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Trudeau’s Department of Health paid Twitter ‘influencers’ over $680k to promote federal programs

Published

2 years ago

6 minute read

From LifeSiteNews

By Clare Marie Merkowsky

‘I was paid by Health Canada to talk about my COVID experience and why I chose to take the vaccine’

Canada’s Department of Health has paid social media influencers over $680,000 to voice support for federal programs, reportedly including the experimental COVID shot, since 2021.

According to information published December 14 by Blacklock’s Reporter, the Department of Health admitted that they hired X (formerly known as Twitter) “influencers” beginning in 2021 to publicly support federal programs on their large platforms.  

“Expenditures relate to work by an agency including planning, material development, influencer outreach and liaison, updates, content monitoring, evaluation and management of payments to influencers,” the cabinet wrote in an Inquiry of Ministry. 

Under the Influencer Marketing Program, influencers were paid a total of $682,166 since 2021, the same year Canada released the experimental COVID vaccines. The influencers were expected to support the federal programs but not to tell the public that they had been paid to do so.  

The government-funded X handles include: AlanisDesilets, ArcticMakeup, BreCarpeRuns, CaleonTwins, CassandraBouchard, CharlotteB123, ChelazonLeroux, ChKairyn, ChristineKissickHome, DanielleIsAnxious, DashingDad_YYC, DoTheDaniel, EveMartel, FleurMaison, IAmSukhManGill, Indigenous_Baddie, ItsChrisRobins, JahJahBanks, JemmyEchd and JoselyneEffa.  

Others were: Life_With_Benjamin, MomRdy2Go, OhKairyn, PascaleDeblois, PlayingWithApparelMen, RafaelLeroy, Riddjyy, ShaneWhalley, ShoshanaRose, SidAfz, ThatWarriorPrincess, TheDadCode, TheDiyMommy, TheLoistGirlsGuide, TheTinaSingh, ThreeLittleSeedlings, TresDuchelle, TychonCarter, UrduMom, VahineLefebvre, VardaEtienne and YoutheCEO. 

While many of the accounts have since been deleted, one of the influencers, going by the handle “Chelazon Leroux,” admitted that he had received payment for promoting the COVID shot but claimed it did not amount to propaganda.   

“Long story short,” Leroux, who works as a “drag queen,” posted on X. “I was paid by Health Canada to talk about my COVID experience and why I chose to take the vaccine, not to force anyone else.” 

“This is no different than people getting paid to promote any other government program, education, healthcare, economics,” he claimed. “And you’d do it to for a bag.” 

Health Canada’s plan to hire influencers was disclosed in a March 24, 2021 notice, which failed to outline the cost of the project. According to the program, influencers were expected to “build the department’s credibility” and must not “tarnish Health Canada’s or the Government of Canada’s reputation.” 

“Digital influencers are defined as people who have built a reputation for their knowledge and expertise on a specific topic,” the notice said. “They make regular posts about that topic on their preferred social media channels and generate large followings of enthusiastic, engaged people who pay close attention to their views.”  

Despite Health Canada’s attempts to justify the program, it was roundly blasted as propaganda by many Canadians.   

“Health Canada has hired social media influencers and minor celebrities to tout the great work it’s doing on Canada’s response to the pandemic,” then-Senator Linda Frum said. 

“These government-paid influencers are not required to reveal they are government-paid influencers because that, of course, would be very embarrassing,” said Senator Frum, adding that the program is a tax-funded attempt to “spread disinformation about Health Canada’s response to the pandemic.” 

Similarly, many Canadians who just learned about the program thanks to the recent report took to X to voice their concern.  

“The Govt of Canada paid big money to influencers to advance the governments narrative,” former intelligence officer and RCMP officer Tom Quiggin wrote.  

“When @JustinTrudeau talks about disinformation – he is correct. But he is the problem,” he added. “(BTW, this is just one dept.  No idea on how widespread this practice is in other depts).” 

In 2021, Trudeau said Canadians “vehemently opposed to vaccination” do “not believe in science,” are “often misogynists, often racists,” and questioned whether Canada should continue to “tolerate these people.”  

A recent study done by researchers at the Canada-based Correlation Research in the Public Interest  found that 17 countries have found a “definite causal link” between peaks in all-cause mortality and the fast rollouts of the COVID shots and boosters.   

In November, LifeSiteNews reported about an internal memo from the nation’s health department that shows that officials have refused to release data concerning internal audits related to the COVID crisis that indicate “critical weaknesses and gaps” in its response to the so-called pandemic.  

Later the same month, Statistics Canada found that deaths from both COVID-19 and “unspecified causes” surged following the release of the so-called “safe and effective” vaccines.   

LifeSiteNews has published comprehensive research on the dangers of receiving the experimental vaccine, including heart damage and blood clots.   

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COVID-19

Canadian veteran challenges conviction for guarding War Memorial during Freedom Convoy

Published on October 23, 2025

By

From LifeSiteNews

By Clare Marie Merkowsky

When the convoy first came to Ottawa, allegations were floated that the memorial had been desecrated. After learning of this, Evely quickly organized a group of veterans to stand guard around the clock to protect the area.

A Canadian veteran appealed to the Ontario courts after he was convicted for organizing a guard around the National War Memorial during the Freedom Convoy.

In an October press release, the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) announced that an appeal has been filed in the Ontario Court of Appeals on behalf of Master Warrant Officer (Ret’d) Jeffrey Evely over his conviction for mischief and obstructing police while on his way to guard the Ottawa War Memorial during the 2022 Freedom Convoy.

“By locking down large sections of downtown Ottawa, the police were effectively preventing all civilians from accessing public areas and greatly exceeded their powers under the common law,” constitutional lawyer Chris Fleury explained.

“This case raises issues that have implications for protests across the province and the country. We are hopeful that the Ontario Court of Appeal will agree and grant leave to appeal,” he added.

The appeal argues that police overstepped their authority in their response to the 2022 protest of COVID mandates. Police actions at the time included locking down the Ottawa core, establishing checkpoints, and arresting protesters.

In September 2024, Everly was convicted of mischief and obstruction after his involvement in the 2022 Freedom Convoy, which protested COVID mandates by gathering Canadians in front of Parliament in Ottawa.

As LifeSiteNews previously reported, when the convoy first came to Ottawa, allegations were floated that the memorial had been desecrated. After learning of this, Evely quickly organized a group of veterans to stand guard around the clock to protect the area.

However, under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s use of the Emergencies Act, many parts of downtown Ottawa were blocked to the public, and a vigilant police force roamed the streets.

It was during this time that Evely was arrested for entering a closed off section of downtown Ottawa during the early hours of February 19, 2022. He had been on his way to take the 4:25 a.m. shift protecting the Ottawa War Memorial.

He was forcibly pushed to the ground, landing face first. The veteran was then arrested and charged with mischief and obstructing police.

At the time, the use of the EA was justified by claims that the protest was “violent,” a claim that has still gone unsubstantiated.

In fact, videos of the protest against COVID regulations and shot mandates show Canadians from across the country gathering outside Parliament engaged in dancing, street hockey, and other family-friendly activities.

Indeed, the only acts of violence caught on video were carried out against the protesters after the Trudeau government directed police to end the protest. One such video showed an elderly women being trampled by a police horse.

While the officers’ actions were originally sanctioned under the EA, Federal Court Justice Richard Mosley ruled that Trudeau was “not justified” in invoking the EA, forcing Crown prosecutors to adopt a different strategy.

Now, Crown prosecutors allege that the common law granted police the authority to stop and detain Evely, regardless of the EA.

However, Evely and his lawyers have challenged this argument under section 9 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, insisting that his “arrest and detention were arbitrary.”

Earlier this month, Freedom Convoy organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber were sentenced to 18-month house arrest after a harrowing 25-month trial process. Many have condemned the sentence, warning it amounts to “political persecution” of those who stand up to the Liberal government.

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COVID-19

Freedom Convoy leader Tamara Lich says ‘I am not to leave the house’ while serving sentence

Published on October 18, 2025

By

From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

‘I was hoping to be able to drop off and pick up my grandsons from school, but apparently that request will have to go to a judge’

Freedom Convoy leader Tamara Lich detailed her restrictive house arrest conditions, revealing she is “not” able to leave her house or even pick up her grandkids from school without permission from the state.

Lich wrote in a X post on Wednesday that this past Tuesday was her first meeting with her probation officer, whom she described as “fair and efficient,” adding that she was handed the conditions set out by the judge.

“I was hoping to be able to drop off and pick up my grandsons from school, but apparently that request will have to go to a judge under a variation application, so we’ll just leave everything as is for now,” she wrote.

Lich noted that she has another interview with her probation officer next week to “assess the level of risk I pose to re-offend.”

“It sounds like it’ll basically be a questionnaire to assess my mental state and any dangers I may pose to society,” she said.

While it is common for those on house arrest to have to ask for permission to leave their house, sometimes arrangements can be made otherwise.

On October 7, Ontario Court Justice Heather Perkins-McVey sentenced Lich and Chris Barber to 18 months’ house arrest after being convicted earlier in the year convicted of “mischief.”

Lich was given 18 months less time already spent in custody, amounting to 15 1/2 months.

As reported by LifeSiteNews, the Canadian government was hoping to put Lich in jail for no less than seven years and Barber for eight years for their roles in the 2022 protests against COVID mandates.

Lich said that her probation officer “informed me of the consequences should I breach these conditions, and I am not to leave the house, even for the approved ‘necessities of life’ without contacting her to let her know where I’ll be and for how long,” she wrote.

“She will then provide a letter stating I have been granted permission to be out in society. I’m to have my papers on my person at all times and ready to produce should I be pulled over or seen by law enforcement out and about.”

Lich said that the probation officer did print a letter “before I left, so I could stop at the optometrist and dentist offices on my way home.”

She said that her official release date is January 21, 2027, which she said amounts to “1,799 days after my initial arrest.”

As reported by LifeSiteNews, Lich, reflecting on her recent house arrest verdict, said she has no “remorse” and will not “apologize” for leading a movement that demanded an end to all COVID mandates.

LifeSiteNews reported that Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre offered his thoughts on the sentencing, wishing them a “peaceful” life while stopping short of blasting the sentence as his fellow MPs did.

In early 2022, the Freedom Convoy saw thousands of Canadians from coast to coast come to Ottawa to demand an end to COVID mandates in all forms. Despite the peaceful nature of the protest, Trudeau’s government enacted the never-before-used Emergencies Act (EA) on February 14, 2022.

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