Allan Kerpan, Deputy Leader of the Maverick Party at one of Saturday's information sessions. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW staff)

By Angela Brown

New federal party

New Maverick federal party sees positive response during community visit

Apr 24, 2021 | 4:55 PM

The new Maverick federal party saw some positive responses from those who came to one of the information sessions on Saturday.

Fourteen people attended the 1 p.m. meeting at the Don Ross Centre in North Battleford. Two more meetings were also planned for the afternoon, with a maximum of 30 people permitted for each session to meet COVID-19 capacity restrictions.

“We’re building a new party here, obviously it’s difficult in COVID times because we’re limited and restricted to how many people we can have under the restrictions in the hall of course,” the Party’s Deputy Leader Allan Kerpan told battlefordsNOW. “But it’s going really well. In the last two or three weeks, our numbers for memberships and donations have really taken off.”

Kerpan said the Maverick Party are hoping people will look at it not just as another political party, but a party that has the interests of only the West in mind, and when the next federal election takes place whenever it is decided that people will consider voting Maverick.

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“We believe we are the only voice of true Western representation,” he said. “That’s what is going to carry us down the road. We are going to elect some Members of Parliament, and we are going to make a noise when we go to Ottawa. So we need people’s support in order to do that.”

Benjamin Graham with the Maverick Party addresses those gathered during the meeting. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW staff)

John Nesdoly of Cutknife, who attended the meeting, said he and his wife have taken out memberships for the Maverick Party.

“It’s the only way to go,” he said. “O’Toole [federal Conservative Party Leader Erin O’Toole] has basically thrown his entire Western membership under the bus by supporting this carbon tax, so there is now no place for us to go or no place for us to vote.”

Nesdoly said he is very supportive of the new Maverick Party’s plan to provide a voice for the West.

“Because all the power is concentrated in Toronto, Montreal and the 905 [area code locations] especially, the 905 ultimately decides the elections,” he said. “They swing one way or they swing the other. Western issues aren’t really going to appeal to the 905 voters because they don’t care. So we have to take our destiny into our own hands.”

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @OCoureurDesBois