Saturday, April 19 

Yesterday started in Montreal, and 12 hours later I was sitting by a fire on Salt Spring Island. Today I’ll be meeting up with Elizabeth May and attending an all-candidates meeting in her riding of Saanich and Gulf Islands, and in the evening I’ll catch up with Jagmeet Singh while he campaigns with incumbent MP Laurel Collins in Victoria. 

On Thursday night there was a national leader’s debate, and as you may have heard, there were some issues. I was there, and I’ve got my own strongly held feelings. As you may have heard, I gave Ezra Levant a real piece of my mind. And I stand by those comments.

But if there’s one thing that’s stuck with me as the aftermath unfolded, it is the importance of holding the line for facts, in the face of those who would manufacture their own. 

So here’s what I know. A group of some dozen journalists from what they describe as the Independent Press Gallery were accredited to cover the French and English debates in Montreal. This included a group of five from Rebel News, Ezra Levant’s outfit, and former Rebel employees and folks in their orbit from like-minded websites. 

There was a rule that each outlet could designate only one journalist to ask questions in the post-debate Q&A, but Ezra threatened to sue and the debate commission folded. Rebel ended up getting  four questions after the French debate — along with others from fellow travellers like Keean Bexte, a former Rebel employee who Ricochet exposed as one of the operators of a white supremacist web store back in 2019 — and used them to make long-winded statements largely focused on attacking Liberal leader Mark Carney. 

Then, on Thursday, before the English debate even started, according to reporting by the CBC’s David Cochrane, Ezra and some of his associates used their media status to enter a secure area and crashed the CBC’s live broadcast, forcing them to go off air. This caused a security lockdown of the entire site, and led to Ezra being taken aside for questioning. He was then allowed to return to the media room. 

Prior to the debate starting, there was also an exchange between Hill Times journalist Stuart Benson and Keean Bexte, which ended up expanding to include Ezra. Bexte and Ezra were doing what they do best: needling someone in the hope of provoking a reaction. 

Shortly before the debate ended, word spread in the media room that the Q&A session was to be cancelled. The debate commission blamed the cancellation on an inability to guarantee everyone’s safety, and journalist Mercedes Stephenson reported that sources told her it was a result of the Rebel team’s antics. 

After the debate ended, I sarcastically applauded Ezra and blamed him for preventing journalists from doing their jobs, depriving the public of answers to the important questions we would have asked. He came over to harangue me, mocking me for a physical tremor I’ve had for years and trying to get a rise out of me. Bexte would later mock me for being “obese” on social media. A classy group, all around. 

I don’t want to waste any more time on people whose goal is confrontation and chaos, but I do think there’s one more point that should be highlighted. 

Both Rebel and another group owned by Ezra, called “ForCanada,” are registered with Elections Canada as third-party advertisers, which means they’re spending money to try and influence how people vote. During the debates, an ad truck operated by “For Canada” circled the venue with ads attacking Mark Carney. The two groups share an owner in Ezra and have the same auditor and financial agent. 

The question of who is and is not a journalist is fraught, and I’m no more eager to see the government determine that than Ezra. But when it comes to election campaigns I hope we can all agree that people who are registered with Elections Canada as participants in the campaign cannot simultaneously be journalists reporting on it. Especially when their third-party is circling the venue with attack ads against one of the candidates.

And while Ezra bleats about how the legacy media are in the bag for Carney, it’s hard to avoid the word projection. After all, Ezra has known Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre for decades, serving as his mentor and collaborator on various campaigns. 

Then, on the most important night of Poilievre’s life, Ezra showed up like a wrecking ball. 

In any case, one thing is for sure, the three-ring circus for which I had a front-row seat on Thursday is incredibly good at raising money. If diligent, thorough, fact-based outlets can’t figure out how to appeal to better to donors, we may be left with little else than Rebel and friends. 

Right now, Ricochet has a team of all-star, award-winning journalists travelling across Canada to bring you stories that go beyond the headlines. Journalists like Stephen Maher, Brandi Morin, Adrian Harewood, Karyn Pugliese, Jon Thompson and myself — as well as up-and-coming journalists like Sophia de Guzman Rivadeiro and Konnor Killorn helping with TikTok and socials. 

Over the course of this campaign we will have spent tens of thousands of dollars to do real journalism. That expenditure has been made possible by the generous support of the Covering Canada: Election 2025 Fund, but we’ll be dipping into our reserves to spend thousands more. 

You can help support and encourage our reporting, during this campaign and beyond, by becoming a monthly donor to Ricochet. After all, nothing would make Ezra angrier than to know his circus drove donors to support our journalism. 

Ricochet’s coverage of the 2025 federal election is supported in part by the Covering Canada: Election 2025 Fund, an initiative of the Michener Awards Foundation, the Rideau Hall Foundation and the Public Policy Forum. You can help us do more award-winning journalism by signing up for our free newsletter, and becoming a monthly donor. You can also watch our election night livestream, featuring an expert panel of all-star journalists, real-time results and correspondents across the country — presented in partnership with Canada’s National Observer.