'Anti-hate' group on the defensive amid govt funding, Antifa ties allegations

Evan Balgord, executive director of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, a “proudly independent and antifascist nonprofit” accused critics on a podcast of spreading “smear pieces” about the advocacy group.

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Evan Balgord, executive director of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network (CAHN), a “proudly independent and antifascist nonprofit” accused critics on a podcast of spreading “smear pieces” about the advocacy group’s connections to Antifa.

Meanwhile, parents and journalists who say they were targeted by a federally funded group say CAHN’s rhetoric has been weaponized against them.

Balgord stated, “We’re genuinely a non-partisan organization,” and that CAHN does not “support, work for, or take direction from any particular political party.” He added that he would “like to have conversations in good faith with conservatives who don’t agree.”

During the podcast, Balgord also criticized other media outlets, calling Blacklock’s Reporter “the Rebel News of reporting on Parliament Hill” and accusing Juno News of “trying to tie” CAHN to Antifa and terrorism. He added that “it’s not just the pseudomedia…but we have to spend all day correcting lies.”

Several individuals have been targeted by the CAHN over the years. Journalist Jonathan Kay, who was previously involved in a defamation case connected to the CAHN, told True North he views the organization as politically motivated.

“As far as I can tell, they pretty much target anybody who happens to be conservative, under the auspices of ‘anti-hate,’” Kay said. “The people who run the group seem to have an extremely high opinion of themselves and imagine that they have a deep intellectual understanding of fascism and other right-wing movements, which allows them to expertly determine who they should go after and who they shouldn’t.

“In reality, it seems to be a group of standard left wing political activists who take government money to propagandize against anything they deem to be right of center.”

The host of the podcast brought up Donald Trump’s executive order designating Antifa a terrorist organization, saying it was intended to “quash something that is an ideology, a philosophy of anti-fascism.”

In Canada, the Liberal government has not said if it will continue to fund the CAHN, which has been linked to Antifa in a court case.

Balgord explained that the CAHN’s mission is to prevent people from being “hurt” because of their identity, describing this as part of a vision for a “just and inclusive society.” He noted that “not everyone [they] oppose is a capital F fascist,” but that the CAHN reports on “groups, movements, networks, that harbour racism and other forms of hate.”

Balgord said, “we’re seeing multiple smear pieces being written,” and pointed to Conservative MP Rachel Thomas, who “challenged our funding in the House of Commons.”

According to Thomas, the CAHN received “almost one million dollars.” She said that some of those funds were used to hire investigative journalists to “inspire independent advocacy and activism to disrupt and compete with far-right movements.”

Thomas added that CAHN’s definition of “far-right” includes Catholics and “people who identify as pro-life.” She argued that “something like this only serves to divide people,” and called the CAHN’s actions “a great disservice to the well-being of our people” that “spurs further polarization.”

On the podcast, Balgord responded to Thomas, noting that the CAHN has reported on Campaign Life Coalition and Lifesite News. He described them as “Christian Nationalists” and defined this as “the belief that Canada… [is] founded based on their rigid interpretation of Christian law.” He added, “not all Catholics are that kind of right-wing extremist.”

Jessica Street of DDSB Concerned Parents, a grassroots parents’ rights group in Ontario’s Durham Region, told True North that “the Canada Anti-Hate Network’s materials were central to the smear campaign against us. Their talking points, calling parents ‘homophobic, transphobic, or far-right,’ were picked up by unions, activist groups, and even municipalities,” she said referring to the group’s involvement with the One Million March for Children in 2023.

Street explained that her group had sent letters to several municipalities outlining their priorities but those letters were ignored. “Instead, officials leaned on CAHN’s rhetoric to dismiss and discredit us,” she said.

Responding to the allegations, Evan Balgord told True North that the CAHN had not reported on DDSB Concerned Parents and denied labeling them extremists. He emphasized that the organization rarely uses that term and only for “the most extreme of groups,” adding that their reporting on the 1 Million March for Children focused on “pretty awful things some of the organizers said.”

Balgord disputes the suggestion that its work unfairly targets parents or ordinary citizens. He argued that CAHN’s reporting aims to document harmful rhetoric and actions, not smear individuals, and emphasized that the organization follows Canadian Association of Journalists ethics guidelines, corrects errors when they occur, and has never faced a defamation suit. According to Balgord, this demonstrates CAHN’s commitment to being “careful, judicious, and responsible” in its reporting.