In 1998-99, Bernier played
college soccer for
Syracuse University in the United States. At Syracuse, Bernier played 38 matches and recorded 34 points with 12 goals and 10 assists. He was named to the
Big East All-Rookie Team in his freshman year and the All-Big East First Team in his sophomore year. He joined Norwegian side
Moss F.K. to play alongside compatriot
Rob Friend at the start of the 2003 season. He has some background in hockey, but he was told he was too short to reach the top level.
Tromsø Bernier signed for
Tromsø IL in the summer of 2004. He was picked up from the Norwegian
1st division team
Moss F.K. for less than 500,000
NOK (approx.
€63,000 or $75,000
USD). An almost complete midfielder, he was very aggressive, with good technique, a fine passing foot, heavy shot, and exceptional running capacity. He delivered the best stamina test results in the history of Tromsø, surpassing even former Tromsø player
Morten Gamst Pedersen. After a spectacular autumn season and a fine spring for Tromsø, they refused an offer of 10 million NOK (approx. €1.3 million) for him from the
Turkish club
Beşiktaş. Bernier started the 2007 season as one of the Tippeliga's best players, scoring two fantastic goals against Norway's best soccer club over the last 20 years,
Rosenborg BK. Although Rosenborg went on to win the game with an injury-time goal by
Alexander Tettey, Bernier was awarded the "Man of the Match"-prize. Tromsø immediately offered Bernier a new contract; however, he rejected it as he wanted to leave Norway for a better league. Tromsø then put forth an even better deal, but Bernier was determined to leave Tippeligaen.
Kaiserslautern On May 28, 2007, Bernier left Tromsø for the German
2. Bundesliga club
1. FC Kaiserslautern, where former
Vålerenga I.F. Fotball Kjetil Rekdal was the trainer.
Nordsjælland On June 25, 2008, Bernier signed a contract with Danish club
FC Nordsjælland. On August 14, 2008, he scored the winning goal in the first leg of a
UEFA Cup second qualifying round match versus
Scottish club,
Queen of the South of
Dumfries. Bernier scored the winning goal and his first goal of the 2010 season on November 14 in a 2–1 home win over
Lyngby. He ended his season early in May against
Copenhagen, following an early substitution it was revealed that he suffered a fracture in his fibula. He played over 90 games in all competitions combined with FC Nordsjaelland from the summer of 2008 until the summer of 2011, winning the Danish Cup in
2010 and
2011. He was voted Player of the Year in 2010 by the supporters of FC Nordsjaelland.
Lyngby Boldklub On August 24, 2011, Bernier signed a one-year contract with
Lyngby Boldklub. He made his debut against his former club, in a 4–0 loss to FCN. On October 16, Bernier scored his first goal for the club in a 3–2 loss to
Silkeborg IF.
Montreal Impact On December 19, 2011, Bernier signed a contract to join
Montreal Impact upon their entry into
Major League Soccer in 2012. He remained under contract with Lyngby Boldklub while they finished their season. However, he had an out clause that allowed him to leave without a transfer fee to the Impact. Bernier scored his first goal for Montreal in a 2–0 away victory against
Sporting Kansas City on May 5, 2012. He was named MLS Player of the Week for Week 13–15 in the
2012 MLS. He was also named MLS Player of the Month for the month of August 2012. Under his captaincy, the Impact reached the
CONCACAF Champions League final in 2015 and the
MLS Eastern Conference final losing to Toronto FC in 2016. At age 38, he played the final match of his career on October 22, 2017 against the
New England Revolution. ==International career==