Federal Court of Appeal Rejects Rebel News Network's Challenge to Election Fines

The Federal Court of Appeal recently dismissed the Rebel News Network's attempt to overturn the $3,000 fines imposed by the elections commissioner. This penalty was initially enforced in 2021 following an investigation concerning lawn signs that Rebel News placed during the 2019 federal election, which were perceived as promoting a book by founder Ezra Levant.

What the media won’t tell you about Justin Trudeau’s corruption.” Featuring artwork that depicted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau along with several ministers and advisers, the design was reminiscent of promotional material from the television series “The Sopranos.”

The elections commissioner determined that these signs functioned as election advertising, as their intent was clearly to oppose the registered party and its leader during the election campaign. As a result, Rebel News faced fines of $1,500 for not registering as a third-party advertiser and another $1,500 for failing to include a legally mandated tagline on the signs to disclose their authorship.

In 2023, after the Federal Court rejected Rebel News’ request for a judicial review, the outlet escalated the matter to the Federal Court of Appeal seeking to overturn the original fines.