Poilievre’s anti-media rhetoric is divisive posturing

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This article was published 17/09/2022 (1191 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

“We can’t count on the media to communicate our messages to Canadians. We have to go around them and their biased coverage.”

— Conservative Party of Canada Leader Pierre Poilievre

It was more than a month ago that then-Conservative leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre stopped in Brandon on his campaign to lead the federal Tories.

Thanks to a tip, the Sun newsroom had already known for a few days that he was likely coming, and a reporter tried for a few days to confirm whether we could schedule an interview with the candidate during his time here.

Of course, we were having no luck reaching someone on his campaign team, and we began to wonder whether this was a deliberate tactic to avoid the media. We naturally expected that other media such as CBC or CTV would be in attendance.

But when we received official notice regarding Poilievre’s visit the morning of Aug. 6, it was still a bit surprising to see it laid out in stark detail that there would be no scrum opportunity.

“Pierre Poilievre, candidate for Prime Minister, will hold a meet and greet with supporters and party members,” the notice read. “Photo/video opportunity only.”

As a journalist, I can tell you that didn’t sit well with me. Call me old fashioned, but I think when a federal politician of Poilievre’s stature tours a community, he has some responsibility to take a few questions from the media.

And so, I got on the phone with the man’s press secretary, Anthony Koch, to see about getting five or 10 minutes of Poilievre’s time to ask a few questions. To my surprise, the candidate agreed, and we had our few minutes with the man who has set his sights on the prime minister’s office.

Not surprisingly, given that he mocked CBC reporters who were in attendance that day, he allowed no other media questions. And unfortunately, it didn’t appear that anyone else even tried.

I make note of this local situation in light of what happened earlier this week in Ontario when Global News reporter David Akin clashed with Poilievre during a press conference the latter hosted with national media.

As reported by the Toronto Star, the ground rules communicated to the press on Tuesday prior to the new Conservative leader’s first appearance was that there were to be no questions from the media. They would only be allowed to witness his statement.

“Some media were grumpy,” wrote Star columnist Bruce Arthur. “David Akin, chief political correspondent for Global News, thought this was unacceptable. According to sources in the room, Akin told Poilievre’s press secretary, “We’re not his f—king stenographers. And you can tell him that.”

Akin, not one to hold back his distaste for such a one-way conversation with any politician, let alone a brand-new party leader, loudly interrupted Poilievre mid-statement to ask if he would be taking questions afterwards. To this, Poilievre called Akin — a former writer with Postmedia’s National Post as well as the Globe and Mail — a “Liberal Heckler,” though he did agree to answer two questions afterward.

Following that encounter, the federal Tory leader decided to go all-in against “the media,” claiming in a fundraising email that news media can’t be counted upon to be unbiased and fair, and used the encounter with Akin to try and solicit more donations from Conservative supporters.

This kind of “media are the enemy” dialogue is the same kind of rhetoric used by former U.S. president Donald Trump, who famously quipped that the “media is the enemy of the people.” It’s unfortunate that he is choosing to vilify those journalists who are trying to do a fair job. Let’s be honest here — as a headline from Canada’s National Observer noted, who the hell calls a press conference, then tells reporters they can’t ask questions?

Someone who is looking to pick a fight, that’s who. Of course, journalists will be irritated by having such a condition imposed upon them. And given how many years he has spent in the public eye in Ottawa as a politician, Poilievre and his team knew that, too.

That doesn’t excuse Akin’s behaviour, but no one here comes away without egg on their face.

The danger here should be obvious, as these antics feed into a false narrative that all media are out to make politicians — specifically Conservative politicians — look bad. This is just bad for democracy, period. Anyone who has followed Canadian media reporting of Justin Trudeau and his many ethical lapses and scandals — remember Mr. Blackface? — should know that scandal of any partisan variety makes the news, attracts eyes and sells papers.

Going out of his way to make an enemy of the press gallery right out of the gate as party leader may score him some points with hard-right party supporters — and some dollars, I expect — but it’s not a good look for a man who wants to lead a country.

If he wants to become the next prime minister of Canada, he’s going to have to tone down the Trump-style rhetoric, which does nothing but offer divisive posturing at a time when we need a thoughtful leader in opposition.

He may also have to answer a few questions.

» Matt Goerzen, editor