The Rot at the Core:
How Canada’s Far Right Became Emboldened—And How We Dismantle It.
Let’s not mince words: Canada’s far right is not just emboldened; it is metastasizing. It is no longer a fringe undercurrent lurking in obscure internet forums or gathering in dimly lit basements—it is on our streets, in our legislatures, woven into the algorithms that shape public discourse. it may wear a badge, sign your paycheck, sit at your holiday dinner table. It parades through Ottawa, fueled by the delusions of self-victimization, amplifying paranoia and manufacturing crises where none exist. It cloaks itself in the language of "freedom" while actively seeking to dismantle the freedoms of others—women, immigrants, the LGBTQ+ community, Indigenous peoples, anyone who does not fit into their narrow, regressive vision of who "deserves" to be here. And yet, somehow, despite the blatant radicalization, despite the overt flirtations with fascism, despite the outright threats to democracy, we continue to treat it as a manageable nuisance rather than the clear and present danger that it is.
The article in The Walrus rightly points to the institutional failures that have enabled the rise of far-right extremism in Canada: the police force’s reluctance to treat white nationalist groups as the threat they so clearly are, the intelligence community’s underestimation of homegrown radicalization, the government’s unwillingness to take firm legislative action. These are, without question, failings that need urgent correction. But they are symptoms of a deeper rot—one that extends beyond law enforcement and into the fabric of our society itself. If we are serious about stopping the spread of far-right extremism, we must stop pretending this is simply an issue of better intelligence-sharing or stronger policing (ACAB). We must be willing to confront why these movements are growing, why their rhetoric finds an audience, and why, despite the obvious dangers they pose, so many people are willing to look the other way.
First and foremost, if we are going to allow our law enforcement to act as they have been with individuals who they claim participate in extremist movements (and I don't believe we should) then we must demand that this be applied to ALL sides. Far to frequently these tools are used to squash left leaning peaceful movements while the far right, more often than not , thrives on impunity; it relies on the knowledge that its actions—whether it’s harassment campaigns, armed demonstrations, or outright incitement of violence—will be met with little more than a slap on the wrist.
Compare the state’s reaction to Indigenous land defenders or climate activists with its response to white nationalist groups openly advocating for violence and insurrection, and the double standard becomes glaringly obvious. You would think that hate groups, if any, should be designated as domestic terrorist organizations instead of ones advocating for peace and inclusion . There can be no tolerance for intolerance masquerading as political expression when the aim of these movements is not debate, but domination through thinly veiled, nationalistic racist rhetoric.
The internet is the far right’s most powerful recruitment tool, and it is no longer sufficient to throw our hands up and lament the impossibility of policing online radicalization. We must demand accountability from tech platforms that allow misinformation to flourish under the guise of "free speech." Social media companies must be held responsible for the disinformation pipelines they enable. Algorithmic amplification of conspiracy theories, the monetization of outrage, the creation of echo chambers where misinformation metastasizes into full-blown ideological possession—these are not accidents. They are business models. There are proven methods of fact checking and balanced representation to draw inspiration from. One doesn't need to look too far to find examples of this… yet trusted platforms like GroundNews ,who represent an alternative more open and honest way of presenting the world, are highly underutilized and still mostly unknown to the general public.
It would be a mistake to see the far right solely as a movement of the poor and disenfranchised—it is, in many ways, a movement of entitlement, of grievance nurtured in spaces of relative comfort and weaponized against imagined enemies. Yet we cannot ignore the economic conditions that create the kind of simmering resentment that demagogues so easily exploit. A society in which people feel powerless, precarious, and abandoned is a society where ignorai finds an audience. If we are to cut off the far right at its roots, we must address the real economic insecurities that fuel its recruitment—without ever falling into the trap of sympathizing with the hate it produces. This means stronger labor protections, better wages, housing policies that prevent entire generations from falling into permanent precarity. It means ensuring that economic anxiety is not funneled into xenophobia, that frustration is not channeled into scapegoating immigrants or minorities. When people have stable lives, radical movements lose their appeal.
While far left extremest are usually born of an overabundance of understanding and emotional maturity…Far-right radicalization is, at its core, a failure of education and or a pathological absence of basic human emotions. It is what happens when historical amnesia meets algorithmic manipulation, when critical thinking is eroded and replaced with easy, emotionally satisfying conspiracies. If we want to inoculate future generations against the stupid, we need to rebuild our education system as a defense against propaganda. This means comprehensive media literacy programs that teach people how to identify misinformation. It means a history curriculum that does not sanitize Canada’s legacy of colonialism, white supremacy, and systemic racism, but instead teaches it in its full and ugly truth. It means giving students the intellectual tools to resist ideological capture, to challenge narratives that rely on fear and exclusion, to see through the tactics of those who would recruit them into hatred.
The fascist drift of the far-right is not just a political crisis—it is a moral one. It is a failure of empathy, of community, of the very idea that we are responsible for one another. The far right thrives on resentment, on the belief that justice for others is a threat to oneself, that progress is a zero-sum game. And it is not just extremists who hold these beliefs—it is the mainstream enablers, the politicians who flirt with xenophobia for votes, the media figures who frame diversity as a "threat," the businesses that profit off division. If we are to dismantle this ideology, we must cultivate a culture that does not merely condemn hatred, but actively rejects the conditions that breed it.
This means fighting apathy. It means rejecting the idea that extremism "isn’t our problem" if we’re not directly affected. It means standing up—loudly and unapologetically—against those who would normalize hate, whether in our workplaces, in our schools, or around the dinner table. It means creating spaces where people feel connected, valued, part of something larger than themselves—because if we do not provide those spaces, the far right will.
No More Passive Observers
For too long, Canada has treated far-right radicalization as something happening in the margins. That illusion has now shattered. It is not in the margins; it is in our politics, in our communities, in our algorithms. It is growing not because it is powerful, but because too many people are afraid to name it for what it is. So let us name it. Let us recognize that fascism does not arrive overnight—it grows in the cracks of democracy, nurtured by complacency, given space to fester by those who refuse to act. Let us refuse to be bystanders. Let us recognize that while the far right may be emboldened, it is not inevitable. It is a symptom, not a fate. And it is a symptom that can be fought—not just with better law enforcement, but with better policies, better education, better communities, better leadership.
The far right thrives on fear. Let us give it something else to contend with: a society that will not allow it to take root. A people who refuse to be divided. A nation that will not be hijacked by those who mistake their own fragility for freedom. It is not enough to denounce the far right; we must actively dismantle it. The time for passive condemnation is over. The time for action is now.
Go vote. Or don't. Whatever.
