Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown Settles Defamation Lawsuit With CTV Over 2018 Story

Patrick Brown speaks to reporters on Feb. 20, 2018. Chris Young/The Canadian Press

Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, the former leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, has reached a settlement with CTV over a story it ran alleging sexual misconduct on his part. Brown has maintained those allegations are false.

“Patrick Brown and CTV have resolved their legal dispute,” says a notice placed March 8 on the CTV News article on allegations against Brown.

“On January 24, 2018, four months before a Provincial election, CTV broadcast a segment concerning Patrick Brown. Key details provided to CTV for the story were factually incorrect and required correction,” says the statement.

“CTV National News regrets including those details in the story and any harm this may have caused to Mr. Brown.”

Details of the settlement haven’t been disclosed, but in April 2018 Brown sued CTV for defamation and called for $8 million in damages.

Brown, who is contemplating whether to run in the Conservative Party leadership race, has yet to publicly comment on the settlement.

The story published by CTV News in 2018 cited two unnamed women who alleged improper behaviour from Brown.

CTV initially reported that one of the women said she was intoxicated when she engaged in a consensual sex act with Brown and that she was in high school at the time, which implied she could have been underage and not of legal drinking age.

The woman later said she had graduated high school and was 19 at the time.

CTV News later removed the mention of “high school” and added a correction to its online article stating “This story has been updated to reflect the first woman’s revised recollection of her age at the time of the alleged events.”

The other woman says she had been hired by Brown to work in his constituency office when Brown was a federal MP and claimed that Brown sexually assaulted her, but she never pressed charges. She also said she did not stop working for Brown after the alleged incident as to not impede a “career opportunity.”

“These allegations are false and have been difficult to hear,” Brown said in a statement announcing he was stepping down as leader of his party a day after the allegations surfaced on Jan. 24, 2018.

Leadership Bid

Gary Collins, the spokesman for Brown in the Brampton mayor’s office, told the Canadian Press last week that Brown hasn’t made a decision yet whether to run for the leadership of the federal Conservative Party.

“He hopes to make a decision soon after consulting with family, friends, and Brampton residents,” said Collins.

So far, Conservative MPs Pierre Poilievre and Leslyn Lewis have formally announced their bid to run, as well as independent Ontario MPP Roman Baber. Former Quebec premier Jean Charest will reportedly announce his candidacy on March 10.

Candidates have until April 19 to apply and must provide $300,000 up front, with $100,000 as a compliance deposit to be reimbursed after the race. The voting will occur in July and August with the result announced on Sept. 10.