Maxime Bernier

The Honourable Maxime Bernier PC MP
Official Opposition Critic for Innovation
In office November 20, 2015 – April 7, 2016
Leader	Rona Ambrose
Preceded by	Peggy Nash
Succeeded by	Diane Finley
Minister of State for Small Business and Tourism
In office May 18, 2011 – November 4, 2015
Prime Minister	Stephen Harper
Preceded by	Rob Moore
Succeeded by	Bardish Chagger
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office August 13, 2007 – May 26, 2008
Prime Minister	Stephen Harper
Preceded by	Peter MacKay
Succeeded by	David Emerson
Minister of Industry
In office February 6, 2006 – August 13, 2007
Prime Minister	Stephen Harper
Preceded by	David Emerson
Succeeded by	Jim Prentice
Chair of the Standing Committee on National Defence
In office March 9, 2009 – June 20, 2011
Minister	Peter Mackay
Preceded by	Rick Casson
Succeeded by	James Bezan
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Beauce
Incumbent
Assumed office January 23, 2006
Preceded by	Claude Drouin
Personal details
Born	January 18, 1963 Saint-Georges, Quebec
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Divorced
Residence	Saint-Georges, Quebec
Profession	Businessman, lawyer, consultant

Maxime Bernier, PC, MP (born January 18, 1963) is a Canadian politician currently serving as the Member of Parliament for the riding of Beauce in Quebec. He was reelected in the 2015 election.

He served as the Minister of Industry, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of State for Small Business and Tourism, and Minister of State for Small Business and Tourism and Agriculture in the cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He is now the Official Opposition Critic for Economic Development and Innovation.

Prior to entering federal politics in 2006 Bernier was vice-president of the Standard Life of Canada insurance company and manager of corporate and international relations at the Commission des valeurs mobilières du Québec.

His beliefs have caused him to be nicknamed "Mad Max" by his Ottawa colleagues.^[1]

Background

Bernier was born in Saint-Georges, Quebec, the son of Doris (Rodrigue) and Gilles Bernier.^[2][3] He has two sisters, Brigitte and Caroline, and one brother, Gilles Bernier, Jr. His father represented the riding of Beauce from 1984 to 1997, first as a Progressive Conservative and then as an independent. 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 has participated in several marathons and runs daily. 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. Bernier has held positions in several financial and banking institutions, including the National Bank, the Securities Commission of Québec, and Standard Life of Canada, to that of Executive Vice-President of the Montreal Economic Institute.^[4] The father of two children, Bernier and their mother have been divorced for several years.^[5] On September 29, 2013, he trained for and ran an ultramarathon for thirteen hours and raised $153,000 for a local food bank.^[6]

Bernier is regarded by pundits as belonging to the limited government wing of the Conservative Party.^[7][8][9] He admires politicians like Margaret Thatcher,Ronald Regan, and Ron Paul for their commitment to individual liberties and freedoms.

Politics

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 was well known and well liked in the area, partly due to his father's legacy. The Conservatives thought that he represented their best chance of winning a seat in Quebec.^[10] On election day the Conservatives made big gains in the province and elected 10 Members of Parliament, including Bernier. He won 67 per cent of the popular vote in the riding, which was the largest majority for a Conservative MP outside Alberta.^[4][11]

Political views

Bernier has long been viewed as one of the most libertarian politicians in Canada, favouring smaller government and reduced taxes. “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.”^[12]

He told Huffington Post Canada in December 2015 that he'll 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".^[13]

On March 19, 2016, at the Conservative Future's Conference^[14] he cited the liberalization of China, India, "other 3rd world countries" that lifted "millions of people out of poverty." specifically 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."^[15]

Bernier has suggested that there are uncertainties or exaggerations about anthropogenic climate change and its significance.^{[16][17][18][19]} Bernier later clarified that he wants politicians, not scientists, to determine policy.^[20]

He did not support the Iraq war.^[21]

In a speech in 2011, Bernier criticised the controversial Bill 101 since he believed that the government should not infringe on individual freedom to protect its culture and language.^[22]

In 2010, Bernier was rumored to be the MP that preventened the federal government from spending $175 million into the Videotron Centre in Quebec City.^[23]

Industry Minister

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.^[24] During his time as Industry Minister Bernier set in motion steps that led to deregulation of the telecommunication industry.^{[25][26][27][28]}His success in deregulating major portions of the telecommunications sector prompted the chair of the political science department at McGill University, Professor Richard J. Schultz, to write, “In terms of what is perhaps the single most important component of his Industry portfolio, telecommunications, he was without challenge the best Industry Minister in thirty years.”^[29]

Foreign Affairs Minister

On August 14, 2007, Bernier was appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs, replacing Peter MacKay who became the Minister of National Defence.^[30][31]

Couillard affair and resignation

Bernier came under intense scrutiny after the media discovered that his former girlfriend Julie Couillard had romantic links with members of the Hells Angels, predating their relationship.^[32] Although Prime Minister Stephen Harper initially dismissed this as irrelevant, he later accepted Bernier's resignation when a former girlfriend revealed after he broke off their relationship that Bernier had left classified and sensitive briefing notes for an upcoming NATO meeting at her home.^[33] International Trade Minister David Emerson became the interim minister of Foreign Affairs following Bernier's resignation, and in June became his permanent replacement.^[34][35]

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)^[36] 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.^[37]

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.^[36]

Leadership

On April 7, 2016, Bernier filed his nomination papers to be a candidate in the Conservative Party of Canada leadership election, which is to be held in May 2017.^[38]

Electoral record

Canadian federal election, 2015
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Maxime Bernier	32,910	58.89	+8.17	–
	Liberal	Adam Veilleux	12,442	22.26	+11.27	–
	New Democratic	Daniel Royer	5,443	9.74	-20.26	–
	Bloc Québécois	Stéphane Trudel	4,144	7.42	+0.75	–
	Green	Céline Brown MacDonald	943	1.69	+0.08	–
Total valid votes/Expense limit			55,882	100.0		$222,691.43
Total rejected ballots			712	1.25	0.02
Turnout			56,594	66.15	+3.13
Eligible voters			85,547
	Conservative hold		Swing		+14.22
Source: Elections Canada[39][40]

Canadian federal election, 2011
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Maxime Bernier	26,799	50.71	-11.70	$80,639.74
	New Democratic	Serge Bergeron	15,831	29.95	+21.43	$1,165.17
	Liberal	Claude Morin	5,833	11.04	+0.72	$53,133.79
	Bloc Québécois	Sylvio Morin	3,535	6.69	-7.29	$19,711.99
	Green	Etienne Doyon Lessard	852	1.61	-3.16	$2.00
Total valid votes/Expense limit			52,850	100.0		$90,992.37
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots			681	1.27	-0.30
Turnout			53,531	63.02	+0.64
Eligible voters			84,941
	Conservative hold		Swing		-16.56
Sources:[41][42]

Canadian federal election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Maxime Bernier	31,883	62.41	-4.61	$69,558.01
	Bloc Québécois	André Côté	7,143	13.98	-5.99	$13,263,15
	Liberal	René Roy	5,270	10.32	+2.40	$2,129.85
	New Democratic	Véronique Poulin	4,352	8.52	+5.97	$2,575.32
	Green	Nicolas Rochette	2,436	4.77	+2.23	none listed
Total valid votes/Expense limit			51,084	100.0		$87,470
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots			817	1.57	+0.75
Turnout			51,901	62.38	-5.24
Eligible voters			83,205
	Conservative hold		Swing		+0.69

Canadian federal election, 2006
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	∆%	Expenditures
	Conservative	Maxime Bernier	36,915	67.02	+49.93	$79,344.54
	Bloc Québécois	Patrice Moore	10,997	19.97	-16.29	$66,069.90
	Liberal	Jacques Lussier	4,364	7.92	-33.46	$54,809.07
	New Democratic	Cléo Chartier	1,405	2.55	-0.50	$1,020.20
	Green	Jean-Claude Roy	1,397	2.54	+0.31	$108.47
Total valid votes/Expense limit			55,078	100.0		$81,497
Total rejected, unmarked and declined ballots			454	0.82	-1.42
Turnout			55,532	67.62	+8.12
Eligible voters			82,123
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing		+33.11

References

1. "From 'Mad Max' to The Running Man: Tory MP finishes 107-km marathon for local charity". National Post. Retrieved 2016-04-20.
3. http://www.nosorigines.qc.ca/GenealogieQuebec.aspx?genealogy=Doris_Rodrigue&pid=316402&lng=en
4. "Biography". Maxime Bernier. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
5. "In training with Maxime Bernier". Maclean's. 14 May 2013.
6. "Maxime Bernier's latest challenge: an ultramarathon". CBC. 29 September 2013.
7. "Maxime Bernier: Ottawa should quit intruding on provincial lurisdiction". National Post. 13 October 2010. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
8. Taber, Jane (10 September 2010). "Maxime Bernier breaks ranks on arena funding". Globe and Mail. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
9. "Maxime Bernier wants to have an adult conversation". Globe and Mail. 17 October 2010. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
10. "Harper targets attainable Quebec ridings". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 17 January 2006. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
11. "Conservatives make breakthrough in Quebec; Bloc wins 51 seats". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 24 January 2006. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
12. "Maxime Bernier and the politics of ideas". Retrieved 21 March 2016.
13. "Maxime Bernier Preparing Bid For Conservative Party". Retrieved 21 March 2016.
14. "VIDEO: Conservative MP Maxime Bernier wishes Canada had "more freedom" like China". Press Progress.
15. "Maxime Bernier: China has "less government and more freedom" than Canada". 29 March 2016.
16. Taber, Jane (February 24, 2010). "Maxime Bernier has 'long history' of climate-change denial". The Globe and Mail (Toronto).
17. "Bernier questions climate science". MacLean's. 24 February 2010. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
18. "Climate skeptics gathering influence in Tory Senate seats". Edmonton Journal. 22 January 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
19. "Une position sage". La Presse. 22 February 2010.
20. "Press review: my opinion piece on climate change « Maxime Bernier blog". www.maximebernier.com. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
21. Stephenson, Dan. "The Shotgun: Maxime Bernier agrees with Harper: "Iraq war was a mistake"". westernstandard.blogs.com. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
22. "We need more Max Berniers". vigile.quebec. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
23. "Maxime Bernier Maverick Watch - Macleans.ca". Macleans.ca. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
24. "More Quebec MPs named to cabinet than expected". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 6 February 2006. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
25. "CRTC gives thumbs-up to telecom complaints agency". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 22 December 2006. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
26. "Conservatives overrule CRTC on regulation of internet phones". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 15 November 2006. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
27. "Ottawa accelerates deregulation of local phone service". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 11 December 2006. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
28. "Removing the dead hand". National Post. 16 June 2007. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
29. "Biography « Maxime Bernier blog". www.maximebernier.com. Retrieved 2016-04-30.
30. "Opposition leaders slam Harper's cabinet shuffle". CTV News. 15 August 2007. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
31. "Quebecers gain key cabinet roles". Montreal Gazette. 14 August 2007. Retrieved 8 October 2012. "Maxime Bernier resigns as foreign affairs minister". CTV. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
32. "Who is Julie Couillard?". Montreal Gazette. 8 May 2008. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
33. "Harper shrugs off new concerns about minister's ex-flame". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 26 May 2008. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
34. "Emerson adds high-profile post to other duties". The Vancouver Sun. 28 May 2008. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
35. "Foreign Affairs Minister Emerson set to retire: sources". Canadian Broadcasting. 3 September 2008. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
36. |url=http://www.lop.parl.gc.ca/ParlInfo/Files/Parliamentarian.aspx?Item=8c04baa6-daad-4fe5-8413-3973a24a2760&Language=E&Section=ALL
37. "Stephen Harper to step down as leader after Conservative defeat". Canadian Broadcasting. 19 October 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
38. http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/04/07/quebec-mp-maxime-bernier-officially-enters-conservative-leadership-race.html
39. Elections Canada – Confirmed candidates for Beauce, 30 September 2015
40. Elections Canada – Preliminary Election Expenses Limits for Candidates
41. Elections Canada – Official voting results, Forty-first general election, 2011
42. Elections Canada – Candidate's electoral campaign return, 41st general election

External links

• CPC biography page of Maxime Bernier
• Maxime Bernier's Official Blog
• Profile at Parliament of Canada
• Maxime Bernier – Parliament of Canada biography
• Speeches, votes and activity at OpenParliament.ca