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The Canadian Nationalist Party (CNP) was founded on June 1, 2017,[1] by Travis Patron.[2]
On August 9, 2017, coinciding with the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia,[3] the CNP organized the Toronto Nationalist Rally at the University of Toronto's St. George campus. The event's Facebook page described the rally as an opportunity to "discuss the nationalist movement in Canada,"[4] and to protest Canada's immigration policy.[5] A counter-protest was organized in response to the rally,[5] and the University of Toronto denied the party the opportunity to organize on campus grounds.[6][7]
In November 2017, party leader Travis Patron announced his intent to officially register the CNP as a federal political party and field candidates for the 2019 federal election. On November 26, Patron started a cross-country tour in Toronto.[8] During the tour, the party's meeting at the Belgian Club in Winnipeg, Manitoba, was cancelled following protests. The club's treasurer subsequently resigned,[9] and the organization voluntarily withdrew from Folklorama, the city's multicultural festival.[10] In early September 2018, Patron reached out to People's Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier "to see if there would be any interest in possibly co-operating with the Canadian Nationalist Party."[11] Bernier declined any further discussions with Patron.[12]
In June 2019, CNP members were among several far-right groups protesting against Pride parades alongside Yellow Vest demonstrators in Hamilton, Ontario,[13][14][15] and Pegida in downtown Toronto.[16] Both protests resulted in violence against counter-protesters,[17] with the latter demonstration resulting in a violent altercation between anti-fascist counter-protesters inside the Eaton Centre. The RCMP launched a hate crime investigation against Patron after Ottawa-based human rights lawyer Richard Warman filed a formal criminal complaint about a video Patron uploaded to YouTube warning of a "parasitic tribe" controlling Canadian institutions and calling for their permanent removal from Canada.[14] During the investigation, the RCMP pursued intellectual property violations against the CNP for using RCMP trademarks without permission.[18] On August 23, 2019, the party lost their registered virtual office location in the Toronto Star Building after Telsec revoked their services.[19]
Elections Canada informed the CNP on August 29, 2019, that it was eligible for registration as a federal political party.[20][21] The CNP was subsequently registered two weeks later on September 15.[22][23]
Shortly after the 2019 election, Patron was charged with aggravated assault, assault causing bodily harm and breach of probation, after attacking two women in Regina, Saskatchewan,[26] who were sent to hospital for their injuries.[27] On August 23, 2022, Patron was sentenced concurrently to 18-months in jail for two counts of assault causing bodily harm; however, because Patron received time served credit for the amount of time he spent in custody, the sentence was considered served.[28]
A complaint was filed with the RCMP against Patron by the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center on July 15, 2020.[29] In their complaint they claim that a post on the party's Facebook page constitutes hate speech.[29] The RCMP had investigated the party in 2019 for a similar claim.[30] Patron was arrested by the RCMP and charged with wilful promotion of hate on February 17, 2021, in connection to the complaint.[31][32][33][34] On October 20, 2022, Patron was sentenced to one year in jail for willfully promoting hatred against Jewish people and ordered to refrain from posting about them for a year after the sentence ends.[35]
Gus Stefanis assumed leadership of the party on August 27, 2021.[36]
The CNP was deregistered by Elections Canada on March 31, 2022, due to its failure to maintain an active party membership of at least 250.[37]
^ abLing, Justin (November 29, 2017). "This Guy Is Trying To Lead The White Nationalist Movement In Canada". BuzzFeed News. Archived from the original on October 26, 2019. Retrieved October 26, 2019. A new political party is hoping to officially register itself and field candidates in the next Canadian federal election... Patron began his cross-country tour in Toronto on Sunday.
^Malone, Kelly Geraldine (July 30, 2018). "Winnipeg club board member resigns after Canadian Nationalist Party meeting". CTV News. Archived from the original on October 26, 2019. Retrieved October 26, 2019. The Canadian Nationalist Party booked the club for the meeting, which included an appearance by its leader Travis Patron, for Saturday afternoon, and local activists arranged a counter protest... The club's statement said during Saturday's protest one of its board members expressed her personal views 'that do not represent the history, heritage or values of the Belgium Club,' and she was asked to resign.
^Moro, Teviah (June 28, 2019). "Man accused of assault in violent anti-Pride protest held in custody pending bail hearing". The Record. The Hamilton Spectator. Retrieved October 26, 2019. Video footage shows the preachers becoming agitated, with at least one pushing against the screen throwing punches. Footage also shows a man wearing pseudo combat gear slugging two of the counter-protesters in the face with a helmet. The preachers, "yellow vests" and men wearing garb of the Canadian Nationalist Party, a far-right group, were escorted out of the park by police.
^Tunney, Catharine (July 5, 2019). "RCMP going after Canadian Nationalist Party for intellectual property violation". CBC News. Archived from the original on October 20, 2019. Retrieved October 26, 2019. This is a clear violation of RCMP intellectual property rights. No person or organization may use our protected marks without our permission," said spokesperson Sgt. Marie Damian. "This is the first we have heard of this infringement. We will be addressing it shortly.
^"Statement on Party Registration Status"(PDF). Canadian Nationalist Party. Canadian Nationalist Party. September 20, 2019. Archived(PDF) from the original on October 3, 2019. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
^"About – Canadian Nationalist Party". Canadian Nationalist Party. Archived from the original on October 3, 2019. Retrieved October 9, 2019. In order to achieve this fundamental purpose, our political action is directed towards the improvement of the social & economic conditions of an ethnocentric Canada.
^"Coelho For Lac-Saint-Louis". Canadian Nationalist Party. October 8, 2019. Archived from the original on October 9, 2019. Retrieved October 9, 2019. ...we put the ethnic majority before ethnic minorities while putting forward policies that we believe all Canadians can benefit from.
