Canada’s Conservative party has deleted a social media campaign video with a heavily nationalist message after much of the video featured scenes from other countries, including Ukrainian farmers, Slovenian homes, London’s Richmond Park and a pair of Russian fighter jets.
The video, titled “Canada. Our Home” was initially posted to X on Saturday, with various scenes overlaid by a speech from the party leader, Pierre Poilievre. The Conservatives, who lead the governing Liberals in the polls, are preparing for what is widely expected to be a bitterly contested federal election.
Soon after the video was posted online, viewers pointed out much of the footage depicted as “Canadian” was easily traced to places outside the country. A thread on X by the Calgary-based user @disorderedyyc compiled at least 13 inconsistencies, adding: “If you’re making a video about the Canada ‘we know and love’, you should be using actual Canadian footage.”
Among the gaffes: a “Canadian dad” driving through the suburbs was actually stock footage from North Dakota in the United States, a clip of children attending class was shot in Serbia, the “Canadian-built” homes were under construction in Slovenia, and a university student “late for class” was filmed at a post-secondary institution in Ukraine.
A scene in which a child walks with her grandparents was shot in London’s Richmond Park, and a family gathering where the group enjoy “a wonderful venison that was shot with totally legal Canadian firearms” was filmed in Italy.
Even scenes explicitly meant to depict uniquely Canadian landscapes were of other faraway locations. A scene of Alberta’s foothills to the Rocky Mountains was a clip from Indonesia. Cattle grazing in a vast field was filmed in California. One of the final scenes of a sunset, overlaid with the words “We’re Home”, was shot in Venezuela.
The scene that has generated the most controversy involves a pair of fighter jets in the sky.
“They’re doing a training mission in the sky, getting ready to defend our home and native land,” Poilievre says in the video.
A spokesperson for Canada’s defence minister said the two planes were Russian Su-17 and Su-27 jets.
“Shockingly, Mr Poilievre’s dream for Canada includes Russian fighter jets flying over our glorious Prairies on a ‘training mission’,” Daniel Minden said in a statement on Monday.
“This comes as Russia continues its illegal, unprovoked war of choice against Ukraine and the international rules that keep us all safe.”
The party deleted the video soon after the wave of criticism, but users preserved it online. A Conservative party spokeswoman, Sarah Fischer, confirmed it had been removed. “Mistakes happen, as you can see here,” she said.
The New Democratic party deputy ethics critic, Charlie Angus, derided the video.
“I’m calling on Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre to clearly and publicly commit to ending the use of phony, fake, manufactured digital content to support his campaign and denounce any external efforts to do the same,” he said in a statement. “I love Canada. I want the next election to be run in Canada, for Canada.”
