People's Party of Canada (PPC) leader Maxim Bernier is confident support will continue to grow for his grassroots conservative party as more Canadians become familiar with its platform.

He believes a growing number of Canadians are tired of political correctness and wishy-washy politicians. Instead, they are seeking a party with strong convictions.

Bernier spent the better part of July 13 in Cochrane as part of his week-long Alberta swing that stretched from Grande Prairie in the north to Lethbridge in the south.

An afternoon open house attended by about 75 people saw Banff-Airdrie PCC candidate Nadine Wellwood lead a Q&A that allowed Bernier to speak about his party's policies and answer a few questions from the floor.

The new right-wing national party leader spoke at length on a number of the PPC's free enterprise driven policies, including the aim to balance the budget in two years, eliminate business subsidies, phase out subsidies for the CBC, reduce provincial equalization payments, shrink and decentralize government, ensure pipeline projects proceed, reinvent Canada's foreign and immigration policies, and reject the alarmism on global warming and the environment.

Bernier believes people will come to recognize the PPC is the "true" conservative party. He says the Conservative Party of Canada is nothing more than another centralist group afraid to make a decision before consulting the polls and focus groups.

Afterwards, he held a 40-minute press conference to discuss a range of topics on the PPC. 

He says about 80 per cent of the PPC platform is taken from the blue book of the former Reform Party of Canada, a Western Canada movement. He now wants to bring that platform to a national audience and believes it will be given more serious consideration when it comes from a bilingual leader.

He's also taking a cue from British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's belief in sticking by your convictions. Thatcher was often quoted to say the trap of seeking consensus ultimately moves a decision further to the left.

Noting polls indicate 52 per cent of Canadians are willing to support a new party, Bernier is convinced Canadians are ready to consider the PPC. 

"I can lose some votes, but I can win more votes thinking as I do," says Bernier. "So why not be me? I can feel on the ground that people are ready to hear the truth and if you don't like my truth, you don't like freedom and responsibility, then I'm OK with that."

But he admits at times it can tough. A part of him wants to please people he speaks with, but he is firmly convinced a freer more prosperous Canada will not be achieved by populous politicians who prey upon emotions to get votes.

"Sometimes a politician wants to be loved by everybody. I want everybody to love me, but that's impossible."

"I think people are fed up with political correctness and that's why I won't change."

The PPC lags far behind all major national parties in the polls and is barely a blip on the scale. Currently, it's a two-way race between the Conservative and the Liberal parties.

Bernier and Wellwood briefly meet with Mayor Jeff Genung and Town Councillor Patrick Wilson at the open house.

That doesn't discourage Bernier.

"The job is to inform the population and that takes time and time is running against us right now; we only have three months."

"People don't know the name of the party. It needs to be out there. My name recognition is up there but the name is down here."

"That's OK. After eight months I can't expect that everybody will know the PPC. We didn't have our candidates, now we do. Two hundred and eighty-three candidates all across the country are out campaigning right now and after that, I'll be at the national debate."

The PPC intends to have a full slate of 338 candidates for the federal election slated for late October. 

He implies the nationally-televised leader debate could be a pivotal point for his party. While calling her government a disaster, he believes the Alberta leader debate won the 2015 provincial election for Rachel Notley.

The party name suggests a left-wing party in some people's mind, far from Bernier's Libertarian leanings. 

"People's Party speaks to our convictions. We want to put people first, work for the people and the sovereignty of our country, so I'm very happy with the name."

He believes the PPC will influence national policies, even if they don't win the election. He points to the impact on federal government policy by the Green Party with just two seats in British Columbia.

"We will have the balance of power if I'm not the prime minister. I won't compromise on any of our ideas. We will work with the government and we'll force the government to do some of our reforms on immigration, on equalization, on pipelines, on balancing the budget. That's our plan."

"We won't have to compromise on our platform because the government will need us if we have the balance of power. The government would have to compromise on their policies."

During the 2017-18 Conservative leadership campaign, Bernier called himself an "Albertan from Quebec." His seven days here fortified his appreciation for the growing bitterness towards Ottawa. 

"It's sad that politicians don't understand the frustration in Alberta. I understand that frustration and that message was very clear all across the province. From the south to the north and Calgary and Edmonton, it's the same."

He says the cabinet of a PPC government would make the pipeline construction and equalization payments decisions. He views the transfer payments as nothing more than a welfare trap for provinces and believes pipeline decisions are clearly in federal jurisdiction.  

"It's a decision by the federal cabinet. We'll have our meeting at 8 a.m in the morning and at 12 o'clock we'll have a new formula. That's it. No consultation or legislation. We don't need to do that."

"We will force the government to do it because I want you guys to be part of this country 10 years from now."

He says the Conservatives are attempting to ignore and belittle the PPC. The Conservative party platform has yet to be revealed but he did question if Sheer's party genuinely has the interest of small businesses at heart. 

Bernier says the PPC policy aligns with the "no business subsidies" position of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. He speculates the Conservative platform will continue to support what he commonly labels corporate welfare.

"The Conservative Party of Canada is in favour of subsidies to businesses, small, medium and large ones. We won't go there.'

"So when I say no more subsidies to businesses, that's what entrepreneurs want."

He says a PPC government would instead lower business taxes to 10 per cent across the board, from the current 15 per cent.

"Our policies are fair to everybody. Businesses know it's not fair when you tax them and then give the money to another corporation. They are paying taxes but not receiving any subsidies. They know it's not fair."