A conservative Canadian broadcast news network is incorporating propaganda from U.S. dark-money-funded think tanks directly into its regular programming. The decision by federal regulators to boost its reach looks increasingly dubious as Canadian institutions — and by extension our sovereignty — are being undermined by other right-wing media and in the swamps of social media.

In November 2022, the News Forum received Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission approval as a licensed national news network that must be included in Canadian television providers’ offerings to subscribers. That decision is key to the News Forum growing its audience.

The English-language network recently expanded its national operations with a new Western Canada bureau, and plans to strengthen its online footprint with a particular focus on attracting young viewers, including via a $500,000 national youth scholarship program focused on “Canada’s energy future.”

The network’s CEO is Tore Stautland; together with his spouse, Julie Stautland, the couple hold the largest share of ownership of the News Forum but not a majority. Other investors in the network have previously been described as “like-minded” and “anonymous.” Tore Stautland is a broadcast executive with more than 25 years of experience in “Christian market” programming for television networks in Canada, in the United States and around the world. Notably, there are increasingly established links between Christian nationalism and the political right in Canada.