There’s something about Maxime Bernier that makes him different from everyone else likely to run to be next leader of the federal Conservatives.

It’s something that could not only see him win the leadership next year, but see him beat Justin Trudeau in 2019. Let’s call it The Bernier Advantage.

Do you ever get that feeling when you’re watching a politician that they don’t really believe what they’re saying? That everything coming out of their mouth is a bunch of gobbledygook designed to fill time and make them look regal rather than actually words spoken from the heart? Do you ever get the sense that the random mish-mash of policies that they’re hawking aren’t things they’ve been passionate about for years but tidbits just devised the day before to appeal to some special interest group?

Of course you have. And you’d be right. Pretty much every time. Because this cocktail of insincerity explains most politicians. They run for office for many reasons: because of the power, influence and future earning potential; because they like the clubby culture; because – my personal least favourite – it’s “their time” whatever the hell that means.

Sadly, the best reason to run for office is also the least frequent one: Because they have firm political convictions to fight for what they believe will improve people’s lives.

Bernier, the MP for the Quebec riding of Beauce who on Sunday is announcing his candidacy, is very much a conviction politician. This class of politician, who will remain steadfast in their views no matter what, should have a better chance than many flip-floppers because they actually stand for something.

“I want a freer and more prosperous country,” Bernier told David Akin in a recent interview. “And the way to do that is to have a limited government. I’m a real Conservative. I believe in freedom, responsibility, fairness and respect. That’s the four themes of my campaign. Every public policy will be based on these four themes.”

Conviction is the first of three planks that form Bernier’s advantage. You’re not going to see it from many, if any, of the others.

The second is consistency. Bernier – who’s been minister of industry, foreign affairs and small business and tourism – is a self-described libertarian, which simply put means he favours human innovation and liberty over bloated government imposing restrictions. These are firmly held views that you don’t just pick up one day from the focus group tests.

He’ll stick to his guns. He doesn’t need to be taught to stay on message, because the message is authentic and isn’t changing anyway. It’s who he is. The public can sense these things. They’ll find it refreshing and honest, kind of like they do when Bernie Sanders or Donald Trump speaks. Meanwhile they roll their eyes at establishment candidates like Hillary Clinton.

The third is that his views are very much in line with where the Canadian public is at right now – which is obviously key to winning a general election. Bernier is very much a social liberal. But he’s also truly fiscally conservative in a common sense way – like his vocal opposition to the Bombardier bail-out and all forms of crony capitalism. Does any Canadian out there genuinely think their hard-earned money should be redistributed to big business? Of course not. But few politicians have the balls to state this obvious point.

Right now Bernier is doing poorly in the polls. So far they place Peter MacKay and Kevin O’Leary out in front with strong support while everyone else, including Bernier, trails with single digits.

This is likely because he’s currently seen as one of the uninspired former Harper cabinet ministers just sticking around for the job because, hey, why not. Party members and activists I’ve spoken with place Tony Clement, Kellie Leitch, Lisa Raitt and others in this category.

But I predict once the broader membership and general public watches him in action and listens to what he has to say he’ll join the frontrunners, if only because he’s actually saying something real and with genuine conviction.

There will of course be challenges aplenty. The media and opposition will try to paint him as an anti-government radical, due to his libertarian leanings. He’ll need to beat them to the punch by defining himself in the eyes of the public before others can do it first.

And if he can succeed in getting his message across to that diverse sampling of Canadians who feel left out by today’s political machine, he can get non-traditional momentum behind him like we’ve seen with Sanders, Trump and Ford Nation.

It’ll be an interesting campaign to watch develop. Make no mistake, this is no second tier candidacy.