True North Centre for Public Policy

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"True North Canada" redirects here. For the sports ownership group, see True North Sports & Entertainment. For the online publication based in Montreal, see The True North Times.
True North Centre for Public Policy
PredecessorIndependent Immigration Aid Association
HeadquartersCalgary, Alberta
Editor-in-chief
Candice Malcolm
Websitetnc.news

The True North Centre for Public Policy is a far-right[1][2][3] media outlet that simultaneously describes itself as a "media company", an "advocacy organization" and as a "registered charity with the government of Canada."[4][5] It operates a digital media arm known simply as True North.[6][7]

History[edit]

In 1994, the Independent Immigration Aid Association was started with the goal of helping immigrants from the United Kingdom settle in British Columbia.[5][8] According to Daniel Brown, a former director of the charity, a new board of directors took control of the charity in 2017 and renamed it the True North Centre for Public Policy.[5] Control was handed off to three people:[5]

Nejatian's wife, Candice Malcolm, describes herself as the "founder and Editor-In-Chief" of True North.[9][10]

When the immigration-focused charity was transformed into a media and research organization, the change was scrutinized in the Canadian legal field.[11] True North's filings with Canada Revenue Agency state that the organization runs "ongoing programs" that provide "support and assistance to UK immigrants to the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island and the rest of British Columbia", that it has "new programs" dedicated to "research on immigration and integration", and that 100% of True North's programs put emphasis on "immigrant aid".[5] However, the last available return filed with CRA was in 2017, and no new filings from the charity have been published since 2018.[5]

In 2023, True North's website published a video featuring presenter Harrison Faulkner, in which Faulkner claimed that the Canadian government was hiding the true cause of the 2023 Canadian wildfires. Faulkner's claim that arson arrests showed arson was the real cause of the fires was debunked, mainly because he pointed to news articles that were published years before the 2023 fires started.[2]

Election debate access[edit]

During the 2019 federal election in Canada, True North was initially denied press access to the leaders' debate on the grounds that it was not a news outlet but an advocacy organization.[12] True North argued that the decision to bar them was "unfair and arbitrary."[13]

True North contested this decision to bar them, and brought the Leader's Debates Commission to court.[12] The federal judge, Justice Russell Zinn, ruled in favour of True North, and forced the government to allow them to attend the debate and ask questions as journalists.[12] The same year, Toula Drimonis described True North as "fake news" in her editorial in Cult MTL.[14]

Notable employees[edit]

In 2019, Canadian columnist Lindsay Shepherd joined True North as an investigative journalist.[15]

In July 2021, Canadian conservative writer and political columnist Sue Ann Levy announced she was joining True North.[16]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Pammett, Jon H.; Dornan, Christopher (17 December 2020). The Canadian Federal Election of 2019. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. p. 177. ISBN 978-0-2280-0496-7. Retrieved 24 April 2024. a court ordered the official commission organizing the leaders' debates to accredit as journalists three men from two far right outfits, Levant's Rebel Media and the True North Centre for Public Policy
  2. ^ a b c "Far-Right Website 'True North' is Spreading Deceptive Information About Canadian Wildfires". Press Progress. 2023-06-12. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
  3. ^ "Liberal party denies media accreditation to True North". Canada Press Freedom Project. 12 September 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2024. The Liberal Party of Canada denied Andrew Lawton, managing editor of far-right website True North, accreditation to cover its 2023 caucus retreat in London, Ont.
  4. ^ Loriggio, Paola (7 October 2019). "Right-wing outlets win legal battle to attend the leaders' debate". CBC. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Right-Wing Media Outlet Accredited For Leaders' Debate is Also Registered as a Charity for Immigrants". PressProgress. 15 October 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  6. ^ "Contact True North". Retrieved 16 September 2021. True North is a Canadian digital media platform
  7. ^ "The Origins Of True North Canada, Which Its "Founder" Hides". Canuck Law. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  8. ^ "Federal Corporation Information - 264326-0 - Online Filing Centre - Corporations Canada - Corporations - Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada". www.ic.gc.ca. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
  9. ^ Dec 3, iPolitics Published on; 2021 2:30am (2021-12-03). "The Rebel to Rabble Review: Treetop activists and RCMP 'horror'". iPolitics. Retrieved 2021-12-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ "Candice Malcolm". Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  11. ^ "Interesting article by Press Progress on the True North Centre for Public Policy". Canadian Charity Law. 2019-10-19. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
  12. ^ a b c "Two right-wing media outlets win legal battle to attend the leaders' debate". nationalpost. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
  13. ^ "Conservative media company fights federal debate ban". torontosun. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
  14. ^ Drimonis, Toula (2019-10-17). "Stop sharing fake news". Cult MTL. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  15. ^ Fiore, James Di (2019-12-02). "Blackballed: The Lindsay Shepherd Interview". BlackBall Media. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
  16. ^ Candice Malcolm (2021-07-08). "True North's newest contributor: Sue-Ann Levy". Retrieved 2021-07-23.

External links[edit]

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