One of the world’s richest men has likened the Toronto Star to Soviet state media after Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said the newspaper is planning to write a “hit piece” about him.
In a post on X Tuesday evening, Poilievre accused the Star of mounting a “ridiculous attack” with a forthcoming story.
“The Toronto Star is trying to write a hit piece on the fact that my wife bought a small $300 splash pool a couple years ago which we paid for and put up ourselves,” Poilievre wrote. “Separately they are attacking us for the (National Capital Commission) installing a safety fence at Stornoway to protect our kids after threats to my family.”
Elon Musk, the owner of X and CEO of Tesla, replied.
“The Toronto Star has become Canada’s Pravda,” he wrote.
Pravda was the official newspaper of the Soviet communist party until the fall of the Soviet Union.
While the Toronto Star is not state-owned, it does receive significant financial support from the federal government along with many other Canadian newspapers.
Poilievre’s wife, Anaida, shared on her Instagram several supportive replies to Poilievre’s post.
“Explain to me how a 300.00 pool is a bigger deal than inviting a Nazi to hang out. Anyone? Can anyone help me here?!” said one comment, in reference to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s invitation to Nazi veteran Yaroslav Hunka to attend a reception for Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Toronto.
“I have the exact same pool,” another comment said. “Splurged last summer for the kids since under Justin I cant (sic) afford much else. You having the same one instead of a 20k vacation should speak volumes.”
Poilievre’s post included a photo of his children in a shopping cart with the small pool on the cart’s lower rack. He also shared a picture of the pool erected and filled with water and a floating pool toy in the family’s yard, presumably at Stornoway, the official residence of Canada’s opposition leader.
The Star article Poilievre referenced was not online as of 7 p.m. Tuesday evening.
