Maxime Bernier may not be the personally odious replicate of a Marine Le Pen, Tony Abbott, Nigel Farage or Donald Trump but he is on the ideological fringe and has a thin and tainted resume.

Arguably, over the past decade, many in the US, France, UK, Australia etc. rallied to the populist, seemly 'fresh and authentic' appeal of such figures and we all know the string of serious problems and disappointments that ensued in each case.

People of a conservative turn of mind in those countries have the plausible excuse that they didn't know in advance that such figures were bound to disappoint and generally leave their country adrift.  However, knowing of that recent experience in so many other countries, what excuse do Canadian Conservative Party activists now have for going down the same rabbit hole?