People’s Party of Canada (PPC) leader Maxime Bernier has refused to provide The Counter Signal with a guest list of who was in attendance at a Bank of Montreal Financial Group dinner while he attended the World Economic Forum in 2008. 

Bernier, who is currently the second-place contender in the upcoming Portage–Lisgar byelection, has denied attending the controversial Davos summit and insists that he was sent as Canada’s former minister of foreign affairs by the Harper government to meet with envoys from other nations. 

In an interview with True North’s Andrew Lawton, it was revealed that among the meetings Bernier partook in was a BMO dinner with unnamed guests. 

The Counter Signal’s attempts to ask Bernier about it went unanswered

The Counter Signal has made several attempts to ask Bernier and the PPC to share the guest list for that said dinner in the interest of transparency. 

None of our requests for disclosure were met or responded to. 

Recent polls just days prior to the Jun. 19 byelection in the Manitoba riding show a substantial lead for the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC). 

CPC candidate Brandon Leslie is leading among decided voters with 43% of the vote while the PPC’s Bernier has 27%. 

Bernier’s contention for the seat, which saw the PPC’s best result in the 2021 federal election, has worried the Conservatives enough to accuse him of WEF ties. 

WEF was not on the radar of most conservatives in 2008

It is to be noted that the WEF was not on the radar of most mainstream conservatives in 2008 and that founder Klaus Schwab did not make some of his more controversial statements until much later. 

Schwab made the infamous “penetrating cabinets” speech in 2017, where he admitted to placing WEF Young Global Leaders in some of the most influential governments in the world. 

Similarly, the controversial statement that “You’ll own nothing, and you’ll be happy” can be dated back to 2016 – eight years after Bernier’s trip to Davos.