Things Are Turning Around for Jennifer Johnson, and She Deserves It

Sometimes, good things happen to good people

By now, we all know how effective and devastating a cancellation can be. In 2023, it happened to Jennifer Johnson as she ran for a seat in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Comments she had made the year prior about school materials were dishonestly and maliciously misconstrued as being about “trans kids,” and these lies were spread all over legacy media and social media. Johnson still won her seat with nearly 70% of the vote—one of the widest margins in the province—but she had to sit as an independent.

It was a media hit job strikingly similar to what had happened to Caylan Ford four years earlier, another woman who was running (and running successfully until Press Progress decided to lie about her and everyone unthinkingly went along with it) for a seat as a United Conservative Party member.

You can find out more about that at my post below:

At the time the story broke about Johnson, all I remember thinking was that it sounded like she may have chosen her words poorly, but I highly doubted that her remarks were being portrayed truthfully. Perhaps that was because I had just heard Ford’s story and because I have seen the media lie far too many times about people and organizations I personally know.

I was happy she’d been elected nonetheless, but I knew what she was dealing with likely wasn’t easy. I’ve since learned that would be an understatement.

I actually had the opportunity to speak with Johnson over the phone this past summer. She had no idea who I was or if I was one of the “LGBTs” who was very upset at her for her—again, wildly misconstrued—remarks. But she was kind and gracious right off the bat anyway.

I told her about myself, and she told me about what she’d been through, which would have probably been enough for me to totally disengage from public life and disappear forever. But she took a different course and instead had been actively reaching out to individuals and organizations to try to create dialogue and understanding.

I can’t say enough about how admirable I think it is to choose this path in the face of so many lies and so many people who think they know you—and who are convinced they hate you for what they think they know.

I wish I had said something in support of Johnson sooner. In her bid to rejoin the UCP, I didn’t know if my comments as a somewhat controversial figure myself would be helpful or hurtful. Still, I wish I had.

At any rate, my opportunity came sooner than I thought it would.

Last month, a video of a Zoom meeting surfaced where Johnson was berated by drag queen and Mount Royal University professor Victoria Bucholtz, aka Karla Marx. Bucholtz insisted that Johnson agree with the claim “trans women are women,” and the answer of “I want to have some time to think on that,” was not good enough.

It was a highly disturbing and abusive interaction. You can watch it for yourself in Sheila Gunn Reid’s video below:

While it was no doubt unpleasant for Johnson to sit through, the interaction went viral and even caught the attention of J.K. Rowling. People were horrified at what they saw, and more people than ever not only became aware of her story but came to support her as a result.

Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi then went on to release a shockingly slanderous video where he presented a quote which Johnson never said as if he were reading it verbatim. Nenshi later deleted the video, obviously realizing what a massive blunder it was.

It was partly thanks to all of this attention that Johnson was welcomed back into the UCP.

After the good news, we finally got a chance to meet face-to-face. And wouldn’t you know it: this person who legacy news media like CBC, CityNews, CTV, Global, (and Nenshi, let’s not forget) continue to lie about to this day is nothing like the hateful bigot they’ve made her out to be.

In fact, she’s actually very lovely.

She doesn’t hate gay or trans-identified people and she doesn’t hate kids who are confused or struggling. She has sensible and valid concerns that a growing number of people are starting to share as they become aware of these issues.

Anyone who continues to spread lies about Johnson doesn’t care about the people, especially the children, who these lies are hurting. If someone wasn’t being as awful as you were initially led to believe, you should be relieved.

And finally, you shouldn’t want so badly to have and to create enemies. That’s a lesson we can all learn, including myself, and it’s one I’ve learned from Jennifer.