After attacking the English-language Radio-Canada network and the English-language section of The Canadian Press, the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) is now attacking the integrity of the CTV network and asking its MPs to stay away from it.
CPC Leader Pierre Poilievre rose in the House Tuesday to stress how shocked he was by a “dishonest and fraudulent” report that misrepresented his statements. He went on to say that Bell Media, which owns CTV, is worth nothing while its CEO is overpaid.
“The next time you’re put on hold on a long call with Bell while you try to get their lousy service fixed, remember that [le premier ministre Justin] “Trudeau is protecting this company from real competition in order to obtain favorable coverage for CTV,” Poilievre wrote in a post on the social network X.
The public registry of political donations shows that Bell Canada president and CEO Mirko Bibic gave more than $20,000 to the CPC between 2011 and 2022. That includes donations sent in the name of former Conservative cabinet minister Maxime Bernier and party leadership contender Jean Charest, both political opponents of Poilievre.
Conservatives were outraged when a segment of Pierre Poilievre’s speech was edited in a CTV report aired Sunday. The edit suggested the leader wanted the Liberals to fall so he could scrap the dental plan. But Poilievre made it clear he wanted an election to eliminate the federal “carbon tax.”
The English-language network apologized Monday in a statement released on X that said a “misunderstanding” within its team led to the inaccurate edit.
Boycott of a network
This has not made Pierre Poilievre’s office angry, quite the contrary. He is demanding a better apology for having been presented in a “deliberately malicious” manner. His director of media relations, Sebastian Skamski, sent an email to all Conservative MPs on Tuesday banning them from contacting CTV News and its journalists. He is also banning meetings with Bell representatives.
“This is behaviour unworthy of a leader, of a party in a democratic society,” said Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge in an interview with Duty Wednesday.
She sees a clear parallel with the behavior of former US President Donald Trump, whose accusations that the media produces fake news (” fake news ”) were a hit with his audience.
“This is the trend of conservative parties elsewhere in the world, who are targeting the media, targeting journalists and constantly attacking them. […] It is really dangerous to see that in Canada, we are trying to import this way of doing things.”
Media criticized
This is not the first time the Conservative leader has leveled harsh criticism at news organizations.
Pierre Poilievre has a history of mocking Radio-Canada’s English network, CBC, and has promised to cut its funding. He has notably called CBC a “propaganda organ of the Liberal Party” in the spring of 2023.
As recently as June, while passing through Montreal, he imagined the joy of watching families move into the former CBC headquarters during the English portion of his speech.
In French, the leader spares Radio-Canada from his criticism and his promises of defunding. The host Patrice Roy, for example, received him several times on his show. A privilege that has never been granted to the Dutydespite repeated requests.
Last year, Pierre Poilievre had a spat with representatives of the English branch of The Canadian Press (CP). “CP should stop acting as a propaganda arm for the Prime Minister’s Office,” he told a journalist in the parliamentary chamber. He criticized the news agency for repeating an attack by a Liberal minister, which he considered “dishonest.”
One of his close advisers, Jenni Byrne, called Canadian Press journalists “stenographers” willing to repeat “desperate nonsense” from his political opponents.
Since becoming CPC leader, Pierre Poilievre has limited to five the number of questions the parliamentary press can ask him during his press briefings, which are characterized by lengthy speeches in both official languages. He regularly responds to reporters who ask him questions he considers biased.