For starters, no bonus points for correctly deducing the inspiration for this week’s explainer: Full credit for that goes to Maxime Bernier, who announced last week that, due to apparently irreconcilable ideological differences with the federal Conservatives, he was leaving the big blue tent, effective immediately, to create a truly small-c alternative that he hopes to have up and running in time to hit the hustings in 2019.

So far, the spin-off speculation circuit has primarily focused on the impact that Bernier’s still-unnamed party could have on Canada’s first-past-the-post electoral dynamics, particularly in ridings and regions where splitting the right-of-centre vote could ultimately elect more Liberal (and possibly New Democrat) MPs.

But before he can even start charting his path to victory, he’ll have to fill out the necessary paperwork to get his party — and its still-largely-theoretical-outside-Beauce candidates — on the ballot.

That is, presuming he wants to run, and nominate others to run under his party’s banner — as far as the federal election laws are concerned, there’s no requirement to register as a party if there’s no plan to actually contest any seats in a future election or byelection, although declining to do so means giving up the ability to issue tax receipts, although there’s no rule against asking for, or receiving, donations, as well as other perks that come with registered status, including free and paid broadcast time and access to the national voters list.

Assuming that Bernier does, in fact, intend to contest at least one riding in 2019, the initial registration requirements are fairly straightforward.

He’ll need to come up with a name for his party — and, optionally, a logo — which, interestingly, can’t include the word “Independent” or be close enough to the name of an existing party to cause confusion, which rules out the Independent Conservative Party.

As leader, he’ll also have to formally attest that the purpose of the party is to “participate in public affairs by endorsing one or more of its members as candidates and supporting their election,” and submit confirmation of his appointment as leader.

The application has to include the address of the party’s offices of record, as well as the names and addresses of at least three party officers, plus the party’s official auditor and chief agent.

He’ll also have to get at least 250 eligible voters to file formal declarations dated within the preceding 12 months, in which each will identify themselves as a member of the party and confirming their support for the application. Those declarations are submitted to Elections Canada along with their contact information — all of which is deemed to be public information.

The agency will also “communicate directly” with the signatories, in writing, “to verify the information provided on the declaration form,” and strongly advises parties to include more than 250 names in their initial filing to make sure they meet the minimum threshold.

“Once the Chief Electoral Officer has verified the party’s application (confirming that 250 electors are members of the party and that the party has met all the other requirements), and is satisfied that the party’s name and logo will not be confused with those of another registered or eligible party, he will inform the party leader that the party is eligible for registration,” the guidelines note.

At this point, the party is officially eligible for registration, but won’t actually be formally registered until it nominates or endorses at least one confirmed candidate in an election or byelection, at which point — and specifically, “as soon as practicable” after doing so — the party will be able to take full advantage of all the privileges extended by the electoral laws — which, of course, it is also now obliged to follow.

That just takes care of the legal setup, of course.

On the organizational front, a lot more than just paperwork is involved, although there’s no shortage of that, either, particularly if the party intends to establish local riding associations, which, while not mandatory, are seen as essential for managing on-the-ground operations between elections — and can act as fundraising vehicles that feed the central party coffers.

Speaking of money, as soon as it has been registered, Bernier’s party can issue tax receipts to supporters, but will also have to start keeping track of their names, addresses and total contributions, which will have to stay under the annual cap — as all those details will have to be provided to Elections Canada on a quarterly basis.

Given Bernier’s disappointment with his now former party’s failure to heed the wishes of its rank-and-file members on issues like supply management, it’s a fair bet that he’ll be under considerable pressure to give his own party members more say in developing policy — during and after the campaign.

That could mean a founding convention — real-world or virtual — or turning to some other mechanism for consulting the membership, which would also necessitate a mechanism for debating and adopting positions.

That’s just the starter list. We haven’t even touched on the need for a party constitution and by-laws, or internal oversight mechanisms or even picking a party colour.

(As tempting as it may be, Process Nerd would strongly advise going with something other than blue, which is already in use by both Conservatives and the Bloc Quebecois and would be virtually guaranteed to cause confusion on the campaign trail.)

Suffice it to say that Bernier — and, for that matter, anyone else with a hankering to fly their own party banner — has his work cut out for him, but while it’s an ambitious timeline, it’s not mathematically impossible that he’ll be able to meet all the criteria to carry out his pledge to offer Canadian conservatives a viable alternative choice on the ballot in 2019.