About True North

True North

True North was a Canadian conservative digital media outlet operated by the True North Centre for Public Policy, a registered charity and advocacy organization. Founded in 2016 by commentator Candice Malcolm, it grew from an immigration-focused research group into a right-leaning news platform publishing articles and video commentary on Canadian politics, immigration, and current affairs. In 2025, the outlet's functions were transferred to Juno News, a new site founded by Malcolm and Keean Bexte, marking the end of the True North brand's run as a standalone media operation.

Overview

True North occupied a distinctive and often controversial position in Canada's media landscape: a news outlet operated by a registered charity that was simultaneously described as an advocacy organization. Its content reflected an avowedly conservative perspective, with heavy emphasis on immigration policy, government accountability, and cultural debates. The outlet built its audience primarily online through its tnc.news website and video programming, with presenters and columnists who became recognizable figures in conservative Canadian media. Its most prominent personalities included founder Candice Malcolm, investigative journalist Lindsay Shepherd, columnist Sue Ann Levy, and video presenter Harrison Faulkner.

The organization's dual identity — charity and media outlet — drew scrutiny from the start. Supporters saw an independent conservative voice filling a gap in Canadian media; critics questioned whether an advocacy organization with charitable status should operate as a newsroom. That tension followed True North throughout its existence and shaped several of the defining episodes in its history.

History

True North was founded in 2016 by Candice Malcolm, a former spokesperson for Alberta politician Jason Kenney and for the Canadian Taxpayers' Federation. It was initially described as an immigration-focused research and education group, reflecting Malcolm's long-standing interest in immigration policy as a commentator and activist.

In 2017, Malcolm led a new board of directors that took control of the Independent Immigration Aid Association, a charity started in 1994 to help immigrants from the United Kingdom settle in British Columbia. The organization was renamed the True North Centre for Public Policy, and control passed to three people: Kaz Nejatian, a former staffer for United Conservative Party leader Jason Kenney who is Malcolm's husband and later became CEO of Opendoor; William McBeath, the director of training and marketing for the Manning Centre for Building Democracy; and Erynne Schuster, an Edmonton-based lawyer. The transformation of a small immigrant-aid charity into a conservative media and research organization was scrutinized in the Canadian legal field, raising questions about the use of charitable structures for media and advocacy work.

The organization's filings with the Canada Revenue Agency illustrate the awkward fit: they state that the organization runs "ongoing programs" providing "support and assistance to UK immigrants to the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island and the rest of British Columbia," alongside "new programs" dedicated to "research on immigration and integration," with 100 per cent of its programs described as emphasizing "immigrant aid" — language inherited from the charity's original mission sitting alongside its new media operations.

True North's newsroom grew in the years that followed. In 2019, Lindsay Shepherd, the former teaching assistant whose clash with Wilfrid Laurier University over classroom video content had made her a prominent figure in debates about free expression on campus, joined True North as an investigative journalist. In July 2021, veteran conservative columnist Sue Ann Levy, long associated with the Toronto Sun, announced she was joining the outlet, adding a well-known byline to its roster.

The 2019 federal election produced the outlet's most consequential confrontation with the institutions of Canadian democracy. True North was initially denied press access to the leaders' debates on the grounds that it was not a news outlet but an advocacy organization. True North called the decision unfair and arbitrary and took the Leaders' Debates Commission to court. Federal judge Justice Russell Zinn ruled in True North's favour, forcing the government to allow its journalists to attend the debate and ask questions. The ruling was a significant victory for the outlet and a notable moment in the ongoing debate over who counts as a journalist in Canada.

Finances reflected the organization's growth. In 2022, the charity reported $2 million in revenue. Malcolm later revealed to PressProgress that she and her husband were among True North's largest donors, and another major donor was former SNC-Lavalin chairman Gwyn Morgan, who gave the organization half a million dollars through his foundation.

Controversies marked the outlet's later years. In 2023, True North's website published a video featuring presenter Harrison Faulkner in which Faulkner claimed the Canadian government was hiding the true cause of the 2023 Canadian wildfires, arguing that arson arrests showed arson was the real cause. The claim was debunked — the news articles Faulkner pointed to as evidence had been published years before the 2023 fires began. In 2024, True North published a piece by Faulkner defending the Proud Boys, an organization designated as a terrorist entity by the Canadian federal government; after PressProgress questioned Malcolm about it, she removed the piece from the site. In 2019, Montreal columnist Toula Drimonis had described True North as "fake news" in an editorial in Cult MTL, an early signal of how the outlet was viewed by some progressive commentators.

In 2025, according to a post on Juno News, some of True North's functions were transferred to Juno News, the site founded by Malcolm and Keean Bexte — effectively rebranding the operation and closing the True North chapter.

Programming and Content

True North's output centred on Canadian federal and provincial politics, immigration and border policy, government spending and accountability, and the cultural issues that animate conservative discourse in Canada. Its publishing mix combined written news articles and opinion columns with video programming fronted by presenters such as Harrison Faulkner. The tone was combative and openly ideological: the outlet positioned itself as an adversarial watchdog of Liberal governments and progressive institutions, and its coverage frequently framed stories around themes of government overreach, media bias, and threats to free expression.

The outlet's journalists pursued original reporting alongside commentary. Lindsay Shepherd's investigative work and Sue Ann Levy's columns gave the site reporting credentials beyond pure opinion, while Faulkner's video segments drove engagement on social platforms. The 2019 leaders'-debate court victory became part of the outlet's self-conception as a journalistic enterprise fighting for recognition against institutional gatekeepers.

Coverage and Audience

True North was a national outlet in ambition, covering federal politics from Ottawa alongside provincial stories from across the country, with particular attention to Ontario and Western Canada. Its audience was the Canadian conservative movement: readers and viewers who felt underserved by mainstream outlets and sought news framed from an explicitly right-leaning perspective. The outlet's growth to $2 million in annual charitable revenue by 2022 indicated a substantial donor and reader base, and its personalities — Malcolm, Shepherd, Levy, Faulkner — built individual followings that extended the brand's reach.

Ownership

True North was operated by the True North Centre for Public Policy, the registered charity created from the former Independent Immigration Aid Association. Founder Candice Malcolm led the organization, with her husband Kaz Nejatian among its directors. Major funding came from the Malcolms themselves and from donors including Gwyn Morgan's foundation. The charitable structure was central to the outlet's identity and to the controversies around it, as critics questioned the appropriateness of a registered charity operating a partisan-leaning news outlet. In 2025, the operation was effectively succeeded by Juno News, founded by Malcolm and Keean Bexte.

Digital Presence

True North published through its tnc.news website, which served as the hub for its articles, columns, and video content. Like other digital-first outlets, it relied heavily on social media distribution to reach its audience, with video segments and article links circulating widely among conservative Canadian audiences online. Following the 2025 transition, the outlet's functions moved to Juno News, which continues the digital-first conservative news model under Malcolm and Bexte's leadership.