Ian Vandaelle, a 33-year-old business journalist who worked at the Financial Post and earlier at BNN Bloomberg, was declared brain dead and taken off life support earlier this month, his partner, Stephanie Hughes, said in a post on X.

"I haven't been on Twitter for a while because my partner, @IanVandaelle, has been in the hospital since Nov. 18," Ms. Hughes wrote. "It's with a heavy heart today that I say he was declared neurologically deceased this week and taken off life support this morning."

Mr. Vandaelle's death—the cause of which has not been disclosed—drew an outpouring of condolences among his current and former colleagues, many of whom took to social media to praise him for attributes like being kind and smart.

"Journalism has lost a great reporter, editor, producer, mentor, and all around great guy," Ms. Hughes wrote in a post on X.

But Mr. Vandaelle's death also stirred recollections of his ardent support for the COVID-19 vaccination push.

'Bring the Carrot and the Stick'

Mr. Vandaelle's public platform as a journalist led people to take note of his social media posts, especially those related to the controversial matter of COVID-19 vaccines and Canadian government measures that pushed shots in ways that many saw as draconian.

"I, for one, advocate we bring the carrot and the stick," Mr. Vandaelle stated in a social media post in July 2021. "Incentivize getting the vaccine however we like - ice cream, lotteries, literally whatever, I don't care - and require vaccination to do non-essential things. Wanna go to a bar to watch the game? Passport."

Vaccine passports were introduced in all Canadian provinces in 2021, though some allowed proof of a recent COVID-19 tests instead of a passport to access non-essential services or engage in non-essential activities. They were discontinued by April 2022.