Ann Coulter vs. Canada

last updated 8 January 2015

Capping off a fraught visit to Canada, conservative provocateur Ann Coulter canceled a speech at the University of Ottawa Tuesday night after some 2,000 student protesters swarmed the venue. The day before, Coulter — who'd been warned by University of Ottawa provost Francois Houle to avoid promoting "hatred against any identifiable group" — made headlines by telling a 17-year old Muslim student at another Canadian university to "take a camel" instead of flying. When is "free speech" just hate? (Watch an AP report about Ann Coulter's canceled speech)

It's Canada's loss: This is "a sad day for free speech in Canada," says Paul Berton in the Toronto Sun. Polite Canadians may be "justifiably offended" by Coulter's ideas and words, but university students should understand and champion freedom of expression. Instead they've earned "a black eye for all of Canada."