Election Special： Cory Morgan and the PPC's Chelsea Hillier
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Summary
On the eve of the 2019 election, I'm joined by Chelsea Hillier, a member of a well-known political family, to talk about her campaign and why she's running for the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in the upcoming election.
Transcript
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I'm joined today, right on the almost eve of the election with Chelsea Hillier,
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a member of a well-known political family that's been going around.
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I've known Russ for quite some time, but I haven't, haven't met you.
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So you're running for the PPC in Elgin, Middlesex, London.
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This campaign has been better than we could have imagined.
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We knew that there was going to be a lot of support out here.
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This is a very sort of freedom oriented place, but it's exceeded all of our expectations.
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Well, it's been raising a lot of eyebrows finally, I guess you could almost say.
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I mean, it's like a lot of the establishment media and establishment parties just wanted
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to pretend that Bernier and the PPC weren't even there.
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And despite that, they've been kind of taking the country by storm and posting some numbers
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So, of course, we're the only political party right now who's speaking out against lockdowns,
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And in doing so, we've also been able to drop crowds.
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And we're really about bringing as many people together as possible.
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I've said since the beginning of this entire COVID madness that started in March, 2020,
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that the power that we have in the freedom movement is that we're not afraid to actually
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And I think that's what you see happening at all of these rallies.
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It's like an outlet for all of these people who have been locked down and managed for 18 months.
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Yeah, and you've been pulling support, I've found, from almost all over the political spectrum.
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I mean, probably predominantly conservative, but I think the fact that it is kind of the
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one and only personal freedom, anti-lockdown sort of party that you would be able to do that.
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And I think that kind of deflates a little bit of the vote split fearmongering that some
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We 100% have support from across the political spectrum.
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We've seen huge numbers come from traditional NDP voters who, you know, they really want
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the vaccine is really what did it for most of them, I think.
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But, you know, those traditional voters, like they wanted to be left alone to live the lives
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And so we see these people coming to the party in droves.
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And I think it's an amazing thing, incredible unification message that's happening.
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So with that base, though, let's kind of skip ahead to the day after the election, say there's
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a couple of seats or no seats or whatever it may have been.
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I mean, there's no doubt the PPC has made a mark and established itself, but there's kind
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of almost a hard cap to the people who are anti-restriction and so on, like to broaden the
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party out, or if you're looking for to be a lasting entity, where do you think the PPC would
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So, of course, we have an entire platform outside of the COVID narrative.
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It's just that we've sort of been bolstered by what's happened.
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I think that the message that we have really at its core is that every individual matters.
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And as our country moves to collectivism and we see the degradation and diminishment of
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the value of the individual in this society, we are the only ones fighting back and speaking
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And I think that that message resonates with people.
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This idea that Canada is actually a wonderful place filled with wonderful people who are
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actually very good people, you know, and we're painted with many brushes, you know, but I
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do think that that's the core of our message is that individuals matter and Canada is an
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And that's a thread that goes through every single part of our platform.
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It's really, you know, it puts Canada first at all times.
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Well, and we're getting so polarized with so many things.
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I'm just happy to see somebody speaking out for choice.
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Like something, it's funny and it comes from both sides.
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Like I've openly said many a time, I'm vaccinated.
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I do think it's a good idea for people to get vaccinated.
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I just don't ever want to see them forced to get vaccinated.
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But when I take that stance, I tend to get it from both sides.
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Like, I don't think that there's anyone, there's certainly no one working on my campaign
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who believes that you should be forced not to get vaccinated.
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There is certainly just the message that you should be free to make the choice that is
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And that's, that's for vaccination and many other issues.
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Um, you know, and I, I get, I get phone calls every single day from the time I wake up in
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the morning till the time I go to bed from people right now who are devastated because
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their children are being excluded from extracurriculars at school.
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They're being excluded from their athletics clubs that they've been part of for years and
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And we know that this is going to escalate and keep going if we don't put an end to it
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So this is not anti-vax, this is absolutely, uh, empowering every individual to be able
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It's a, it's a pro-choice stance and, and, uh, and people are feeling cornered.
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And unfortunately I do really worry that some people are very fearful of feeling very cornered.
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And that's when we get on extreme reactions when they don't feel they have another outlet
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You know, the other people that I hear from are people who are literally like within days
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of now are going to lose their livelihoods over this issue.
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And, uh, and they're creating a desperate class of people, you know, and they've been
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You know, the desperation just continues, uh, through like month after month after month.
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Uh, you know, whether it's your business is closed and you're not allowed to operate
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You're risking losing your home because of all of the COVID mandates.
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Um, they are absolutely creating a desperate class of people.
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And that, and it's also horrifying, uh, to see our government do this so blatantly.
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Well, and, and, and watching people themselves, I mean, they've been whipped up.
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It's a, it's a witch hunt mentality going on out there.
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The pitchforks are out and I, I just don't like seeing this and, and it's very distressing.
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I think, you know, with the, just specifically with the vaccine mandate, you know, you, you
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disclose your vaccination status already, but like the, the message that I keep telling
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people is like, you are under no obligation to disclose your vaccination status.
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That is protected private medical information that you do not have to share.
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And you shouldn't, whether you're vaccinated or not, you should not be sharing that with
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people, you know, and if more people, yeah, but you know, I mean, this is a serious issue
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and people need to understand what their rights are and, uh, and, and take control of them
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It always just keeps coming back to the choice aspect.
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Now that the PPC is gaining steam is definitely gathering attraction.
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Sounds like today in Alberta, there's going to be a big rally in Strathmore with, with
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Maxime Bernier, uh, you're attracting the attention finally of the mainstream media,
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They're going on about the, the vote splitting and so on.
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Perhaps again, just to expand a bit on why perhaps the people can feel comfortable voting
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for the PPC and not causing an outcome worse, you know, a cure worse than the disease, I guess.
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Um, so I tell people all the time, um, vote splitting is a political strategy.
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The narrative is a political strategy of the political establishment.
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Uh, they tell you about vote splitting and they tell you that your vote is going to contribute
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to this in order to manipulate you as an elector to not vote for who you want to vote for.
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I hear this all the time from people saying, I want to vote PPC, but I, but I have to vote
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conservative or else Trudeau is going to get in.
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Well, no, if we all just voted PPC, then, then Trudeau wouldn't get in, you know?
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And, and I, the vote splitting thing, it, it, it irks me, um, because it's just not true.
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And, and it's just another way that our democracy is degraded and eroded through establishment
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The standard took a formal editorial stance actually of just saying vote with your conscience.
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Uh, don't sweat all the other strategic stuff and everything vote for who you feel best
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And I think that there's another part of this that's interesting is that, um, people are
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so focused on the leaders and that we've seen this in our, in our democracy for ages and
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ages, uh, where people will say like, oh, well I voted for Maxime or I voted for Justin or
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Um, you're voting for the person who is going to best represent you in the riding that you live
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Um, so right now in the riding that I live in, there's a conservative incumbent.
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And so if you're voting conservative, just to not split the vote, you're literally going
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to get the same thing that you've had for the last six years.
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So the other attention has been gathered and I don't know if you've heard this yet, so
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I don't want to be throwing you for a loop, but our newsroom is working on this actually
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Um, there was a recording of a teacher in Hamilton taken by a student.
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Uh, they were breaking up the class, you know, a political exercise in class saying students
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representing this party, this party, this party.
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Uh, one of them said, well, well, I want to be PPC.
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And the teacher outright came out and said, no, we won't have that in here.
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The party has racist policies and it's not going to happen in this classroom.
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And, uh, the student actually said, well, I'm excusing myself.
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I'm leaving right now, but we're seeing things from public civil servants that really shouldn't
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bloody well throw in their opinion on our students like that.
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Plus, as far as I can tell, uh, I've seen more, uh, NDP candidates kicked out for anti-Semitism
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than I have, uh, racism issues with the PPC right now.
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I mean, you know, this idea, I'll tell you a story.
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I, uh, a gentleman from the riding called me the other day.
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Um, he's involved in the, the party and the, the riding association, uh, to some extent,
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And we, and we started the call and, and he was sort of, you know, very, he, he was unsure
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And I said to him at the very beginning, I said, uh, I guarantee you, I promise you that
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when, uh, we are finished this conversation, you will know that there's, we have more in
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And so we spoke for an hour and after an hour, he said, oh no, oh no.
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Uh, and, and I said, once again, just like vote splitting, it is a narrative.
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It's a political strategy to manipulate electors.
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Um, they know how powerful the message of the PPC is, and they know that if people hear
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And if they vote PPC, then we have to see establishment politics done completely differently
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And that means that the people who are benefiting today from the system will no longer benefit
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And so they pull out things like calling us racist, which we are absolutely not.
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No, throwing out racists, it was always been the simple, shallow way to try and discredit
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I know from our Calgary candidates looking around, we have Edward Gow, who I know through
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libertarian politics for quite some time and Harry Dillon.
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And while I don't know the membership requirements for the white supremacist groups, but I'm pretty
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sure there's something going on with those two that would exclude them from joining that
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Why on earth would they be running then if it was such a racist organization?
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And like myself, you know, my, my background is working in nonprofit.
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I worked with immigrant and refugee women on workplace and cultural integration programs.
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I care deeply about all people, all individuals in this country.
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Their lives matter and they deserve respect and dignity.
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And these are, these are concepts that are very dangerous to the establishment because
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it takes away the control power and money that they currently have.
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Well, and a lot of people of visible minorities, I mean, they came from places with oppressive,
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They want to see limited government and individual rights.
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So I mean, to keep assuming that these guys are supposed to be socialists is ridiculous.
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Well, it is like, you know, much of our, much of our immigrant population are incredibly
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Um, and you know, they, they also want to have the option to, uh, raise their children in the
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And they, I, I talked to them every day on the phone.
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I talked to them and they see like this, this push for complete secularism, um, as, as very
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And, and so that's, it's an interesting thing that the immigrant populations and the first
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generation, second generation immigrant populations.
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And also just like the, the, the ethnic populations across the country are coming to the PPC as well.
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Um, they're finally seeing the representation that they want without the pandering.
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If people truly want to see a problem with discrimination, they can go to Quebec and
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look at bill 21, but nobody wants to talk about that.
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So, um, I'll let you get back on the campaign trail.
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Where can people find out more information about the party and your campaign itself?
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So, uh, the party can be found at people's party of Canada.ca.
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Uh, myself, my website is Chelsea Hillyer, PPC.ca.
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You can find me across all social media platforms as well.
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Um, follow me on Twitter at Chelsea Hillyer and then Maxine Bernier, obviously is a good
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We're really, really active on, on social media online.
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And I've also got a YouTube channel that you can check out just under my own name with,
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uh, some videos that we've done about what's happened in this last year.
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And we look forward to seeing how Canada is looking after Monday night.