The entire People's Party of Canada board in a Winnipeg riding has resigned in disgust, claiming the upstart party is being taken over by racists, anti-Semites and conspiracy theorists.
The resignation letter from the former executive in the Elmwood-Transcona riding says they cannot sit by as bigoted views hold prominence in public discussions about the party.
They argue the party attracted supporters who would deny freedoms to Canadians, close borders and spread false information online.
"None of these are things we would have expected you to stand beside during the leadership campaign," said the letter addressed to party leader Maxime Bernier, who earned a following while striving to lead the federal Conservatives in the 2017 leadership race.
"We are appalled to see it encouraged with a wink and a nod now," the board wrote.
The letter, sent to the party and posted on social media on Tuesday, says many of their members and volunteers turned their back on the party. Their only prospective candidate, the letter says, bowed out over the "justifiable fear of a tainted reputation."
Riding association president Shaun Martin said the executive felt no choice but to resign.
It's disappointing, the 35-year-old said, because they believed in Bernier's stances against corporate welfare, supply management and government intervention.
But before long, Martin said, the party latched on to racist and anti-immigrant sentiment, which didn't fit with the principled alternative he thought the People's Party would become.
"We kind of held out hope that Max would stop just saying that he's denouncing this stuff and actually take some action against the people who are doing these things," Martin said. "But we didn't see any evidence of that, and we just couldn't stay any longer."
The PPC did not respond Wednesday or Thursday to requests for comment.
Willows Christopher was ready to be the party's candidate in Elmwood-Transcona. He finished the paperwork and his nomination video — but couldn't go through with it.
"We've even seen organizers and people higher up the chain that are kind of into conspiracy theories and anti-Muslim," he said. "It's ideas like that that none of us on the board signed on for. That's not what we thought the party would be about and that's not what we got involved for."
Christopher, 23, said he's met Bernier many times, had lunch with him, and is certain he isn't racist, but could no longer stand with the party in good conscience.
