Ezra Levant

Ezra Isaac Levant (born February 20, 1972) is a Canadian media personality, political activist, writer, broadcaster, and former lawyer. Levant is the founder and former publisher of the conservative magazine, the Western Standard. He is also the co-founder, owner, and CEO of the far-right media website Rebel News. Levant has also worked as a columnist for Sun Media, and he hosted a daily program on the Sun News Network from the channel's inception in 2011 until its demise in 2015. Levant rose to prominence in 2006 after publishing the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons in the Western Standard, which led to a protracted legal battle with the Alberta Human Rights Commission regarding hate speech legislation and freedom of speech. The complaint against Levant was ultimately withdrawn. In February 2015, Levant co-founded Rebel News with Brian Lilley; Lilley left Rebel News in 2017 citing lack of editorial standards. Under Levant, Rebel News has been described as a platform for the anti-Islamic ideology known as counter-jihad. Levant self-identifies as a libertarian conservative. He has been identified by others as belonging to the Canadian far right. Levant has expressed support for the Canadian petroleum industry and for fracking. In 2011 and 2014, Levant was successfully sued for libel, with the court in each case compelling a compensatory payment in the five digits.