for the party. The PPC was founded by former Conservative MP Maxime Bernier in September of 2018.

The party members at Thursday's meeting from across the riding, some former Liberals, more former Conservatives, all agreed about one thing – that they'd had their fill of the other major parties and leaders. Bernier, they said, is saying what needs to be said, and what Andrew Scheer will not say. The Liberals and Conservatives, they said “are two sides of the same coin”.

Townsend rejected the radical labels applied to the PPC by the media and opponents. He called the People's Party “the most centrist in the landscape”- traditional Canadian conservatism.
Townsend said that Larry Miller won in Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound for so long precisely because most people in the area are small “c” conservatives, and that is why Bernier's party will appeal.

In the broad strokes, Townsend described the PPC as a grassroots party, building from the ground up, based on four principals – individual freedom, personal responsibility, fairness, and respect.

Townsend said his campaign understood the challenge of being a new party, but said people have been voting against something – a party or leader – for decades. He believes that if he can communicate his message well, people will be able to vote for something that aligns with their values.

The structure and records of the major parties show they are incapable of being responsible to the people, he said, because they must answer to their parties. “We won't be making any personal, ad hominem attacks on other candidates,” he said. “That only shows you have nothing to bring to the table.” He called Alex Ruff, recently elected Conservative candidate for BGOS, a good man and a good candidate “in the wrong party”.

Stated policies of the PPC discussed at the meeting included reducing government, ending “corporate welfare”, cutting the CBC, eliminating supply management, and getting out of the United Nations.

More about the policies of the People's Party can be found on their website.