OTTAWA—If the suspense over what Maxime Bernier will call his new political party is killing you, well, potential spoiler alert.

Bernier confirmed to the Star Thursday morning that his camp registered online domains for “The People’s Party of Canada” and “Parti Populaire du Canada” on Aug. 30.

But it all might be a clever ruse, Bernier told the Star in a message on Twitter.

“Yes, we registered several names over the past three weeks to cover our tracks before we make a final decision,” Bernier wrote.

“You will know which one we chose tomorrow morning!”

When asked if that means he’s neither confirming nor denying his new party will be called The People’s Party of Canada, Bernier reiterated they registered several domain names and he’ll make the big reveal at a press conference in Ottawa on Friday.

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While Bernier refused to confirm the new name, he has shown a recent affinity for naming things after “the People.” Five days ago, Bernier suggested the “growing army” of YouTubers who support his unique blend of populism and libertarian ideas should be called “the People’s Network.”

Bernier quit the Conservative caucus late last month, on the eve of the party’s policy convention in Halifax, calling his former party “intellectually and morally corrupt.” A year earlier, he very nearly became leader of the party he now considers unredeemable, narrowly losing to Andrew Scheer on the 13th and final ballot.

After losing his leadership bid, Bernier maintained an uneasy peace with Scheer and his caucus colleagues. That peace was broken in April, when Bernier released a chapter of his planned memoir.

The chapter suggested Scheer won the leadership by courting “fake Conservatives” from the dairy lobby, who opposed Bernier’s pledge to end Canada’s supply-managed dairy system. After initially pulling the chapter and book plans, Bernier later reposted it and stood by his claims, which cost him his spot on the Conservative front bench.

The spat quieted down for a few months before Bernier started openly criticizing the Conservative leadership in August.

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“So, after disavowing me last week for raising the issue and telling me to shut up (about diversity and immigration), my colleagues have just realized that this is something Canadians find important and want to hear about? Great example of strong leadership!” Bernier tweeted a day before the party’s immigration critic, Michelle Rempel, held a press conference.

Conservative insiders have downplayed Bernier’s new venture and his potential to split the conservative vote.

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But an Abacus Data poll in August, days after Bernier announced his departure from the Conservative fold, found 13 per cent of respondents would vote for a Bernier-led party.

Most of that support, Abacus found, came from voters who currently intend to vote for the Conservative party. And troublingly for the party, 29 per cent of Conservative-voting respondents said they agree with Bernier that the party has abandoned conservatives. The Aug. 26 Abacus poll is considered accurate within 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

A spokesperson for Elections Canada said they had not received paperwork from Bernier’s camp as of Thursday morning.

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