A note from the North of Polite staff about bots, bias, disagreement and why we’re doing this in the first place.

Well, that didn’t take long.

North of Polite hasn’t been around very long, and apparently we’ve already managed to become several different things at once.

We’ve been called a bot.

We’ve been called Liberal propaganda.

Our motives have been questioned.

And depending on which post someone happens to disagree with, we’re apparently carrying water for somebody.

Fair enough.

Welcome to the internet.

But since people are asking what North of Polite actually represents, perhaps this is a good opportunity to answer.

We’re Canadian. That’s the bias.

North of Polite doesn’t belong to the Liberal Party.

We don’t belong to the Conservative Party.

We don’t belong to Mark Carney.

We don’t belong to Pierre Poilievre.

We don’t belong to Danielle Smith, Doug Ford or any other politician.

We aren’t interested in deciding which political jersey Canadians should wear.

We’re interested in the country underneath all of them.

Canada.

That means sometimes we’re going to publish something Conservatives agree with.

Sometimes Liberals will agree with us.

Sometimes neither will.

Good.

Independent commentary shouldn’t become predictable simply because you know which politician is being discussed.

If Carney is right, we’ll say so

This seems to be where modern political commentary gets uncomfortable.

If Mark Carney’s government does something that benefits Canada, we’ll acknowledge it.

That doesn’t make us Liberal.

If his government makes a bad decision, exaggerates something, wastes money or produces a policy that doesn’t withstand scrutiny, we’ll say that too.

That doesn’t make us Conservative.

The same standard applies to Pierre Poilievre.

If he makes a strong argument supported by evidence, we’ll give him credit.

If he makes a claim that doesn’t survive examination, we’ll challenge it.

Same with Danielle Smith.

Same with Doug Ford.

Same with every government and every opposition party.

The standard shouldn’t change because the politician does.

Disagreement isn’t the problem

We don’t expect everyone reading North of Polite to agree with us.

Actually, we’d be worried if they did.

These are difficult issues.

Energy.

Alberta separatism.

Trade.

Indigenous rights.

The environment.

Immigration.

Defence.

The United States.

Donald Trump.

Mark Carney.

Pierre Poilievre.

There should be disagreement about these things.

Democracy would be rather pointless without it.

So disagree with us.

Tell us we’re wrong.

Challenge an argument.

Challenge a statistic.

Challenge a source.

Bring another source.

Show us something we missed.

That’s exactly the conversation we want.

But calling something propaganda because it reaches a conclusion you don’t like isn’t an argument.

Calling somebody a bot doesn’t refute a statistic.

Calling somebody Liberal doesn’t disprove a source.

Calling somebody Conservative doesn’t either.

If we’re wrong, there’s a much easier way to beat us:

Prove it.

We will get things wrong

This matters too.

North of Polite isn’t claiming infallibility.

We’re going to make mistakes.

Every publication does.

Every journalist does.

Every commentator does.

Every human being does.

Our standard isn’t that we’ll never be wrong.

Our standard is what happens when we are.

If somebody brings credible evidence demonstrating that we’ve made a factual error, we’ll examine it.

If they’re right, we’ll correct it.

Not quietly bury it.

Not pretend it never happened.

Correct it.

Because credibility isn’t built by pretending you’re incapable of being wrong.

It’s built by caring more about getting something right than about winning an argument.

We’re not interested in outrage for outrage’s sake

There is already plenty of anger in Canadian politics.

We don’t need to manufacture more.

There are Canadians who sincerely believe Alberta would be better outside Confederation.

We disagree with many of their arguments.

That doesn’t make every separatist stupid.

There are Canadians who strongly support Mark Carney.

That doesn’t make them brainwashed.

There are Canadians who believe Pierre Poilievre offers Canada a better economic direction.

That doesn’t make them extremists.

People arrive at political beliefs through different experiences, priorities and information.

Our job isn’t to insult them.

Our job is to examine the argument.

Sometimes that means saying:

They’re right about this.

Sometimes:

They’re wrong about this.

And occasionally:

We don’t know yet.

There should be considerably more room for that last answer in journalism.

We’re unapologetically Canadian

There’s one accusation we’ll happily accept.

We’re biased toward Canada.

We want this country to succeed.

We want Alberta to succeed.

We want Quebec to succeed.

We want Ontario, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Atlantic Canada to succeed.

We want the North to succeed.

We want First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities to prosper.

Because none of those successes diminishes the others.

Canada isn’t a political party.

It’s the country all these political arguments are happening inside.

And lately, Canadians have become extraordinarily good at fighting one another.

Maybe there’s room for something different.

A place where a Conservative can read an article and occasionally say:

Fair point.

Where a Liberal can read another and say the same thing.

Where an Albertan angry with Ottawa can have that anger taken seriously without automatically accepting every argument for separation.

Where somebody worried about climate change can acknowledge Canada’s economic dependence on natural resources.

Where Canadians can hold two complicated thoughts in their heads at the same time.

That’s what we’re trying to build.

So keep challenging us

Seriously.

We mean it.

If North of Polite publishes something you believe is wrong, tell us why.

But don’t just tell us which political tribe you think we belong to.

Show us the evidence.

Give us the source.

Make the argument.

We’ll read it.

Because North of Polite isn’t here to tell Canadians what to think.

We’re here to ask better questions, check the claims being thrown around and give Canadians another sober look at the issues shaping OUR country.

No political party owns our loyalty.

No politician gets a free pass.

And no amount of name-calling is going to change the standard.

Facts.

Sources.

Context.

Then Canadians can make up their own minds.

That’s North of Polite.

And we’re just getting started.

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NORTHOFPOLITE

@NorthOfPolite

Unapologetically Canadian. We stand for a strong, sovereign and united Canada. No party owns our loyalty. If you make a claim, bring the receipts. We will too.