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Friday, July 18, 2025

Trudeau evades question on candidate charged with sexual assault

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
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After a Liberal candidate in Toronto was revealed to have been charged with sexual assault in 2019, Liberal Party Leader Justin Trudeau evaded questions from reporters on why he is continuing to let him run in the 2021 election. 

According to a report by the Toronto Star, Spadina-Fort York Candidate Kevin Vuong denies the allegations and has stated that the charges were later withdrawn. According to the Liberal Party, Vuong’s campaign has been paused but no commitment has been made to fire him. 

“How is it that your team failed to learn this until the Toronto Star told you about it and will you let that candidate, Mr Vuong, sit as a Liberal if indeed he wins his seat since it’s too late to change any ballot?” a reporter asked Trudeau.  

“We are a party that always takes any allegations or reports of sexual harassment, intimidation or assault. That has been clear from the very beginning. As you also pointed out, we only learnt about these serious investigations yesterday, we are looking into it very carefully and we have asked the candidate to pause the campaign,” said Trudeau. 

When pressed further by the report on why the Liberal Party hasn’t told Vuong to step down, Trudeau smirked as his staffers called for the next question. 

Opposition parties responded to the Liberal decision by calling for the removal of Vuong. 

“This pattern of cover-ups by Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party must stop. Once again Canadians are left wondering how they can trust the Liberals,” the Conservative Party said in a statement on the matter.

“Justin Trudeau must do the right thing and immediately fire this candidate and confirm that if elected, this candidate will not sit in the Liberal Caucus.”

The allegations against Vuong come only weeks after Kitchener Centre incumbent candidate Raj Saini reportedly stepped down from his candidacy after reports alleged that he had sexually harassed a female staffer. 

Despite stepping down, Saini’s name will remain on the ballot since Elections Canada stated it is too late to have him replaced.

As a result of the withdrawal, Saini could be entitled to receive a $92,900 severance package for the decision.

For years, Trudeau has maintained that he has a zero-tolerance approach to sexual harassment despite the fact that he himself has been accused of groping a female reporter in 2000 while attending a music festival.

Trudeau once said he believed women who come forward with allegations of sexual assault must be supported and believed.

“When women speak up it is our duty to listen to them and believe them,”  said Trudeau in 2018.

Alberta UCP MLAs won’t be disciplined for opposing latest restrictions

By
Andrew Lawton
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United Conservative Party (UCP) MLAs are encouraged to represent their constituents’ interests as Albertans face a new wave of restrictions and implementation of a vaccine passport, according to the premier’s office.

Asked whether UCP MLAs would face any discipline or expulsion from caucus if they spoke out against these measures, a spokesperson for Premier Jason Kenney implied this wouldn’t be the case.

“Premier Kenney has always encouraged UCP MLAs to represent the views of their constituents,” the spokesperson said. “He also recognizes that Albertans have a wide range of views on how best to respond to COVID, and that includes members of the UCP caucus.”

On Wednesday, Kenney’s government reversed its longstanding opposition to vaccine passports, announcing a suite of restrictions that businesses can only avoid if they agree to enforce vaccination and testing requirements for their customers.

Restaurants that don’t adopt the vaccine passport program, which the province is calling a “restriction exemption program,” will have to close their doors for indoor dining. Entertainment venues and retail outlets the government deems non-essential will have to restrict capacity to one-third of fire code capacity if they don’t opt into checking vaccination status and test results.

The new measures also bar unvaccinated people from gathering with anyone who lives outside their household, and restricts vaccinated households to gatherings with members of just one other vaccinated household.

While no UCP MLAs have yet spoken out against these measures publicly, Calgary-Fish Creek MLA Richard Gottfried did criticize his government for not implementing them sooner.

“Nothing was done while we lacked any leadership at the helm,” Gottfried said on Facebook. “It will cost us lives and I am gutted by the lack of responsiveness to unequivocal advocacy and clear warning signals. I am frustrated, embarrassed and angry that such defensible measures weren’t taken 30 days ago.”

In April, 16 UCP MLAs signed an open letter criticizing Alberta’s pandemic restrictions as heavy-handed.

“We have heard from our constituents, and they want us to defend their livelihoods and freedoms as Albertans,” the letter said. “For months, we have raised these concerns at the highest levels of government and unfortunately, the approach of the government has remained the same.”

Two of its signatories, MLAs Todd Loewen and Drew Barnes, were ejected from caucus a couple of weeks later, with the UCP whip saying there was “no room in our caucus for those to continually seek to divide our party and undermine government leadership.” 

Barnes said to a local Medicine Hat newspaper that Kenney’s vaccine passport announcement does not respect civil liberties.

“I am not in favour of vaccination passports,” he said. “No, I believe that again the premier has totally missed the balance between our civil liberties and keeping us safe and also we’re in a situation where we’re dividing society.”

Liberal candidate rolls eyes over two Michaels at debate

By
Jonathan Bradley
-

The Liberal candidate for Don Valley West Rob Oliphant rolled his eyes when Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, the two Canadian citizens detained in China, were brought up at a local candidates’ debate on Monday. 

During the debate, the Conservative candidate for Don Valley West Yvonne Robertson said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has failed Canadians, and it is time for change. Robertson brought up how Oliphant serves as the parliamentary secretary for the minister of foreign affairs and plays an important role in Canada-China relations.

“He is the number two gentleman on the file,” said Robertson. “And not once tonight did he mention Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who have been detained for 1,008 days.” 

In response, Oliphant rolled his eyes as she scolded him for not mentioning Kovrig and Spavor. 

Kovrig and Spavor were arrested and charged by Chinese authorities on trumped-up charges in 2018. Their detention has been viewed as retaliation against Canada for Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou’s arrest, and it has been cited as an instance of hostage diplomacy. 

Robertson said people in Don Valley West travel abroad for business all the time. These people are losing confidence in Global Affairs Canada, and Canada’s reputation on the world stage is eroding because of Trudeau’s poor leadership, according to her. 

“So I’m going to ask you all, September 20th, please vote for change,” she said. “Vote Conservative.” 

Oliphant could not be reached for comment in time for publication. 

Oliphant was involved with a Canadian delegation that went to China in 2019 to push for these two Canadians to be released. However, both Canadians remain in a Chinese prison.

In August, Michael Spavor was convicted by a Chinese court of espionage and sentenced to 11 years in prison. The Chinese court also ordered Spavor to be deported, though it is not clear if the Canadian will be deported prior to or after his sentence is served.

Ex-federal scientists collaborated on virus research with high-ranking Chinese officer

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

A new report reveals that disgraced scientists who worked at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg collaborated on infectious disease research with a high-ranking officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

According to the Globe and Mail, PLA Major-General Chen Wei worked in tandem with ex-federal scientist Xiangguo Qiu on two Ebola-related papers in 2016 and 2020. 

The papers did not identify Chen’s ties to the Chinese military or his role as the PLA’s top virologist, referencing him only as a PhD holder with the Academy of Military Science. 

In response to questions about whether it was common for high-ranking military officers from foreign nations to collaborate with high-security clearance Canadian researchers, the Public Health Agency of Canada stood by the benefit of working with China. 

“While the (National Microbiology Lab) does not have institutional agreements with the Chinese military, Canada’s scientists have collaborated with Chinese scientists to contribute to the global public health fight against deadly diseases, such as Ebola,” PHAC spokesperson Anne Génier told the Globe. 

“These collaborations have yielded vaccine and treatment candidates for diseases, as documented in peer-reviewed journals.”

PHAC has also refused to state whether Chen ever visited the Level 4 facility which houses samples of some of the world’s deadliest and most infectious viruses. 

“All visitors including researchers collaborating with the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) must adhere to Government of Canada and PHAC security protocols, procedures and policies and must be escorted by an employee with a Secret clearance at all times,” PHAC spokesman Mark Johnson said last week. 

Qiu is currently the subject of an RCMP investigation along with her biologist husband Keding Chang. The two are accused of sharing Ebola and Henipah virus strains with China’s Wuhan Institute of Virology. The pair were fired from the lab in January, 17 months after being removed from the facility by police and stripped of their security clearances under a cloud of secrecy.

Liberal leader Justin Trudeau has refused to disclose classified files to opposition parties related to the pair’s firing claiming that it could jeopardize national security. 

Maxime Bernier opens door for post-election leadership review

By
Andrew Lawton
-

People’s Party of Canada founder and leader Maxime Bernier says his party’s members deserve to have a say as to whether he deserves to stay on as leader after next week’s election.

In an interview on True North’s The Andrew Lawton Show, Bernier said it’s a “good time” for his leadership to be reevaluated internally, though he was clear that he wishes to continue leading the party he founded two years ago after leaving the Conservative Party of Canada.

“I believe that after the election I’m ready to ask the question to our members, if they want me as their leader or not,” Bernier said. “It will be a good time to do that.”

Bernier pointed out the PPC platform is based on his platform in the 2017 Conservative leadership race, in which he received 49% of the points, narrowly losing to Andrew Scheer.

“It was easier for us to build a party with ideas,” Bernier said. “That platform was very well-received by Conservative members at that time, and now it’s well-received (by) a lot of Canadians.”

The PPC received 1.6% of the votes cast in the 2019 election, winning no seats for Bernier or any of the party’s candidates.

Opinion polls in this election have pegged PPC support at as high as 9% nationally.

While the party has held member conventions, it has never elected Bernier as leader or formally voted on his leadership.

In a financial disclosure published after the 2019 election, the PPC said it started paying Bernier an annual salary of $104,000 after he lost his Beauce seat in the House of Commons. As a member of parliament, Bernier was making $185,800 each year.

Critics have previously charged the PPC with being the “party of Max,” as independent candidate in Banff–Airdrie Derek Sloan put it in an interview with the Western Standard.

“It’s kind of the party of Max, in the sense of, they’ve had three or so years to come up with a constitution and a leadership review and all of this, and they haven’t,” Sloan said. “There’s not a lot of democratic opportunity there.”

After Sloan was kicked out of the Conservative caucus earlier this year, Bernier said he invited him to join the PPC, but he declined, opting to start his own party, which did not materialize in time for the election.

“We are the only option,” Bernier said in his interview with True North.

Majority of Canadians think flag should be raised from half-mast: poll

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

A recent poll has discovered that a majority of Canadians want the Canadian flag to be raised from half-mast after flying in that position since May, marking the residential school announcements made earlier this year. 

The survey, which was conducted by Maru Public Opinion, found that almost two-thirds believed that it was time to raise the flag. 

In total, 63% of Canadians said they favoured raising the Canadian flag on October 1, while only 41% thought that it should remain at half-mast. 

When broken down provincially, support for raising the flag was highest in Alberta with 71% supporting the decision, followed by Manitoba and Saskatchewan which received 69% support and Atlantic Canada where 63% of residents supported raising the flag. 

Meanwhile, Quebec had only 56% of people saying that it was time to raise the flag and in BC only 55% supported the move. 

“The majority of people in every part of this country and in every demographic says that it’s time to move on,” Maru pollster John Wright said. 

The online poll was conducted on September 13, 2021 and included 1,514 Canadian adults. 

Liberal Party Leader Justin Trudeau has committed to keeping the flags half-mast until an agreement is reached with Indigenous leaders. 

“So when we decided to bring down … those flags to half-mast, we made the commitment that we would not raise them again until we have worked enough with Indigenous communities and leadership to make a clear determination that it was time to raise them again and continue the hard work of reconciliation,” Trudeau said earlier this month.

The national conversation on whether the flag should be raised was prompted following questions posed by True North Fellow Andrew Lawton to Conservative Party Leader Erin O’Toole. 

In response to an inquiry from Lawton on whether the national flag should be returned to its original position, O’Toole announced that Canada should be proud to raise the flag. 

“I do think we should be proud to put our flag back up,” O’Toole said in August.

“It’s not a time to tear down Canada. It’s a time to recommit to build it to be the country we know it can be. Reconciliation is very important and should be important to all Canadians. I think to recommit to Canada, you have to be proud of Canada. You can’t cancel the one day a year that you commit to your country. You need to use that day to recommit to the path of reconciliation.”

Barack Obama endorses Justin Trudeau, calls him “effective leader”

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

Former US president Barack Obama endorsed Liberal Party Leader Justin Trudeau for the 2021 election in a Twitter post on Thursday afternoon. 

In the tweet, Obama referred to Trudeau as an “effective leader” and a “strong voice” for democracy. 

Obama made a similar endorsement during the 2019 election. 

“I was proud to work with Justin Trudeau as President. He’s a hard-working, effective leader who takes on big issues like climate change. The world needs his progressive leadership now, and I hope our neighbors to the north support him for another term,” said Obama at the time. 

In response, Trudeau thanked the former president saying they were “working hard to keep our progress going.” 

For the short period before January 2016 when both Obama and Trudeau were in office at the same time, Canada’s mainstream media fawned over the pair. 

Reports over the years by CBC News referred to their relationship as a “bromance” and “Just 2 regular guys.” 

Other outlets including CTV News hailed the friendship referring to the pair as “amigos.”

At the time of Obama’s first endorsement, several people questioned whether it was a form of foreign interference. 

Additionally, during the 2019 election, Liberal Party Candidate Marc Miller was questioned by critics after having flown to New York City to woo donors at a campaign fundraiser. 

According to a Candidate Campaign Return filed by Miller at the time, 28 donors were listed with Quebec residences despite the fundraiser being held in the US. In addition, the exact amounts each donor paid were not disclosed. 

As reported by True North founder Candice Malcolm, former Clinton Foundation advisor Justin Cooper was one of the key organizers behind the Liberal Party event. 

When questioned on the matter, Miller refused to provide further information and claimed that the New York fundraiser followed Elections Canada guidelines. 

Pierre Poilievre: The Liberal Party has been taken over by radical leftists

By
Candice Malcolm
-

On this episode of The Candice Malcolm Show, Candice is joined by longtime Conservative MP, former Finance critic and candidate for Carleton Pierre Poilievre.

Pierre has been ringing the alarm bell about the threat of hyperinflation for months and his predictions are starting to come true.

He breaks down the dire economic situation in Canada under Trudeau, including the inflation rate that just an 18-year-high, and makes the case for a free market recovery.

Pierre doesn’t mince words in his criticism of Trudeau and his central bankers as well as a scathing assessment of the government-funded legacy media. He saves his fiercest words for the Liberal party, who he says have been “taken over by radical leftists who have a state-driven ideology where the government takes over every aspect of our lives.”

SUBSCRIBE TO THE CANDICE MALCOLM SHOW

Maxime Bernier says election is referendum on vaccine mandates

By
Andrew Lawton
-

In an exclusive interview with True North’s Andrew Lawton, People’s Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier says Monday’s election is a referendum on vaccine passports and vaccine mandates, which is how he explains the PPC’s rise in the polls.

In the interview, Bernier also takes aim at the mainstream media over not covering the PPC fairly or at all.

Watch the full episode of The Andrew Lawton Show.

Rosemary Barton throws Justin Trudeau softball questions in biased interview

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

CBC’s vaunted interview of Liberal leader Justin Trudeau by Rosemary Barton was chock full of softball questions based on Liberal-friendly premises.

Barton’s interview with Trudeau, part of CBC’s Canada Votes: Face to Face with the Leader series, aired Monday night.

In contrast to Barton’s interview of Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole, in which she appeared to incorporate Liberal talking points into her questions, the segment featuring Trudeau was much friendlier and less aggressive. 

While O’Toole was grilled mostly on issues rated as more important to Liberal voters, issues that rank high on Conservative voters’ radars like economic recovery, inflation and government spending were largely ignored by Barton while talking to Trudeau.

According to an exclusive poll commissioned by True North, Liberals ranked climate change, COVID-19 and the environment as their top issues this election. 

Instead of being questioned about his numerous ethics investigations, accusations from female former caucus members of being a fake feminist and the WE Charity scandal, Trudeau was asked mostly about how Canada is systemically racist, as well as other questions about diversity and the environment.

“What I want to know is, what do you as a leader plan to do to ensure that Canadians from all walks of life feel safe and protected? Just seeing some of the things that have been happening during your campaign stops, it just really worries me,” asked one audience member.

In response, Trudeau implied that Canada was racist and that Canadians “have to accept” that. 

Another person asked Trudeau what he would do to address the “growing income inequity” problem in Canada. Inequity is a concept endorsed by the far-left and Liberals based on equality of outcome, meaning that people should receive the same pay and salary regardless of their ability to perform. 

Instead of pressing on Trudeau’s response to the question, as Barton did to O’Toole when during his own appearance, Barton did not interfere as Trudeau laid out LIberal spending promises. 

Notably, Trudeau has pledged CBC/Radio-Canada an additional $400 million in spending should he be elected in 2021. 

As revealed in a True North montage comparison of Trudeau’s interview and O’Toole’s, Barton’s tone and demeanour was much more amicable towards Trudeau than it was to O’Toole. As noted on social media, Barton’s interview with NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh was also noticeably more aggressive than Trudeau’s.

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