Cartoonist Michael de Adder appeared with Jake Tapper last night on CNN to give his version of why his contract with Brunswick News was abruptly terminated. He repeated much of what he's said in other media outlets, that he could not do cartoons critical of Trump at all for their newspapers.

Source: CBC

"It got to the point where I didn't submit any Donald Trump cartoons for fear that I might be fired," he said on Twitter, adding that in the past two weeks he drew three viral Trump cartoons.

"And a day later I was let go. And not only let go, the cartoons they already had in the can were not used. Overnight it was like I never worked for the paper. Make your own conclusions."

On Twitter, de Adder also said that every Trump cartoon he submitted for the past year was axed.

This raised some red flags for Wes Tyrell, president of the Association of Canadian Cartoonists.

"This is a smelly circumstance," Tyrell said. "Trump cartoons have been the bread and butter for just about every publication out there since 2016, 2015. Why are they not running them?"

He said it's especially concerning to see editorial influence creeping up on cartoonists.

"To me, that's a form of censorship. And it's unacceptable."

But de Adder said he doesn't believe it was entirely censorship.

"They wanted to manipulate the content," he said.

"The Irvings don't want Justin Trudeau re-elected and they will not print a cartoon that's slightly pro-Justin Trudeau. And they won't [print] a cartoon that's slightly against Andrew Scheer."

He also said the paper wouldn't run cartoons he drew of the province's premier, Progressive Conservative leader Blaine Higgs, a former Irving Oil executive.

For their part, Brunswick News released this statement denying it.