Ontario's top court rules against Jordan Peterson, upholding social media order

Ontario's top court has dismissed Jordan Peterson's appeal of the decision that he take social media training after some of his commentary was found to be of a “demeaning” nature.

In a brief decision released Tuesday, a three-judge panel gave no reasons other than that it had reviewed a motion by Peterson to file new evidence to the court and rejected it.

Peterson was ordered to pay $5,000 in costs to the College of Psychologists of Ontario (CPO), of which he has been a licensee since 1999 despite no longer seeing patients.

"A higher court in Canada has ruled that the Ontario College of Psychologists indeed has the right to sentence me to re-education camp," Peterson wrote in a statement shared to X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday evening. "It's capitulate to the petty bureaucrats and the addle-pated woke mob or lose my professional licence."

Legal counsel for Peterson, Howard Levitt, told CTV News he was surprised to learn of the ruling, which he said could chill freedom of speech and debate.

“It would have been understandable if the College had sanctioned Peterson for comments made about or to a client in his practice of psychology (a practice which he chose not to continue with years ago or if his comments had been criminal or otherwise breached any laws, but his comments were entirely lawful and had nothing to do with patients or the practice of psychology at all, Levitt said. “Rather, they related to personal opinions on political topics which should never have been in the domain of his regulatory body.”

Peterson, a retired University of Toronto psychology professor, rose to prominence through his polarizing YouTube videos critiquing liberal culture and the release of his successful self-help book, "12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos."

He was first directed to undergo social media training by the CPO's complaints committee in 2022 following an investigation that found he may have engaged in “degrading, demeaning, and unprofessional comments" related to an appearance on "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast. In the episode, Peterson identified himself as a clinical psychologist and appeared to demean a former client. The college's ethics code requires members to use respectful language and not engage in "unjust discrimination."

In turn, the committee ordered him to undertake the social media coaching program at his own expense or risk losing his licence. Peterson took the decision to the courts, arguing his commentary did not fall under the college’s purview and that it had failed to balance its mandate with his right to freedom of expression.

Specific complaints listed in the case before the divisional court included posts directed at Canadian politicians, a plus-sized Sports Illustrated model, and transgender actor Elliot Page.

Last August, Superior Court Justice Paul Schabas ruled against Peterson and upheld the college's education order. The judge found the move “does not prevent Dr. Peterson from expressing himself on controversial topics."

"Dr. Peterson sees himself functioning as a clinical psychologist 'in the broad public space' where he claims to be helping 'millions of people,'" Schabas wrote in his decision. "He cannot have it both ways: he cannot speak as a member of a regulated profession without taking responsibility for the risk of harm that flows from him speaking in that trusted capacity."

In that case, Peterson was ordered to pay $25,000 in costs to the college.

With files from The Canadian Press.