Winkler MB, population 13,600, was the epicentre Friday halfway to the finish line in of the race to win the June 19 Portage-Lisgar byelection..At a morning press conference, People’s Party of Canada (PPC) Leader Maxime Bernier said vote-splitting is a non-issue “myth” in the “two-horse race” between him and Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) candidate Branden Leslie..Meanwhile, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was Winkler-bound, located one hour and 40 minutes south of Winnipeg, for an evening “special meet and greet” with constituents..“I can tell the Conservatives are very nervous. Why do you think Pierre Poilievre would be in Winkler today to support his candidate?” said Bernier..The byelection was called because Candice Bergen, former interim Conservative leader, resigned in February after serving the riding since 2008..Leslie, who served as Bergen’s 2019 campaign manager, worked in Ottawa with the Grain Growers of Canada. His family farms in the riding..“No matter who is elected here on June 19, we will still be stuck with Trudeau as prime minister,” said Bernier..“The Liberals will still be able to govern with NDP support. If you send another fake Conservative to Ottawa, nothing changes at all. The only way to make change in the House of Commons is to send me.”.Bernier pointed to the 2021 federal election results in the riding to make his case against the vote-splitting concern. The PPC fared best in Portage-Lisgar..“In the 2021 election, the Conservative Party candidate, Candace Bergen, received 53% of the vote. Our PPC candidate, Solomon Wiebe, came in second place with 22%,” explained Bernier..“The Liberal and NDP candidates combined received just 24% of the vote. It’s simply impossible for the Liberals or NDP to win this riding. It’s a two-horse race between the CPC candidate and me.”.Bernier called for a public debate between the two candidates to show voters “how very different our approaches and visions are.”.“I believe the only way to advance conservative ideas is to defend them openly, with passion and conviction. We need to have these debates and convince more Canadians if we ever want to implement conservative policies.”.Bernier railed against the “fake Conservatives” for being weak and missing the mark on abortion and gender ideology issues..He also took aim at Leslie recently..“They try to sell Brandon as a local boy, but the truth is he’s been living in Ottawa for years working as a lobbyist for Grain Growers of Canada.”.“Instead of defending the interests of local farmers, Brandon has been working with the Trudeau government to implement their destructive net-zero emissions program on the farming sector.”.Leslie dismissed the charges as “desperate words form a desperate opponent.”.“I’ll call it laughable… Anybody that knows me, whether they worked with me at the Grain Growers of Canada, or know me as a farm kid, knows how deeply I care about the agricultural sector broadly speaking, but particularly the grain sector," he said..“Having worked with the Grain Growers of Canada for the past three years, advocating and fighting for our farmers, collectively it’s given me a wealth of experience inside and outside of politics.”.Bernier lost two bids — in 2019 and 2021 — to win a seat in Quebec’s Beauce riding..He opposed the COVID-19 mandates and was arrested and jailed in Manitoba for violating restrictions. .Bernier expects to draw on support from voters who suffered from lockdowns and fines and are fed up with the government’s woke agenda.
