City councillor suing Hampstead mayor Jeremy Levi for defamation

Hampstead Mayor Jeremy Levi. (CTV News file)

Projet Montreal city councillor Alex Norris has filed a defamation lawsuit against Hampstead Mayor Jeremy Levi over a comments the mayor made on social media.

On Jan. 23, Levi slammed the Plateau-Mont-Royal councillor on X for his alleged support of the “Israel Must Stop” protest organized by the Coalition du Québec Urgence Palestine. Norris liked a social media post by Québec Solidaire that promoted the event aimed at denouncing Israel’s attacks on Palestinians in Gaza.

In a screenshot of a post from Levi, the mayor described Norris as “the leading antisemite among elected officials in Montreal.”

In his lawsuit, filed in Superior Court on March 17, Norris alleges the mayor’s comments were “repugnant” and a “purposely inflammatory” attack on his reputation.

None of the allegations in the lawsuit have been proven in court.

Levi did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

The city councillor is seeking $100,000 in general, moral, and compensatory damages, as well as $10,000 in punitive damages.

Norris said he attempted to resolve the matter with Levi, but to no avail.

“I have resisted Levi’s provocations in the past but he has now gone too far, leaving me no choice but to respond. His baseless smears go well beyond the bounds of acceptable political debate. By filing this lawsuit, I am defending my honour,” Norris wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday announcing the legal action.

“My goal is not to gain financially from these legal proceedings,” he added. “I pledge to donate any proceeds, beyond the legal and other costs I incur, to organizations that promote peace and defend human rights in Israel and Palestine.”

Norris, who said he would not make any further public comments about the suit, said he is personally covering the costs of his lawsuit and will not use public funds.