Conservative party denies convention accreditation to Canada’s National Observer

The Conservative Party of Canada denied accreditation to cover its annual convention to Canada’s National Observer journalist Natasha Bulowski. 

Bulowski had applied for accreditation to cover the convention in Québec City. On Sept. 1, 2023, she received an email from the CPC’s director of communications denying her accreditation. The email did not give a reason for the denial. 

Canada’s National Observer was one of several publications whose accreditation to the conference was denied. 

In the email, the CPC’s director of communications said that the outlet could apply for “observer” status. Several publications received the same suggestion. This status, noted publisher Dru Oja Jay of The Breach (another outlet denied access to the convention) in an interview with Le Devoir, would have cost $1,700.