What We Lost with Canadaland's Decline
Reflecting on what a loss Canadian news truly suffered
In an alarming report, the RCMP has investigated a journalist specifically for their journalism. Davide Mastracci, opinion editor of The Maple, published an investigation in February of 2025 that found Canadians who enlisted in the IDF. Mastracci's work involved no breaches of privacy, as all information gathered was found in "news articles, social media profiles, newsletters, websites, public directories and other sources" obtained through Google searches.
This work is important. With Israel's ongoing genocide in Gaza, it's crucial to understand that there has been an ongoing phenomenon of Canadians joining the military conducting these actions, even prior to the current onslaught. Of course, it's important to note that this project is not meant to accuse any of these people of war crimes or otherwise illegal acts. Mastracci, in fact, stated this plainly. "We’re not accusing these soldiers of having violated any Canadian law or participated in Israeli military crimes." Rather, this investigation is a systemic critique of the allure the IOF offers and how certain Canadians are effected.
As a result of Mastracci publishing this database, someone sent a complaint to the RCMP. They then followed up on this complaint and investigated Mastracci. According to Mastracci, he was searched in multiple police databases, then searched for his online presence, and finally "entities" in his case were entered into a the RCMP's operational records management system.
Experts consulted by Mastracci were troubled by this flimsy excuse to investigate a journalist. Kevin Walby, professor in the University of Winnipeg's criminal justice department, summed up how reporters in the country should view this. "Journalists should be concerned about it, because there could be a huge chilling effect on doing investigative journalism, if that is treated like it was some kind of transgression or crime against the state."
As The Catch wrote in late 2024, targeting of journalists is sadly not a new trend. There has been a concerning rise of this practice by both state and non-state actors. This is not even to mention the mass killing of journalists in Gaza and the industry's near-total silence in response.
Canada deserves to have a well-funded news network staffed with talented journalists that have a specific editorial mandate to critique the news industry. We had one. But it's gone... and it's never coming back.
Once upon a time, Canadaland was a valuable independent news outlet. Excellent journalists, producers and editors created fantastic news content. Commons pushed the boundaries of investigative podcasts. Limited series like Ratfucker created compelling deep dives into important news stories. Shortcuts provided regular meaty news criticism with insightful guests. Thunder Bay was a turning point for the power of independent podcast journalism.
Of course, it was never perfect. OPPO, for example, was a dud. Jesse Brown, founder, publisher and man behind the outlet's fall, had many slip-ups even before his current decline. Often it was clear that he had a terrible penchant to chase controversy rather than care about marginalized voices. Even so, none could deny that, as publisher, he had an ability to find good journalists and guest hosts. Not only that, but Canadaland allowed the reporters on staff a space outside of legacy media to pursue important stories. At the centre of all this was a belief in critiquing the news media in Canada. It was an important job. One that I take very seriously.
This article isn't about Brown's behaviour, though that has continued to deteriorate significantly. No, it's a requiem for what Canadians have lost to his increasingly detached worldview.
Good journalists and media personalities are refusing to appear on the show due to Brown's behaviour. Short Cuts, the show billed as "a weekly news media criticism show where our hosts talk shit about the news," has largely put news criticism on the back burner to focus the politics of the day.
Brown's past interference in the editorial process, and his clear proclivity to avoid discussing Canadian news media's Israel bias, has rendered their original mission statement toothless. While news media criticism has not completely disappeared, it's become few and far between. Whenever it does arise, Brown's behaviour has added a layer of hollowness to the subject.
This decline of Brown had tangible effects on Canadaland's ability to survive. Members of the Canadaland subreddit received an email late in 2024 from Brown claiming that 1,300 supporters have stopped their paid memberships. In typical defensive fashion, he stated that the reasons these supporters cited for dropping their payments mischaracterized him. Brown feels he was using Canadaland "to draw attention to the shocking rise of antisemitism in our society" and nothing else. As I've written about before, this is largely not the case.
Scott Martin
Let's look at the results. In September of 2024, Canadaland listed 28 people in their masthead. As of June 18, of 2025, the masthead has 14 employees listed. Many of those who left were high-profile names like Jonathan Goldsbie, Arshy Mann, Karyn Pugliese and Emilie Nicolas.
While it should be taken with a grain of salt, the subreddit is a good place to start for the audience response. If it is representative of the feelings on Brown's overt domination of Canadaland, most listeners (or former listeners, in many cases) are upset and disappointed. Many users are posting links to other news media criticism or criticizing the podcast itself to general approval from an audience starved for quality content. How can listeners expect honest news media criticism from someone who has interfered with the editorial process of his own newsroom? Some listeners can't, and they're looking elsewhere.
What's clear from this continued decline is that an outlet once meant for earnest, regular and important news criticism has become a shell of its former self. Good journalists left en masse. Brown continues to be defensive, refusing to accept most criticism lobbed his way. All the while, Canadian news media continues its dramatic collapse. Journalists who could perhaps count on Canadaland to share their stories of being investigated by the RCMP are under no illusions now.
Last year, former journalist Duncan Kinney revealed that Edmonton police were tailing him and his family for ten months. Canadian news media are still pushing a pro-Israel bias. Other news outlets are critically reporting on the news media's approach to politics and the resulting effects. These reports are excellent, but they are done periodically by outlets that cover a range of topics. The benefit of Canadaland was that it was a place where the average listener could reliably check in on the news industry that shapes their worldview. Flawed? Of course. But it was necessary.
Now, it functionally doesn't exist. Journalists are facing investigations for their work. Legacy news outlets are pushing bias to benefit a geopolitical ally. All through this, a pillar that could critique it all has collapsed. Much as I would like to toot my own horn and say that my work fills that gap, that's simply not the case. I'm proud of what I've done with The Catch and The North State. I'm eternally thankful for the listeners who return time and again to enjoy my work. But I'm under no illusions. I am one man. My efforts are a mere drop in the bucket compared to the resources, talent and time that Canadaland has (or had) at its disposal. The funds that Canadaland received from the Google deal alone could fund my work as a full-time journalist for a year, with plenty left over to higher freelancers to hone that work to its highest quality. Of course, that's far from a reality.
Canadaland should have been the place where Mastracci would tell his story about being investigated by the RCMP. It should have been where the conversation about bias towards a foreign power was laid out and critiqued to a wide and interested audience. It should have been where up-and-coming journalists saw opportunity to carve their own path. Now? It's a punchline to a bad joke. It's a name people sigh upon hearing. It's an offer journalists scoff at. Above all, it's a loss to us all.
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