CTV News Removes Two Staff Members for ‘Manipulating’ Poilievre Video

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre holds a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Sept. 11, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

CTV National News has issued an “irrevocable apology” and removed two members of its team after an internal investigation found they had altered a video of Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre. The Conservatives had earlier said they wouldn’t give interviews to CTV News or deal with its parent company Bell if they don’t receive an “unequivocal apology” over the incident.

“A report on Sunday’s CTV National News broadcast did not meet our expected and required high editorial standards,” the network said in a Sept. 26 statement.

The broadcast from Sept. 22 made it seem as though Poilievre had tabled a non-confidence motion against the Liberal government over dental care, whereas the Tory leader had never raised the issue during a scrum with reporters on Sept. 18.

CTV issued a first apology on Sept. 23, which said a comment by Poilievre had been “taken out of context” and was caused by a “misunderstanding during the editing process resulted in the misrepresentation.”

Conservatives were not satisfied with the apology and said on Sept. 24 they would not engage further with CTV News or with parent company Bell or its lobbyists until it “explicitly acknowledges the malicious nature of their editing and not merely dismisses this as a mistake or error.”

Two days later, the network said it had conducted an investigation to determine if there had been a breach of its editorial policies and practices.

The network said the investigation found that “two members of the CTV News team are responsible for altering a video clip, manipulating it for a particular story,” calling the violation of its editorial standards “unacceptable.”

“Those individuals are no longer members of the CTV News team,” says the statement.

The Epoch Times reached out to the network to find out if the members have been fired or just reassigned.

Tory MP Michelle Rempel Garner reacted to CTV’s statement on social media, saying “Glad to see the accountability. Onwards.”

Video Segment

The editing of the video from a Poilievre scrum had him say, “That’s why we need to put forward a motion,” after a CTV correspondent had said the fate of the federal dental care program was uncertain following the NDP’s cancellation of its supply-and-confidence agreement with the Liberals.

The sentence Poilievre was made to say during the CTV broadcast was created using three different sections of video.

Poilievre had instead mentioned a number of issues during the scrum with reporters, such as crime and inflation, and said “that’s why it’s time to put forward a motion for a carbon tax election.”

Poilievre has had a rocky relationship with some media outlets, accusing them of pro-Liberal bias. A key promise he’s made over the last two years as leader is to defund the public broadcaster CBC.

Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge, who is responsible for media programs and subsidies, did not raise issues with CTV but criticized the Tories for refusing to speak with the network.

“His hidden agenda: to not have journalists ask him difficult questions,” she said while commenting on Conservatives announcing they would not speak with CTV.

The Epoch Times reached out to the offices of St-Onge and Poilievre for comment.

In reacting to the CTV statement on its employees’ removal, Poilievre’s wife, Anaida Poilievre said in a post on social media, “My husband is a fighter, and I couldn’t be more proud. Canada needs a leader with unwavering principle and conviction, someone who stands firm for what’s right—even when the media, critics, and so-called experts try to tear him down.”