Gilles Bernier

Gilles Bernier, a Progressive Conservative MP for Beauce since 1984, was a colourful Quebec politician who ran as an Independent in the October 1993 election after being denied the Conservative nomination. Bernier had been elected in Mulroney's 1984 sweep but fell out with the party establishment over the years. In a remarkable twist of fate, his son Maxime Bernier would later become a Conservative MP for the same Beauce riding, serve as Minister of Foreign Affairs, and then leave the Conservatives in 2018 to found the People's Party of Canada — making the Berniers a uniquely floor-crossing political dynasty.

Bernier ran as an Independent in Beauce in the 1993 election and was elected — one of the very few Independents to win a seat in that election. His victory in 1993 as an Independent was remarkable given that his former party was reduced to just 2 seats nationally. Bernier's success demonstrated his personal popularity in the Beauce region, which would later become his son Maxime's political stronghold.