This book comprehensively examines right-wing extremism (RWE) in Canada, discussing the lengthy history of violence and distribution, ideological bases, actions, organizational capacity and connectivity of these extremist groups. It explores the current landscape, the factors that give rise to and minimise these extremist groups, strategies for countering these groups, and the emergence of the ‘Alt-Right’. It draws on interviews with law enforcement officials, community activists, and current and former right-wing activists to inform and offer practical advice, paired with analyses of open source intelligence on the state of the RWE movement in Canada. The historical and contemporary contours of right-wing extremism in Canada are situated within the social, political, and cultural landscape that has shaped the movement. It will be of particular interest to students and researchers of criminology, sociology, social justice, terrorism and political violence.

This book is the first collection of scholarship featuring both Canadian and American scholarship on the resurgent right-wing extremist movement in the two countries. It is particularly timely given the recent rise in political populism that has engendered renewed activism from extreme right contingents. Trump’s right-wing populist and white nationalist political campaign has galvanized Canadian and American white supremacist ideologies, identities, movements and practices. Leading Canadian and American scholars are brought together to explore a contemporary array of current dynamics, patterns and characteristics associated with the movement in each country. Split into four sections, it provides an introduction to extremism in the 21st century, it examines studying extremism, forms of extremist activity and violence, and the responses. The collection allows comparisons to be drawn out from the distinct treatments of each country. It speaks to students as well as scholars in social sciences departments, including criminology, sociology, social justice, and terrorism, peace and security studies, and political-violence related programs.

‘God is a racist’—so goes a statement published in the literature of the Western Guard, a white-supremacist, anti-semitic group in Toronto. It is one of a number of racist organizations that have sprung up in Canada since the Second World War. Stanley Barrett points out in this disquieting study that although many of the principles of such organizations are offensive to the vast majority of Canadians, they represent a growing part of a broader political phenomenon that has recently surfaced in numerous nations. In examining the rise of right wing extremism in Canada, a nation with a traditional reputation for tolerance, Barrett considers a wide range of political convictions, from confessed fascists to essentially ordinary, law-abiding, but highly conservative individuals who are deeply concerned about the future of Western Christian civilization. Barrett’s study, grounded in a scientific tradition that has regularly exposed racial myths, is guided by humanist values that celebrate individual worth. It sheds new light on a growing phenomenon that threatens those values.

In an unsettling time in American history, the outbreak of right-wing violence is among the most disturbing developments. In recent years, attacks originating from the far right of American politics have targeted religious and ethnic minorities, with a series of antigovernment militants, religious extremists, and lone-wolf mass shooters inspired by right-wing ideologies. The need to understand the nature and danger of far-right violence is greater than ever. In American Zealots, Arie Perliger provides a wide-ranging and rigorously researched overview of right-wing domestic terrorism. He analyzes its historical roots, characteristics, tactics, rhetoric, and organization, assessing the current and future trajectory of the use of violence by the far right. Perliger draws on a comprehensive dataset of more than 5,000 attacks and their perpetrators from 1990 through 2017 in order to explore key trends in American right-wing terrorism. He describes the entire ideological spectrum of the American far right, including today’s white supremacists, antigovernment groups, and antiabortion fundamentalists, as well as the histories of the KKK, skinheads, and neo-Nazis. Based on these findings, Perliger suggests counterterrorism policies that can respond effectively to the far-right threat. A groundbreaking examination of violence spawned from right-wing ideologies, American Zealots is essential reading for everyone seeking to understand the transformation of domestic terrorism.

The Ku Klux Klan came to Canada thanks to some energetic American promoters who saw it as a vehicle for getting rich by selling memberships to white, mostly Protestant Canadians. In Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, the Klan found fertile ground for its message of racism and discrimination targeting African Canadians, Jews and Catholics. While its organizers fought with each other to capture the funds received from enthusiastic members, the Klan was a venue for expressions of race hatred and a cover for targeted acts of harassment and violence against minorities. Historian Allan Bartley traces the role of the Klan in Canadian political life in the turbulent years of the 1920s and 1930s, after which its membership waned. But in the 1970s, as he relates, small extremist right- wing groups emerged in urban Canada, and sought to revive the Klan as a readily identifiable identity for hatred and racism. The Ku Klux Klan in Canada tells the little-known story of how Canadians adopted the image and ideology of the Klan to express the racism that has played so large a role in Canadian society for the past hundred years — right up to the present.

"In June 2007, the Fraser Institute held a conference in Toronto, Ontario, titled, "Immigration Policy, Border Controls, and the Terrorist Threat In Canada and the United States."The chapters in this volume, which arose from this conference, raise fundamental questions about weaknesses in Canada's current immigration policies and procedures." "The contributors to this volume identify serious threats and weaknesses in the immigration, asylum, and border regimes from both Canadian and American perspectives. The authors are not opposed to effectively managed immigration or allowing genuine refugees who pose no security threat to enter the country through a well-vetted system. All believe that the vast majority of immigrants pose no danger, but are simply seeking to improve their freedom and prosperity. Nevertheless given the stakes raised by terrorist attacks, the entry of even a small number of potentially dangerous individuals should warrant major attention and policy review."--BOOK JACKET.

Traditionally, far-right terrorism has been the black swan of terrorism studies—receiving less attention than Jihadi extremism. In this book, William Allchorn takes a deep dive into multiple geographical locales and the online space of far-right movements, uncovering the crisis narratives that are animating violent far-right extremist milieus and presenting solutions on what we can do to stop them. Using eight country case studies and the results of an online pilot project, this is the first book-length presentation and discussion of counter techniques to far-right narratives—exploring their effectiveness, the ethics of such techniques, and their ability to disrupt pathways from radicalism towards violent extremism. Coming at a time of a renewed global wave of far-right violence, this book is of use to scholars as well as practitioners in the fields of far-right studies, terrorism studies, and strategic communications.

The 2016 US presidential election exposed rising xenophobic and nationalist sentiment within the United States and other democratic countries. As populist movements grow, democratic freedoms erode. We Resist demonstrates that the things we often take for granted - safety, family, employment, health, a promising future - are under attack, and we must fight to preserve these resources before it's too late. We are currently witnessing the dismantlement of social programs, growing disinterest in international cooperation, and the devaluation of evidence-based knowledge. This disturbing shift in politics is leading to increased national security measures, violations to basic human rights, and widening social and economic inequalities. The rise of far-right populism brings with it intolerance of ethnic, sexual, and all other minority groups, and a rejection of democratic society. We Resist gathers the compelling perspectives of scholars and activists who are deeply embedded within political and community struggles, who participate in policy decisions, and who are engaged in research that advances those struggles. An essential and timely book, We Resist confronts the problems we face as a human community and impels a cross-sectoral movement to defend our rights and revitalize the common good.

Religion is usually thought of as inconsequential to contemporary Canadian politics. Religion and Canadian Party Politics takes a hard look at just how much influence faith continues to have in federal, provincial, and territorial political arenas. Drawing on case studies from across the country, this book explores three important axes of religiously based contention in Canada. Early on, there were the denominational distinctions between Catholics and Protestants that shaped party oppositions. Since the 1960s, a newly politicized divide opened between religious conservatives and political reformers. Then from the 1990s on, sporadic controversy has centred on the recognition of non-Christian religious minority rights. Although the extent of partisan engagement with each of these sources of conflict has varied across time and region, this book shows that religion still matters in shaping party politics . This detailed look at the play of religiously based conflict and accommodation in Canada fills a large gap and pulls us back from overly simplified comparisons with the United States. More broadly, this book also compares the role of faith in politics in Canada to that of other Western industrialized societies.