Western Standard

Last updated

Western Standard
Western Standard Logo.jpg
Type of site
Politics
Available in Canadian English
Headquarters Calgary, Alberta
Founder(s) Derek Fildebrandt (President)
EditorDave Naylor
URL WesternStandard.news
CommercialYes

The Western Standard is a Canadian conservative social commentary media website operated by Western Standard New Media Corp. and its president Derek Fildebrandt. [1] [2] The Standard is based in Calgary, Alberta, where its main offices are located. [3] [4] The Standard also has bureaus in Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Regina, Winnipeg and Ottawa. [5] [6]

Contents

Fildebrandt is the majority shareholder. [1] Dave Naylor, a former city editor with the Calgary Sun, joined as news editor and a minority shareholder. All of the company's shareholders reside in Alberta. [1]

The Standard's revenue is generated through subscriptions and advertising. [1]

History

Ezra Levant co-founded the Western Standard, in 2004 as an Alberta-based magazine with an emphasis on Western Canada and political conservatism. [7] Levant later sold the publication's remaining assets to Matthew Johnson, the former legislative aide to former Conservative Party MP Rahim Jaffer. In October 2007, the magazine ceased publication of its print edition after failing to become profitable. [8] It existed briefly as an online magazine, [9] which quickly became stagnant.

On October 23, 2019, Derek Fildebrandt bought the rights to the magazine from Johnston and relaunched it as a conservative commentary and news website. [2] [10] [4] Johnston, a former conservative Albertan politician, occasionally contributes columns to the relaunched site. In 2021, the Western Standard announced that it had opened bureaus in Victoria, Vancouver, Regina, Winnipeg, and Edmonton. [5] As of March 2023, the Victoria and Winnipeg bureaus do not have any staff, although there is a columnist based in Winnipeg. [11]

The Western Standard obtained "Qualified Canadian Journalism Organization" status with the Canada Revenue Agency in 2022, permitting it to apply for government news subsidies. [12] [13] Fildebrandt has opposed government funding or grants for Canadian media organizations. He wrote in a column the organization applied for QCJO status "just for fun." [14] [15] While a QCJO, as of March 2023 The Western Standard does not appear on the CRA's list of media outlets receiving grants, thus making subscribers ineligible to apply for the associated tax credit. [16]

Controversies

Publication of Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons

On February 13, 2006, the Western Standard published the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons depicting unflattering images of Muhammad. [17] Syed Soharwardy, a Calgary Imam and president of the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada, complained about the publication to the Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission.

On December 21, 2007, Johnston apologized directly to Soharwardy and Canada's Muslim community for the publication of the cartoons and Soharwardy withdrew his complaint against the magazine. [18]

Levant refused to apologize and a hearing was scheduled for January 2008. [19] On the day of the hearing, Levant republished the cartoons on his personal website. [20] [21] At the request of Levant and his lawyers, Levant was allowed to videotape his interview with Shirlene McGovern, a human rights investigator with the Alberta Human Rights Commission. Levant later posted the videos on YouTube.

On February 15, 2008, Soharwardy announced he was withdrawing his complaint against Levant. He said in a guest column for The Globe and Mail that publishing the cartoons "was irresponsible and was intended to cause strife," but acknowledged their publication "may not fall outside the limits of free speech." [22] In August 2008, the Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission rejected a similar complaint against Levant made by the Edmonton Council of Muslim Communities. [23]

Retraction of restaurant and social gathering story

On June 9, 2021, the Western Standard reported that Premier Jason Kenney, Minister of Environment and Parks Jason Nixon and Minister of Health Tyler Shandro had been regularly ignoring their own COVID-19 restrictions since the start of 2021. The reporting relied on sources that the Western Standard kept anonymous. [24]

The story reported they had arranged for secret social gatherings at Bottega 104, a restaurant in downtown Edmonton. The article also reported that Kenney attended social functions at the private residence of a lobbyist. At the time, COVID-19 protocols in Alberta restricted restaurants to takeout and delivery service, and private gatherings in homes were limited. [24]

Kenney called the story "false and defamatory," and had a cease-and-desist letter sent to Fildebrandt and the Western Standard. [24] [25] Brock Harrison, a spokesperson for the premier's office, wrote on Twitter that the story was "a total fabrication with no basis in fact" [26] and said the Western Standard did not try to get comment from the premier's office. [27] It was later revealed The Western Standard asked for comment at 5:49 p.m. MT, seven minutes before publishing the article. [24]

On June 11, 2021, Fildebrandt said the story "should not have been published" and fully retracted the story in a public apology. [28] [29]

Coverage of "Natural Woman" hoax

On January 23, 2023, Western Standard reporter Jonathan Bradley published a story titled "Transgender group calls for Aretha Franklin song Natural Woman to be banned." [30] The group making the demand is a satirical group called the Trans Cultural Mindfulness Alliance (TCMA). [31]

Bradley reported that the group wrote on Twitter that (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman by Aretha Franklin should be banned from Spotify and Apple Music because it inspires "acts of harm against transgender women" and there is "no such thing as a 'natural' woman." [31]

Later that day, a Twitter post from TCMA said the organization was fictional and the media outlets who covered the comments as fact never asked for comment to verify the post. TCMA said their intention was to provide commentary on "woke" culture and "media stupidity." [32]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Kenney</span> Premier of Alberta from 2019 to 2022

Jason Thomas Kenney is a former Canadian politician who served as the 18th premier of Alberta from 2019 until 2022, and the leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP) from 2017 until 2022. He also served as the member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Calgary-Lougheed from 2017 until 2022. Kenney was the last leader of the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party before the party merged with the Wildrose Party to form the UCP. Prior to entering Alberta provincial politics, he served in various cabinet posts under Prime Minister Stephen Harper from 2006 to 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Independence Party</span> Canadian political party

The Western Independence Party (WIP) was a Canadian political party that advocated the separation of Western Canada from Canada to form a new country from the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and the Yukon and Northwest Territories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ezra Levant</span> Canadian media personality and conservative activist

Ezra Isaac Levant is a Canadian far-right media personality, political activist, writer, broadcaster, and former lawyer. Levant is the founder and former publisher of the conservative magazine, The Western Standard. He is also the co-founder, owner, and CEO of the far-right media website Rebel News. Levant has also worked as a columnist for Sun Media, and he hosted a daily program on the Sun News Network from the channel's inception in 2011 until its demise in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freedom Conservative Party of Alberta</span> Political party in Canada

The Freedom Conservative Party of Alberta was an Albertan autonomist, libertarian and conservative political party in Alberta, Canada.

The Calgary School is a term coined by Ralph Hedlin in an article in the now defunct Alberta Report in reference to four political science professors – Tom Flanagan, Rainer Knopff, Ted Morton, and Barry F. Cooper – who became colleagues at Alberta's University of Calgary in the early 1980s. They shared and promoted similar ideas about how political scientists could shape the rise of a particular kind of conservatism in Canada – informed by theories based on Friedrich Hayek and Leo Strauss. Cooper and Flanagan had met in the 1960s at Duke University while pursuing doctoral studies, while Knopff and Morton were both mentored by Walter Berns, a prominent Straussian, at the University of Toronto. They were economic, foreign policy, and social conservatives who were anti-abortion and were not in favour of legalizing gay marriage. They supported Stephen Harper in his 1993 election campaign, and former Alberta premiers Ralph Klein and Jason Kenney. A fifth University of Calgary professor, David Bercuson, co-authored publications with Cooper but was more loosely associated with the group and, at times, disagreed with the others on these public policies and candidates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strathmore-Brooks</span> Defunct provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada

Strathmore-Brooks was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first-past-the-post method of voting from 1997 to 2019.

The Alberta Report was a conservative weekly newsmagazine based in Edmonton. It was founded and edited by Ted Byfield, and later run by his son, Link Byfield. It ceased publication in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danielle Smith</span> Premier of Alberta since 2022

Marlaina Danielle Smith is a Canadian politician, former lobbyist, and former columnist and media personality who has been serving as the 19th premier of Alberta and leader of the United Conservative Party (UCP) since October 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derek Fildebrandt</span> Journalist and former Alberta politician

Derek Alexander Gerhard Fildebrandt is a Canadian politician and media executive. He is the publisher, president and chief executive officer of the Western Standard New Media Corp. He is a former member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Ellis (Canadian politician)</span> Canadian politician

Michael George Ellis is a Canadian politician who has represented Calgary-West in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta since 2014, sitting as a member of the United Conservative Party (UCP). Ellis was sworn in as Deputy Premier and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services in Alberta. Prior to entering politics, he worked as a police officer.

Allama Syed Badiuddin Soharwardy is a Sunni scholar, a shaykh of the Suhrawardi Sufi order, chairman of the Al-Madinah Calgary Islamic Assembly, and is the founder and current president of the [[Islamic Supreme Council of Canada]. In January 1998, he founded the group Muslims Against Terrorism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">29th Alberta Legislature</span>

The 29th Alberta Legislative Assembly was constituted after the general election on May 5, 2015. The New Democrats, led by Rachel Notley, won a majority of seats and formed the government. The Wildrose Party, which won the second most seats, formed the official opposition until July 2017, when it merged with the Progressive Conservatives, to become the United Conservative Party, which then became the official opposition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Alberta general election</span> 30th general election of Alberta, Canada

The 2019 Alberta general election was held on April 16, 2019, to elect 87 members to the 30th Alberta Legislature. In its first general election contest, the Jason Kenney-led United Conservative Party (UCP) won 54.88% of the popular vote and 63 seats, defeating incumbent Premier Rachel Notley. The governing Alberta New Democratic Party (NDP) were reduced to 24 seats and formed the Official Opposition. The United Conservative Party was formed in 2017 from a merger of the Progressive Conservative Party and the Wildrose Party after the NDP's victory in the 2015 election ended nearly 44 years of Progressive Conservative rule.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Conservative Party</span> Provincial political party in Alberta, Canada

The United Conservative Party of Alberta (UCP) is a conservative political party in the province of Alberta, Canada. It was established in July 2017 as a merger between the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta and the Wildrose Party. When established, the UCP immediately formed the Official Opposition in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. The UCP won a majority mandate in the 2019 Alberta general election to form the government of Alberta. UCP leader Jason Kenney became premier on April 30, 2019, when he and his first cabinet were appointed and sworn in by the lieutenant governor of Alberta, Lois Mitchell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 United Conservative Party leadership election</span> Provincial party election in Alberta, Canada

A United Conservative Party leadership election was held in Alberta on October 28, 2017 following votes on July 22, 2017 by memberships of both the Wildrose Party and the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta to merge and form the United Conservative Party. The Unity Agreement between the parties states the leadership election will be held on a One Member One Vote basis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Alberta general election</span> Provincial election in Canada

The 2023 Alberta general election was held on May 29, 2023. Voters elected the members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. The United Conservative Party under Danielle Smith, the incumbent Premier of Alberta, was re-elected to government with a reduced majority. Across the province, 1,763,441 valid votes were cast in this election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Premiership of Jason Kenney</span> Aspect of Canadian politics

The premiership of Jason Kenney spanned from April 2019 until October 2022, when Jason Kenney and his cabinet were sworn in by Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, Lois Mitchell. Kenney was invited to form the 30th Alberta Legislature and became the 18th Premier of Alberta, following the 2019 Alberta general election where Kenney's United Conservative Party (UCP) won a majority of seats in the Alberta Legislature leading to the resignation of Premier Rachel Notley. Kenney stepped down as leader of the UCP party on May 18, 2022, after receiving 51.4% of the UCP party members' votes. His premiership ended shortly after Danielle Smith won the subsequent leadership election and was sworn in as premier.

The COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta is part of an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The province of Alberta has the third-most cases of COVID-19 in Canada, behind only Ontario and Quebec.

The following is a timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Premiership of Danielle Smith</span> Danielle Smiths time as premier of Alberta and her policies

The premiership of Danielle Smith began on 11 October 2022 when she was sworn in by Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, Salma Lakhani. Smith won the 2022 United Conservative Party leadership election to replace then Alberta Premier Jason Kenney on October 6, 2022, and was appointed as the 19th Premier of Alberta. Her cabinet was sworn in on 22 October.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Anand, Bharat; Di Tella, Rafael; King, Gary; Legg, Heidi (12 February 2022). "The Future of Media Project: Canadian Media Ownership Index". harvard.edu. Harvard University . Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  2. 1 2 Fildebrandt, Derek (23 October 2019). "The Western Standard Is Back". Western Standard. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  3. ↑ "Contact". Western Standard. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  4. 1 2 Levant, Ezra (24 October 2019). "The Western Standard is back! Derek Fildebrandt takes over Ezra's old magazine". Rebel News . Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  5. 1 2 "About". Western Standard. 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  6. ↑ Chen, Alice (21 March 2022). "Western Standard opens a new Ottawa bureau". The Hill Times . Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  7. ↑ Levant, Ezra (4 January 2004). "Western Standard will be antidote to Maclean's, the CBC". National Post.
  8. ↑ Levant, Ezra (5 October 2007). "150 million pages of fighting the good fight". Western Standard.
  9. ↑ Scott, Norval (9 October 2007). "Western Standard's print edition goes under". The Globe and Mail . Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  10. ↑ Fildebrandt, Derek (22 October 2021). "The Western Standard at two years old". Western Standard. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  11. ↑ "Editorial Team".
  12. ↑ Goldsbie, Jonathan (4 April 2022). "The low bar for accessing government news subsidies". Canadaland . Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  13. ↑ Fildebrandt, Derek (8 March 2022). "Trudeau's media approval board agree, the Western Standard are 'qualified journalists'". Western Standard. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  14. ↑ Goldsbie, Jonathan (11 April 2022). "Explainer: Canada's News Bailout, and what Facebook and Google have to do with it". Canadaland . Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  15. ↑ Fildebrandt, Derek. "FILDEBRANDT: Trudeau's media approval board agree, the Western Standard are 'qualified journalists'". Western Standard. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
  16. ↑ "List of qualifying digital news subscriptions". 14 September 2020.
  17. ↑ Woodard, Joe, "Prophet cartoons come to Calgary: Publishers defend move as free speech", Calgary Herald, 11 February 2006
  18. ↑ Johnston, Matthew. "The Shotgun: Syed Soharwardy will withdraw complaint from AHRCC". The Western Standard. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  19. ↑ "Imam drops rights dispute". Calgary Herald. 13 February 2008. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
  20. ↑ Bonnell, Keith (12 January 2008). "Defiant Levant republishes cartoons". National Post . Archived from the original on 18 April 2009. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  21. ↑ Human rights complaint dismissal spurs more debate Archived 2015-09-23 at the Wayback Machine Paul Lungen, Canadian Jewish News, August 21, 2008. (Retrieved 21 October 2008).
  22. ↑ Soharwardy, Syed (15 February 2008). "Why I'm withdrawing my human rights complaint against Ezra Levant". The Globe and Mail .
  23. ↑ Brean, Joseph (7 August 2008). "Danish cartoon complaint rejected". National Post. Archived from the original on 24 March 2016.
  24. 1 2 3 4 von Scheel, Elise (10 June 2021). "'False and defamatory': Kenney sends cease-and-desist letter to Alberta news outlet". CBC News . Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  25. ↑ Braid, Don. "Braid: Former political foe's story of scandal 'a fabrication,' says Kenney". Calgary Herald. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  26. ↑ Harrison, Brock (9 June 2021). "The story published tonight by the @WSOnlineNews is a total fabrication with no basis in fact. The Premier has directed his lawyer to send a defamation notice to the publication and a demand that the story be removed immediately. (1/2)". Twitter. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  27. ↑ Harrison, Brock (9 June 2021). "In addition, contrary to the claim that "request for comment from the Premier's Office was not returned as of publishing," the Premier's Office has no record of such a request from the Western Standard". Twitter. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  28. ↑ Dryden, Joel (17 June 2021). "Alberta news outlet fully retracts article alleging premier broke COVID-19 restrictions at Edmonton restaurant". CBC News . Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  29. ↑ Toy, Adam (17 June 2021). "Fildebrandt, Western Standard retract, apologize for Kenney restaurant story: 'Should not have been published'". Global News . Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  30. ↑ Bradley, Jonathan (23 January 2023). "Transgender group calls for Aretha Franklin song Natural Woman to be banned". Western Standard. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  31. 1 2 Wilford, Denette. "Aretha Franklin song controversy sparked by apparent parody account". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  32. ↑ Kennedy, John R. (23 January 2023). "No, A Trans Organization Does Not Think Aretha Franklin's Classic Is 'Harmful'". www.iheartradio.ca. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.