Jordan Peterson speaks at the 2018 Young Women’s Leadership Summit hosted by Turning Point USA in Dallas, Texas, on June 15, 2018. (Gage Skidmore/CC BY-SA 2.0)
A U.S. presidential candidate and a U.S. congressman have condemned recent Canadian court rulings that allow the College of Psychologists of Ontario (CPO) to require Jordan Peterson to undergo social media training in order to keep his professional licence.
Mr. Peterson, in a Jan. 20 post on X, shared a letter sent by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s office to a recipient named “Norman” that noted similarities between Mr. Peterson’s case and Mr. Kennedy’s campaign, which the letter said is “currently facing mainstream media censorship.”
“The breaking news that a Canadian Court is forcing psychiatrist Jordan Peterson to undergo state-sanctioned media training because of ‘demeaning’ social media posts is an assault to the fundamental tenets of Democracy and Freedom,” said the letter, emailed to Mr. Kennedy’s campaign supporters on Jan. 20, as confirmed by his press secretary, Stefanie Spear.
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks at a campaign event in Miami on Oct. 12, 2023. (Eva Marie Uzcategui/Getty Images)
Mr. Kennedy, a former Democrat, had initially challenged U.S. President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination. In October 2023, he announced he would run for president as an independent instead. The letter, which seeks additional support for his campaign, condemns authoritarianism while making reference to Mr. Peterson’s case.
“That a Canadian court would force anyone to submit to their speech codes or else lose his or her ability to earn a living more resembles Communist-led China, not a free nation,” it said.
“Authoritarianism was tried by many nations in the 20th century, and it failed every single time—because people of the free world opposed those regimes that sought to terminate fundamental human rights.”
‘Insanity’
Texas Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw, who has been outspoken about the left’s effort to cancel traditional American culture, likewise took to social media to decry the Canadian court rulings.
“This insanity is happening because Jordan Peterson spoke out against speech requirements regarding transgender ideology. His stance was classical liberalism,” said the former U.S. Navy Seal on X on Jan. 19.
“If you think there’s freedom everywhere, even in the ‘nice’ countries, you’re wrong. Freedom is fragile and must be guarded vigilantly.”
U.S. Representative Dan Crenshaw questions witnesses during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on "Worldwide threats to the Homeland," on Capitol Hill in Washington on Sept. 17, 2020. (Chip Somodevilla/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Mr. Crenshaw was responding to Mr. Peterson’s Jan. 16 post stating that the Ontario Court of Appeal has rejected his appeal. He had asked the appeals court to quash the Ontario Divisional Court ruling that had upheld the CPO’s order for social media training.
Mr. Peterson, an author and a University of Toronto professor emeritus in psychology, first came under the CPO’s scrutiny in 2022 after the regulatory college received complaints about a number of his social media posts.
The college alleged that some of his posts directed at several politicians and a plus-sized model, transgender actor Elliot Page, may be “degrading” to the profession and could amount to professional misconduct.
‘Culture of Censorship’
The CPO’s complaints committee concluded as such in November 2022 and ordered Mr. Peterson to undergo a social media training program on professionalism in making public statements. Not complying could mean losing his licence and ability to practise his profession in Ontario.
Mr. Peterson subsequently filed for a judicial review of the CPO’s order in June 2023, but his application was dismissed by the Ontario Divisional Court in August 2023. He then filed an appeal with the Ontario Court of Appeal, but it was rejected by a three-judge panel on Jan. 16—with no reasons provided.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre responded the next day, criticizing the court’s ruling and tying it to a “culture of censorship.”
“Another outrageous attack on free speech as regulators try to force Peterson into a re-education program for expressing the politically-incorrect views,” Mr. Poilievre wrote on X.
“This is the culture of censorship Trudeau has created and I will reverse.”
On Jan. 18, Mr. Poilievre reiterated his support for Mr. Peterson in response to an op-ed by the psychologist published in the National Post, headlined “Bureaucrats will rue the day they tried to shut me up.”
“Authoritarian bureaucrats will not silence Jordan Peterson. They will only make him stronger,” the Tory leader wrote on X, referring to Mr. Peterson’s op-ed published Jan. 17.
‘Mark My Words’
U.S. billionaire businessman Elon Musk left a short comment in response to Mr. Peterson’s Jan. 16 post on X. “Wow,” he wrote on Jan. 17.
Mr. Peterson in turn responded on Jan. 20: “Thank you @elonmusk: I’m presuming this ‘Oh my God this is terrible’ wow.”
In relaying the decision of the appeals court on X on Jan. 16, Mr. Peterson said “there are no other legal avenues” open to him. “It’s capitulate to the petty bureaucrats and the addle-pated woke mob or lose my professional licence,” he wrote.
Though he said “Congratulations!” to the CPO, saying “You won this round,” he emphasized that the fight is far from over.
“Mark my words, however: the war has barely started,” he said. “There is nothing you can take from me that I’m unwilling to lose. So watch out. Seriously. You’ve been warned.”
The Epoch Times contacted the Ontario Court of Appeal, the Ontario Divisional Court, and the CPO for comment but didn’t immediately hear back.
Jennifer Cowan and William Crooks contributed to this report.
