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The Western Standard is a Canadian political and 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] Fildebrandt is the majority shareholder.[1] Its news editor, Dave Naylor, is a minority shareholder along with other investors. All of the company's shareholders reside in Alberta.[1] The Standard also has bureaus in Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Regina, Winnipeg and Ottawa.[5][6]

The Standard's revenue is generated through subscriptions and advertising.[1] While the company obtained "Qualified Canadian Journalism Organization" status in 2022, which permitted it to apply for government payroll subsidies, Fildebrandt has said it will not apply for government funding.[1][7]

History

In 2004, Ezra Levant co-founded the Western Standard, as an Alberta-based magazine with an emphasis on Western Canada and political conservatism.[8] In October 2007, the magazine ceased publication of its print edition after failing to become profitable,[9] becoming an online magazine. Levant later sold the publication's remaining assets to Matthew Johnson, the former legislative aide to Rahim Jaffer.[10]

On February 13, 2006, the Western Standard,[5] founded in 2004 as a printed magazine, published the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons depicting Muhammad.[1][11] Syed Soharwardy of the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada and the Edmonton Council of Muslim Communities complained about the publication to the Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission and a hearing was scheduled for January 2008.[12] On the day of the hearing, Levant republished the cartoons on his website.[13][14] 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 published that video on YouTube. Soharwardy's complaint was ultimately withdrawn,[15] and a complaint he filed with Calgary police came to naught. An identical complaint by the Edmonton Muslim Council was dismissed by the Commission on August 5, 2008.[citation needed]

The Standard stopped publication in 2007.[16] In 2019, Derek Fildebrandt bought the rights to the magazine and relaunched it.[2][4]

In 2021, the Standard opened bureaus in Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Regina, and Winnipeg.[5] In 2022, it added a bureau in Ottawa.[6] The same year it obtained "Qualified Canadian Journalism Organization" status with the Canada Revenue Agency, permitting it to apply for government news subsidies.[17][7][18]

In June 2021, Jason Kenney accused the Standard of publishing "false and defamatory allegations" about him hosting gatherings in contravention of COVID-19 restrictions.[19] About a week later, the Standard fully retracted the story and apologized.[20][21] The following year, Kenney gave an exclusive interview to the Standard in which he signalled plans to expand private for-profit health care in Alberta.[22][23]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Anand, Bharat; Di Tella, Rafael; King, Gary; Legg, Heidi (February 12, 2022). "The Future of Media Project: Canadian Media Ownership Index". harvard.edu. Harvard University. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Western Standard (October 23, 2019). "The Western Standard Is Back". westernstandardonline.com. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  3. ^ "Contact". Western Standard. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  4. ^ a b Levant, Ezra (October 24, 2019). "The Western Standard is back! Derek Fildebrandt takes over Ezra's old magazine". Rebel News. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c "About". Western Standard. 2021. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  6. ^ a b Chen, Alice (March 21, 2022). "Western Standard opens a new Ottawa bureau". The Hill Times. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  7. ^ a b Goldsbie, Jonathan (April 4, 2022). "The low bar for accessing government news subsidies". Canadaland. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  8. ^ Levant, Ezra (January 4, 2004). "Western Standard will be antidote to Maclean's, the CBC". National Post.
  9. ^ Levant, Ezra (October 5, 2007). "150 million pages of fighting the good fight". Western Standard.
  10. ^ "Website sorry for anti-Islamic remarks". Calgary Herald. December 22, 2007.
  11. ^ Woodard, Joe, "Prophet cartoons come to Calgary: Publishers defend move as free speech", Calgary Herald, February 11, 2006
  12. ^ "Imam drops rights dispute". Calgary Herald. February 13, 2008. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  13. ^ Bonnell, Keith (January 12, 2008). "Defiant Levant republishes cartoons". National Post. Archived from the original on April 18, 2009. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  14. ^ Human rights complaint dismissal spurs more debate Archived 2015-09-23 at the Wayback Machine Paul Lungen, Canadian Jewish News, August 21, 2008. (Retrieved October 21, 2008).
  15. ^ Soharwardy, Syed (February 15, 2008). "Why I'm withdrawing my human rights complaint against Ezra Levant". The Globe and Mail.
  16. ^ Scott, Norval (October 9, 2007). "Western Standard's print edition goes under". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  17. ^ Fildebrandt, Derek (March 8, 2022). "Trudeau's media approval board agree, the Western Standard are 'qualified journalists'". Western Standard. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  18. ^ Goldsbie, Jonathan (April 11, 2022). "Explainer: Canada's News Bailout, and what Facebook and Google have to do with it". Canadaland. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  19. ^ von Scheel, Elise (June 10, 2021). "'False and defamatory': Kenney sends cease-and-desist letter to Alberta news outlet". CBC News. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  20. ^ Dryden, Joel (June 17, 2021). "Alberta news outlet fully retracts article alleging premier broke COVID-19 restrictions at Edmonton restaurant". CBC News. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  21. ^ Toy, Adam (June 17, 2021). "Fildebrandt, Western Standard retract, apologize for Kenney restaurant story: 'Should not have been published'". Global News. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  22. ^ Appel, Jeremy (February 2022). "Alberta's Jason Kenney Wants to Import American-Style Health Care to Canada". Jacobin. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  23. ^ Magusiak, Stephen (February 28, 2022). "Jason Kenney is Expanding Private, For-Profit Services in Alberta's Health Care System". PressProgress. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
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