Joseph McCrea was among the PPC candidates in Saskatchewan where the party saw a jump in popular vote percentage. (Facebook/Joseph McCrea PPC)

By Rob Mahon

PPC Makes Gains

PPC gains popularity, can’t nail down seat in federal election

Sep 21, 2021 | 5:00 PM

In terms of the final seat count, the result of this election was the same for the People’s Party of Canada as the one in 2019. In terms of the popular vote, however, the party appeared to make some headway, especially in Saskatchewan.

PPC candidates ran in every riding in the province and mostly garnered between five and ten percent of the popular vote. In the case of Souris-Moose Mountain, they finished second to the Conservatives, while in five other ridings they garnered more support than the Liberals.

“We had a strong campaign, lots of support,” said Joseph McCrea, candidate for the PPC in Prince Albert. “Amazing support for the last three or four weeks that I was doing this. It (the final result) is of course disappointing, but a lot of people want their freedom back. They want change, and I think I’m definitely going to run again next election.”

In Prince Albert, McCrea garnered about seven percent of the popular vote, an increase from two percent for the PPC in the riding in 2019. The most popular candidate for the part in Saskatchewan proved to be Chey Craik in Moose Jaw-Lake Centre-Lanigan, who won 12 percent of the vote.

“If you see the crowds and the rallies that the PPC has,” McCrea said, “even just locally with myself, a lot of support that I had come out, I think it’s very popular. I think the movement is popular. I think Canadians just haven’t had enough tyranny here. We need change. It’s going to get worse here if we don’t get change.”

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In Saskatchewan and elsewhere, the PPC and their supporters have flouted restrictions in place due to COVID-19, perhaps most famously when leader Maxime Bernier was arrested in St-Pierre-Jolys, Manitoba. The rallies against COVID restrictions may have drawn some people to their cause, leading to them ending up with just over five percent of the popular vote.

“I think at this point we’ve seen in most western, industrialized democracies a far-right anti-immigration party win a reasonable share of the vote,” said Dr. Daniel Westlake, an assistant professor in the Political Studies Department at the University of Saskatchewan. “Depending on the country, between five and 15 percent of the vote. So I think seeing a People’s Party that can end up with five percent, it’s not too surprising to me.”

Westlake added it’s tougher to win seats in a first-past-the-post system such as Canada’s when your support is geographically dispersed, especially when most of it is centered in traditional Conservative party strongholds.

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP