When gaffe-prone Harper-era cabinet minister Maxime Bernier lost the May 2017 Conservative leadership vote by just 700 votes, something snapped. Now the former Montreal lawyer and charter member of a Quebec’s urban elite has become the standard bearer for a re-imagined kind of reactionary politics in Canada.

What effect is a blatantly xenophobic political party having on the country in an election year? On this episode of the award-winning Unpacking the News podcast, comedian and activist John Hanchar joins host Andre Goulet to explore the lazy narcissism and up-front Islamophobia of ‘Mad’ Max Bernier’s People’s Party of Canada.

Plus: why 1.6. million 12-20 year-olds protesting (in more than 2000 cities in 125 countries around the world) on March 15th’s Day of Climate Action is reason for optimism in dark times.

This conversation was recorded on March 23rd, 2019.

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Listen to “The Cunning and Cowardice of Maxime Bernier” on Spreaker.