Conservatives 'won’t engage' with CTV until network admits 'malicious editing' of clip

Conservative MPs will refuse to engage with CTV and its reporters until the network acknowledges that a recent clip of leader Pierre Poilievre was "maliciously" edited.

While CTV issued an apology, Poilievre's director of media relations Sebastian Skamski said it wasn't good enough.

"Yesterday’s so called 'apology' from [CTV News] doesn't cut it," Skamski wrote in a post on X. "This wasn't a simple 'misunderstanding'. Until they explicitly acknowledge their malicious editing & omission of context to undermine [Poilievre], Conservative MPs won’t engage with CTV News & its reporters."

"Effective immediately, all members of the Conservative Caucus will refrain from engaging with CTV News, including commentary to CTV News and its reporters," Skamski wrote in a letter to MPs. "This extends to any meetings with Bell executives, staff, or lobbyists."

He noted that the party "expect[s] fairness, accuracy, and accountability in how our positions are represented."

The four-second clip in question was broadcast by CTV on Sunday, and purported to show Poilievre suggesting the Conservatives' opposition day motion and confidence vote were motivated by a desire to end the Liberals' dental care program, not the carbon tax. He can be heard allegedly claiming, "That's why we need to put forward a motion," though he is only shown saying the second half of the sentence.

The Conservative leader's media relations team quickly realized that what he said in the clip did not match the transcript from the scrum from which the audio was taken. Instead, his comments appeared to be made up of separate words spliced together.

"After nine years of this NDP-Liberal government, they've doubled the debt, double housing cots, caused the worst inflation in 40 years, sent people to the food bank, unleashed crime and chaos in our communities. That's why it's time to put forward a motion for a carbon tax election. A carbon tax election needed because the NDP-Liberals plan to hike the carbon tax by 300% all the way to 61 cents a litre, which would cripple our economy, put hundreds of thousands of people out of jobs, mean empty shelves at grocery stores. We need a carbon tax election so Canadians can vote to axe the tax, build homes, fix the budget, and stop the crime with a common sense Conservative government."

All mentions of the carbon tax were left out of the clip.

In its apology, CTV admitted that the clip was presented "out of context," and blamed the "misrepresentation" on a "misunderstanding during the editing process."