Canada’s Media Is Failing You

There was a time when journalists were watchdogs. They held governments to account. They followed the facts, not the noise. That time feels long gone.

Instead of grilling those in power with substance, far too many media outlets in this country now act like junior high debaters, tossing out childish, irrelevant questions designed to trap or embarrass people they don’t like, while giving others a free ride.

Take Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who was recently asked by a reporter, “As Prime Minister, would you instruct your military to prepare war plans to defend us against the United States?” Read that again. A serious reporter asked that question, with a straight face. Another asked, “Are you worried Trump doesn’t think you’re MAGA enough?” Then there was the one about Poilievre’s now-viral apple-eating moment: “Are you trying to be Donald Trump with your apple-eating stunt again?”

This isn’t journalism. It’s performance. It’s not even subtle. These questions are designed to draw out soundbites that fit a pre-written narrative: that Poilievre is dangerous, radical, or an American-style populist. That’s the line, and they’re going to push it, no matter what the facts say.

Here’s a perfect example. A journalist asked Poilievre if he was too closely aligned with a foreign government—referring to the United States under Donald Trump. Poilievre calmly corrected the record, pointing out that Trump has repeatedly praised Justin Trudeau’s Liberals and said he’d prefer them to remain in power. “He said he doesn’t agree with me, doesn’t support me, and he doesn’t want me to be Prime Minister of Canada.” That’s on the record. Yet the reporter still asked the question, knowing it was based on a lie.

Where is the same scrutiny for Liberal darling Mark Carney? The media doesn’t ask him to explain why Trump wants him to be the next Prime Minister. When Trump says he prefers the Liberals, it’s barely a blip in Canadian headlines. If the roles were reversed and Trump endorsed Poilievre, you’d be hearing about it in every editorial and news alert for weeks.

Nobody’s asking Carney how he’ll manage to build 500,000 homes a year—an impossible target even for a government that functioned well, which ours doesn’t. They don’t ask what he means when he says the government will build homes. With what? Bureaucrats? Which federal department is suddenly going to become a homebuilder?

They’re not pressing him on why he refuses to support a national pipeline—something economists from all stripes agree we need to unlock the full value of our energy sector and reduce our dependency on foreign oil. Canadians need affordable energy, and pipelines help us achieve that. It’s common sense. Yet no one asks him to explain this contradiction.

Instead, we get gotcha questions thrown at Poilievre. Meanwhile, Carney gets softballs and CBC airtime. Is it because Carney has promised to increase funding to the CBC, while Poilievre has said he’d cut it? I think we all know the answer.

There’s a clear double standard here, and it’s dangerous. The media is supposed to serve the public, not political parties. They should be asking questions that matter: How will Carney’s economic policies affect my grocery bill? Will his reciprocal tariffs on U.S. goods drive food prices even higher? What changed his mind on the carbon tax? He used to defend it. Now he’s shifting—why?

The answers to those questions have real consequences. But they’re not being asked, because too many in the media are more interested in shaping opinion than informing it. It’s no secret that many of these same media outlets receive substantial federal subsidies, tax breaks, and bailouts. Meanwhile, smaller, independent outlets like ours at the Winnipeg Sun don’t see much of that support—certainly not on the scale the CBC or our competitors do.

That’s part of the problem. A healthy democracy relies on an independent media. When the media becomes dependent on government funding, it stops asking tough questions of that government. That’s not theory—that’s reality. And it’s why we’ve seen this country drift for the past nine years under the Trudeau Liberals. No scrutiny. No pushback. Just enablement.

We’re paying for it now. In higher food prices, unaffordable housing, rising taxes, and a justice system that doesn’t protect the public. That’s what happens when the media fails to do its job.

It doesn’t have to be this way. Canada needs a strong, independent press—especially at the local level. We need media outlets that ask questions based on facts, not ideology. That challenge power, regardless of party. That tell the truth, even when it’s inconvenient.

At the Winnipeg Sun, we’re doing our part. We’re not chasing trends. We’re not taking orders. We’re here to ask the questions Canadians want answered—because someone has to.

We don’t need a media that tries to control the narrative. We need one that respects the public enough to follow the truth, wherever it leads.