Toronto Sun - Editorial Position

Editorial Position

Editorially, the paper frequently follows the positions of neo-conservatism in the United States on economic issues and traditional Canadian/British conservatism. Editorials promote individualism, self-reliance, the police, and a strong military and support for troops. For instance, cartoonist Andy Donato drew a cartoon comparing David Miller to Adolf Hitler after he refused to allow a debate on Chief Julian Fantino's contract renewal. (Senior Associate Editor Lorrie Goldstein apologized after Miller and the Canadian Jewish Congress condemned the cartoon.)

The Sun also criticized Miller for changing his position on the issue of whether to renew the yellow ribbon decals on emergency vehicles. Proponents argued that the decals showed support for the troops, while opponents claimed that it was an endorsement for the war in Afghanistan. Miller initially said that he supported the troops but refused to intervene to extend the campaign beyond September 2007; after the deaths of several soldiers he changed his position and voted for the decals.. Editorials condemn high taxes, high gas prices, and perceived government waste.

Despite its conservatism, the Sun has had both a prominent Liberal columnist, Sheila Copps and a left-wing columnist Sid Ryan. Copps resigned from her weekly Sun column in 2008, and Ryan writes for the paper infrequently. During the 2006 election, the Sun was strongly critical of a poster that attempted to link Ryan to the Provisional Irish Republican Army.

The Sun strongly criticized the Liberal Party of Canada over the Sponsorship scandal, which involved the misuse and misdirection of public funds intended for government advertising in Quebec. The paper's headings have been controversial. The day following a federal election call by Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin of the on May 24, 2004, the Sun ran a front-page picture of Mr. Martin along with the headline "Throw the Bums Out!", as the Liberals supposedly wanted a renewed mandate before the results of the Gomery Inquiry became public and as this would not give the Conservatives time to consolidate. Several weeks prior to that headline, when former Progressive Conservative Party leader Joe Clark insinuated he would support the Liberals despite being implicated in the scandal, rather than the newly-minted Conservative Party of Canada in an impending federal election, the headline in the Sun the following day read "Joe Blows".

During the era when Pierre Eliott Trudeau was Prime Minister, and Joe Clark was leader of the official opposition, cartoonist Andy Donato lampooned both of them extensively. Joe Clark for years was drawn wearing children's mittens that were attached to his suit with string, a reference to the time his luggage went missing on a trip to Israel. The final cartoon of the series came when Trudeau's airplane was hit by a bus, and pictured a puzzled Trudeau staring at the bus while one of his aides held up Clark's mittens and said, "We don't know who the driver was, but we found his mittens."