What was meant to be a post-debate media scrum became a reactionary circus, exposing how liberal institutions enable far-right chaos under the guise of fairness.

On Wednesday night, what was supposed to be a post-debate media scrum turned into a political circus — and not the fun kind. Following the French-language leaders’ debate, a media event meant to foster democratic transparency was hijacked by far-right provocateurs posing as journalists.

Six out of the 17 questions posed came not from established news outlets, but from Rebel News, True North, and possibly Juno Media. These aren’t reporters pursuing truth — they’re content creators engineering viral moments for outrage clicks.

The questions weren’t just provocative. They were inflammatory by design: “How many genders are there?” “What about transgender women in sports?” There were even conspiratorial jabs about Mark Carney and shadowy agendas.

These weren’t good faith inquiries — they were weapons aimed directly at destabilizing public discourse. And instead of responding with firm, principled rejection, Carney entertained the questions awkwardly. Singh, to his credit, refused to engage.

But the real scandal wasn’t what was asked. It was that they were allowed to ask at all.

Platforming Outrage Under the Guise of Fairness

Rebel News has made a habit of suing its way into these events. After being denied access in past debates, they successfully argued in court that blocking them infringed on press freedom. As a result, the Leaders’ Debate Commission once again caved and gave them credentials. This, despite Rebel News openly running a third-party political advertising campaign — a blatant conflict of interest — under the banner of “For Canada.” The campaign had a declared fund of over $600,000.

Ezra Levant claims there’s a separation between Rebel’s newsroom and its political advocacy arm, but it’s a legal fiction no one believes — and yet everyone in the Commission pretends is real. The cost of this charade? Legitimate journalists were squeezed out of the scrum while Rebel operatives dominated the floor.

The chaos didn’t stop Wednesday. Rebel News returned the next night for the English-language debate and escalated the confrontation. Ezra Levant directly challenged organizers, accused them of censorship, and even attempted to disrupt CBC’s live broadcast. Eventually, Michelle Cormier, the Debate Commission’s Executive Director, revoked Levant’s credentials and escorted him out.

But by then, the damage was done.

CBC’s Complicity Through Silence

In the aftermath, CBC said nothing. Literally nothing.

Despite a heavy police presence outside Maison de Radio-Canada and visible tension on the ground, CBC’s post-debate coverage did not acknowledge what had happened. There was no mention of Levant’s removal, no context for the cancellation of the Thursday night media scrum. It took nearly 12 minutes into the post-broadcast coverage for CBC to release a bland statement blaming the Commission and dodging responsibility.

That silence is not neutrality — it’s complicity through omission. This wasn’t a minor editorial oversight. It was a deliberate institutional choice to treat an extremist hijacking of a national debate as just another moment in the news cycle. By refusing to name what happened, CBC gave ground to those who thrive on manipulating public discourse, allowing them to frame themselves as victims of censorship.

And in doing so, they failed the public.

The Liberals’ Pied Piper Strategy

There’s a reason the Liberal Party isn’t panicking over this. In fact, the chaos plays perfectly into their strategy. It’s a playbook perfected in the Trump era: elevate the most unhinged voices on the right to make stale centrist politics seem like a beacon of stability.

Hillary Clinton tried it with Trump and failed. But the Liberals have refined it. They don’t need voters to love them — just to fear the alternative. When Rebel News takes center stage ranting about gender politics and “wokeism,” the Liberals don’t need to inspire hope. They just need to look like the “adults in the room.”

Even Carney, who stumbled through his response, still benefits from the contrast. It’s political spectacle: a circus that leaves real policy issues buried under piles of reactionary bait. And in the eyes of many, anything is better than the fascist yelling about drag queens and carbon conspiracies.

What Gets Lost: The Real Issues

While Rebel News grabs headlines and disrupts live broadcasts, critical issues are erased from the frame. There’s no space for serious conversations about Indigenous sovereignty, the climate crisis, wealth inequality, or housing. These issues demand attention, complexity, and collective action — but that doesn’t generate clicks. It doesn’t outrage the algorithm.

And the CBC, by playing the role of dispassionate observer, becomes an enabler of this erasure. They treat all voices as equally valid under the guise of neutrality, but neutrality is not objectivity. When one side is actively working to spread disinformation and incite hate, choosing not to intervene is a political decision.

Rebel News used their platform to deny genocide, spread anti-trans rhetoric, and trivialize Indigenous rights — and the public broadcaster said nothing.

The Illusion of Democracy

This isn’t just about one chaotic media scrum. It’s a window into the deeper rot of Canada’s democratic institutions. The rules governing debates and media access were written in an era where bad faith actors were outliers. Now, they’re strategists — weaponizing rules against the institutions meant to uphold democracy.

And still, the CBC and the Debate Commission cling to outdated notions of balance, unwilling to acknowledge that the landscape has changed.

If institutions don’t evolve — if they don’t draw lines and take principled stands — then spaces meant to inform the public will continue to be hijacked by fascist-adjacent provocateurs. And those with the power to resist — like the CBC — will keep pretending nothing happened until it’s too late.

In the end, the Liberal Party reaps the benefits, far-right media rakes in the outrage dollars, and the public is left with the illusion of a functioning democracy — one that’s crumbling at the seams, while the adults in the room quietly excuse themselves.