The People’s Party of Canada, founded by former Conservative MP Maxime Bernier in September, has set up its final three electoral district associations in Surrey on Saturday in preparation for the next federal election.
The federal election is scheduled to take place on Oct. 21, 2019 and so far the fledgling political party has founded 278 EDAs of a possible 338 throughout Canada. The People’s Party of Canada now has more than 33,000 members, with 14 per cent of them in B.C.
Maxime Bernier, leader of the People’s Party of Canada. (Facebook image)
Surrey’s final PPC electoral district associations were set up in Fleetwood-Port Kells, Surrey-Newton and Surrey Centre at the Planet India restaurant in Newton, on Saturday. Roughly 30 people attended.
Gurmant Grewal, who served as an MP in Surrey under the Reform, Canadian Alliance and Conservative parties from 1997 to 2006, is co-chairman of the PPC campaign.
“With the completion of founding of all the EDAs, we have successfully completed the first step towards competing in the next election,” Grewal said. “We are also moving forward with the election readiness for both the by-elections in Burnaby-South and Nanaimo-Ladysmith.”
READ ALSO: Former Surrey MP Gurmant Grewal supports Bernier’s new party
Will he seek an MP candidacy himself? “At this point I don’t know,” he told the Now-Leader on Friday.
“Otherwise I am very excited, we are doing more than anticipated.”
Grewal said more than 650 people attended a party rally in Vancouver on Nov. 8, when organizers were expecting maybe 300.
“People were standing out in the hallway,” he said.
Shannon Kewley, PPC organizer for B.C., said the party’s EDA for South Surrey-White Rock on Dec. 1st and Cloverdale-Langley City’s was done six weeks ago. Delta’s was also set up on Saturday.
There are 42 in B.C.
“I have set all of them up in nine weeks; we are wrapping the last three of them in Surrey.”
“It’s been amazing,” she said. “We’re going to start looking at candidates in January, however we will be running candidates in both the by-elections in British Columbia.”
tom.zytaruk@surreynowleader.com
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