Canada Proud Launches Attack Ads Linking Mark Carney to ‘Notorious Pedophile’ Jeffrey Epstein

A third party group with close ties to Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre is running attack ads associating Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney with Jeffrey Epstein’s “global child sex trafficking ring” ahead of a possible federal election call.

Canada Proud, a third party advertising group run by conservative operatives who worked for Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative Party leadership campaign, is currently running 10 separate Facebook ads insinuating vague ties between Canada’s new prime minister and the “notorious pedophile” Jeffrey Epstein.

According to Meta’s Facebook ad library, Canada Proud has already spent around $15,000 on Carney-Epstein ads that have been viewed nearly two million times.

Canada Proud’s founder, Jeff Ballingall, recently announced plans to spend up to $200,000 on Facebook ads targeting Carney before an election is called, which could come as early as Sunday.

Canada Proud (Facebook)

Epstein, a wealthy financier with a rolodex of powerful friends around the world, has become a source of intrigue and conspiracies after being found dead in his jail cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in 2019.

Ghislaine Maxwell, daughter of British newspaper baron Robert Maxwell and Epstein’s partner, was later indicted on sex trafficking charges in 2020 and convicted in 2022 for her role in Epstein’s crimes of sexual abuse.

Canada Proud points to photos of Carney and his wife standing next to Maxwell at a public event as evidence of a possible Carney-Epstein connection. However, that event took place in 2013, two years before allegations about the British socialite’s role in Epstein’s crimes became publicly known.

Canada Proud (Facebook)

One Canada Proud ad juxtaposes this photo with images of  Epstein and Epstein’s private island in the Caribbean where crimes of sexual abuse against underage girls are alleged to have taken place.

“This is Mark Carney, this is his wife Diana Carney, and this is Ghislaine Maxwell, the recruiter for notorious pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s global child sex trafficking ring,” the video notes. “Carney says he knew nothing of their crimes when he spoke to her at this party, but is that true?”

“Here’s the truth Mark Carney doesn’t want Canadians to see,” the caption adds. “He’s in politics to help his rich, creepy friends, not working Canadian families.”

Canada Proud (Facebook)

Noah Alter, a spokesperson for Canada Proud, defends the Carney-Epstein ads, insisting the group never accused the prime minister of participating in Epstein’s crimes, but is instead simply asking questions.

“Canada Proud has never accused Mark Carney of committing any criminal offences,” Alter told PressProgress. “As our prime minister, it is important for Mark Carney to display good judgment and we question the judgment of a man who has engaged socially with someone like Ghislaine Maxwell.”

“It is up to Mr. Carney to correct the record himself.”

Carney’s team has, in fact, addressed the question. In January, his leadership team told the right-wing Toronto Sun tabloid Maxwell went to school with Carney’s sister-in-law and they occasionally “bumped into each other in public settings.” Carney’s team insists Carney and Maxwell were “not friends.”

While Canada Proud denies insinuating Carney participated in Epstein’s crimes, many of Canada Proud’s Facebook followers who reacted to the ads in the comment section do explicitly make those connections.

“Marc Carney is a child predator pedophile,” commented one Facebook user, while another replied: “PEDO CARNEY.”

Other comments reacting to the Canada Proud ad documented by PressProgress falsely claim Carney visited Epstein’s private island, demand Carney be imprisoned or public executed, while others posted antisemitic symbols.

Alter would not say if Canada Proud believes their followers are wrong to suggest Carney is a pedophile or speculate about him travelling to “Epstein Island.”

Source: Canada Proud (Facebook)

Pierre Poilievre’s spokesperson, Sebastian Skamski, did not respond to multiple requests from PressProgress seeking to clarify if Poilievre condones Canada Proud’s Carney-Epstein attack ads.

The influence of unregulated foreign social media platforms on democracies in Canada and around the world are becoming a growing concern.

Canadian intelligence experts have raised concerns about social media platforms like Elon Musk’s X being used to destabilize Canada’s democracy, while European authorities have launched investigations into the use of these platforms to boost far-right, anti-democratic political messages.

The fact that a foreign social media company like Meta can be used to buy ads that promote tenuous links between Canada’s prime minister and a notorious pedophile shows a need for greater regulation of these companies, advocates say.

“These companies make billions of dollars by allowing ads with disinformation and misinformation or other harmful content to be displayed on their platforms,” Marla Boltman, Executive Director for Friends of Canadian Media, told PressProgress.

“This is why we need all political parties to commit to introducing new online harms legislation to ensure transparency and accountability in the ad tech market so that these foreign tech giants cannot continue to profit from harmful content online.”

Carney, who was sworn-in as prime minister last week, has quickly become the target of vicious smears from right-wing media outlets and online influencers attempting to implicate the new prime minister in Epstein’s crimes.

Last week, a fake AI-generated photo purportedly showing Carney and Hollywood actor Tom Hanks visiting “Epstein Island” went viral on Elon Musk’s X platform. The fake photo, which was shared tens of thousands of times, was boosted by far-right websites and influencers, both in Canada and overseas.

Canada Proud is a right-wing third party advertising group with a record of presenting false and misleading partisan content.

The group is run by Jeff Ballingall, a former Conservative staffer, Sun News Network employee as well as a Bay Street lobbyist who served as digital director for Erin O’Toole’s campaign for leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.

Correction: An earlier version of this article mistakenly identified Canada Proud’s spokesperson as Noah Atler. In fact, Canada Proud’s spokesperson’s name is Noah Alter.