Trends in Far-Right Extremism and Populist Politics in Canada

Between 1995 and 2015, the far-right in Canada underwent a dramatic transformation—moving from the basements of dilapidated Toronto houses, run-down Montreal halls and private Alberta farms to social media, city halls and eventually inspiring a so-called Freedom Convoy movement that occupied the streets of downtown Ottawa in February 2022 for three weeks. How did this happen? In the last few decades in Canada, fragmented, unorganized far-right groups have united through their perceived shared grievances. This chapter begins with a brief history of the far-right in Canada, before proceeding to a short analysis of the place of the alt-right in Canada and agitations against migrants and M-103, a parliamentary motion to counter Islamophobia. The main parts of the chapter examine more recent developments related to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the anti-lockdown movement and political and media figures pushing far-right narratives and conspiracy theories, as well as the Freedom Convoy. We conclude with some thoughts on what this all means for Canada and what the future of these movements might look like.