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'Prince of Beauce' is Tories' best shot in Quebec Woods, Allan . The Ottawa Citizen ; Ottawa, Ont. [Ottawa, Ont]. 31 Dec 2005: A4. ProQuest document link ABSTRACT (ABSTRACT) Maxime Bernier is the son of the "King of the Beauce." It is a name that was affectionately given to Gilles Bernier, Mr. Bernier's father, and it has stayed with him despite having left Parliament Hill three elections ago. Gilles Bernier was kicked out of Kim Campbell's Progressive Conservative party before the 1993 election under a cloud of corruption charges, but went on to win his riding as an independent before bowing out and throwing his support in 1997 behind Liberal candidate Claude Drouin, who stayed for three terms. "Paul Martin's dad did it for him," he said. "Paul Martin, the father, did good policy for Canada, and so you have Paul Martin Jr. So now you have Maxime Bernier, and before him Gilles." FULL TEXT STE-MARIE-DE-BEAUCE, Que. - The Conservative party tapped into a royal pedigree for a candidate who is one of their best hopes to win a breakthrough seat in Quebec. Maxime Bernier is the son of the "King of the Beauce." It is a name that was affectionately given to Gilles Bernier, Mr. Bernier's father, and it has stayed with him despite having left Parliament Hill three elections ago. Gilles Bernier was kicked out of Kim Campbell's Progressive Conservative party before the 1993 election under a cloud of corruption charges, but went on to win his riding as an independent before bowing out and throwing his support in 1997 behind Liberal candidate Claude Drouin, who stayed for three terms. And now, with his decision to contest the riding for the Conservative party, the crown has passed to Maxime Bernier. His victory is by no means a sure thing, but it would be a breakthrough for the predominately western-based Tories in the event that Canadians re-elect a Liberal government. If the election tides change to favour Stephen Harper and he is elected prime minister Jan. 23, Mr. Bernier's victory is vital. "It's important for the party to have at least one seat in Quebec because we're a national party," Mr. Bernier said. "If you don't have any seats among the Quebec electorate, that's the end of being a national party." The matter-of-fact assessment is in keeping with Mr. Bernier's outlook on politics and life. PDF GENERATED BY PROQUEST.COM Page 1 of 3 It is the same line of thinking that leads him to assert that Quebec's sovereigntist sentiment will disappear once the federal government fixes the so-called fiscal imbalance, where provincial governments complain that they pay more to Ottawa than what they receive back in services. "If you solve that in Quebec, I'm sure that the sovereigntist movement, the (Parti Quebecois) and the Bloc (Quebecois), won't be as popular. It's very simple and it's the main thing," he said. He also notes that because the Beauce is a federalist riding, all he must do for the rest of the campaign is keep stealing the Liberal vote away from the Grit candidate, former village mayor Jacques Lussier, and he will be able to defeat Patrice Moore, the popular radio host who is carrying the Bloc banner, and keep the Beauce's shutout of separatist parties alive in the parliamentary history books. "If we started with only 8,000 votes for the the Conservatives in the last election (in 2004), I need that (Liberal) vote if I want to win," said Mr. Bernier. "That's why I'm enthusiastic. Because people are telling me: 'I am a Liberal but you will have my vote.'" If it all sounds too simple coming from Mr. Bernier's mouth, that is either because it is too simple, or because it is bang-on. This is, after all, La Beauce, a vast swath of land between the provincial capital and the Canada-U.S. border that expert political observers describe as "a distinct society within Quebec." But les Beaucerons do want an advocate in Ottawa. It is the position that Mr. Bernier is pitching hard for in this campaign, but it is his last name rather than his first that gives him his best chance to land the job, he admits. "Paul Martin's dad did it for him," he said. "Paul Martin, the father, did good policy for Canada, and so you have Paul Martin Jr. So now you have Maxime Bernier, and before him Gilles." To run in this election, Mr. Bernier quit a job with the Montreal Economic Institute to move back to the land he left at 19 years of age. Gilles Bernier is working on the campaign, usually accompanying his son to one major event each week to act as a bridge between the rookie politician and area decision-makers. Illustration Photo: Fred Chartrand, The Canadian Press / Maxime Bernier believes fixing fiscal imbalances between the provinces and the federal government will fight the separatist movement in Quebec. DETAILS People: Bernier, Gilles Martin, Paul Company / organization: Name: Conservative Party-UK; NAICS: 813940 PDF GENERATED BY PROQUEST.COM Page 2 of 3 Publication title: The Ottawa Citizen; Ottawa, Ont. Pages: A4 Number of pages: 0 Publication year: 2005 Publication date: Dec 31, 2005 Dateline: STE Section: News Publisher: Postmedia Network Inc. Place of publication: Ottawa, Ont. Country of publication: Canada, Ottawa, Ont. Publication subject: General Interest Periodicals--Canada ISSN: 08393222 Source type: Newspaper Language of publication: English Document type: News ProQuest document ID: 240954304 Document URL: https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/prince-beauce-is-tories-best-shot- quebec/docview/240954304/se-2?accountid=5705 Copyright: (Copyright The Ottawa Citizen 2005) Last updated: 2019-08-27 Database: Canadian Newsstream LINKS Database copyright  2021 ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. Terms and Conditions Contact ProQuest PDF GENERATED BY PROQUEST.COM Page 3 of 3