Join us in calling for an advertising boycott.
We’re asking local businesses to stop advertising, and municipalities to stop spending public money on ads in three local newspapers: the Smiths Falls Record Journal, Perth Courier Journal, and Carleton Place Journal.
The three publications
Three newspapers included in the boycott
Smiths Falls Record Journal
Smiths Falls, Ontario
Perth Courier Journal
Perth, Ontario
Carleton Place Journal
Carleton Place, Ontario
Some sources hyphenate the names of the first two papers.
“This newspaper is more like a propaganda tool that has controlled the election of mayors in our city for a long time through the lies and defamation it publishes.”
— Pascale Mongrain, outgoing mayor of Saint-Lambert, speaking about the Journal de Saint-Lambert
English translation
November 3, 2025 · Ms. Mongrain’s attributed opinion about the Journal de Saint-Lambert in Quebec — not a court finding, and not a finding about the Ontario newspapers.
Who is David Léonardo?
David Léonardo is a journalist and publisher whose work has included newspapers in Quebec and now includes three in the Ottawa Valley. In 2017, the Quebec Superior Court found Léonardo and Les Publications Léonardo Ltée liable for defamation and awarded $130,000 in damages. The judgment also noted that the Quebec Press Council had upheld five of six complaints involving Léonardo between 1986 and 2015, wholly or in part.
Les Publications Léonardo Ltée filed for bankruptcy in 2019.
Our advertising boycott
- Businesses: Stop advertising in the three newspapers listed above.
- Readers: Avoid spending with businesses that advertise in them; choose alternatives where possible.
- Residents: Ask your mayor and councillors to stop spending public money on ads in these papers.
This is a voluntary request about advertising choices; it does not allege wrongdoing by individual advertisers.
The background
Why this boycott exists
The concern is structural: in Saint-Lambert, the municipality was both the subject of the Journal’s reporting and a source of revenue for the paper. In 1986, Quebec’s Press Council noted a striking correspondence between municipal advertising and the Journal’s coverage. In 2017, a court found the Journal’s municipal reporting unbalanced and inaccurate, and said the defendants had placed themselves at a politician’s “unconditional and almost exclusive service.” Years later, David Léonardo said the Journal could not remain financially viable after the City ended its advertising support. This does not prove that payments dictated coverage, but it shows why relying on public money from the government a paper covers can threaten confidence in its independence—and why this boycott asks municipalities to scrutinize their advertising spending.
A separate advertiser-boycott call was reported in Quebec in 2020. FM 103.3 reported (opens in a new tab) that former Saint-Lambert district 4 councillor Dominique Lebeau publicly urged advertisers to stop placing ads in the Journal Hebdomadaire de Saint-Lambert. The station described his proposal as a way to send a message to the paper’s owners and editor, David Leonardo. This was Lebeau’s call about a Quebec publication, not a call by this project or about the three Ontario newspapers.
Explore the evidence
Where to start
Evidence
Court findings, municipal advertising, the publisher connections and a dated timeline, with links to the records.
Share Your Experience
Privately describe a reporting experience with one of these newspapers, including corrections or resolutions.
This is a voluntary campaign. Please do not harass, threaten, or target individual business owners or newspaper staff.