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As Conservative party members mail in ballots to choose a new leader, Maxime Bernier is ahead of the pack, with polls putting him nearly 10 percentage points ahead of rivals.

While he may be close to becoming leader of the Opposition, it’s highly unlikely he’ll be using Quebec as a springboard to the Prime Minister’s Office.

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Bernier is without a doubt a formidable candidate. His strength is in finding pockets of support across the country, even uniting parts of Quebec with Alberta with his brand of fiery conservatism. Succeeding Stephen Harper as CPC leader when the winner is announced May 27 is within reach for Bernier, but galvanizing scattered niche libertarians does not a prime minister make.

Conservatives who were convinced expat investor and reality show star Kevin O’Leary would bulldoze his way to the PMO, rewriting conventions like bilingual leadership, have since learned there are Great Canadian Compromises that must be respected. Language will not be an issue for Bernier as it was for O’Leary. This presents Bernier with a certain edge, as he is easily more fluent in English than his closest rivals are in French. Unlike O’Leary, Bernier can at least speak to the entire nation.