Liberal gov silent on whether it would follow Trump’s lead and label Antifa terrorists

The Liberal government is dodging questions on whether Canada would follow former U.S. President Donald Trump's pledge to label the extremist far-left group Antifa as a terrorist entity.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree and his department are dodging questions on whether Canada would follow former U.S. President Donald Trump's pledge to label the extremist far-left group Antifa as a terrorist entity.

Trump announced Monday that he would be “100 per cent” behind designating Antifa and other violent extremist left-wing groups as domestic terrorist organizations, in the wake of the left-wing assassination of U.S. conservative commentator Charlie Kirk last week.

True North asked Public Safety Canada, Anandasangaree and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre if they would support designating Antifa as a terrorist group, or to comment on Trump’s statement. Neither Anandasangaree nor Poilievre responded to True North’s request for comment before the deadline.

Public Safety Canada, however, responded by listing the process of how an organization becomes a listed terror entity, but did not confirm whether it would be following Trump’s lead in looking into designating Antifa as a terror group.

“The safety of Canadians is a top priority for the Government of Canada, and Canadian intelligence, security, and law enforcement agencies continuously monitor threats and implement measures to address them, including through listing under the Criminal Code’s list of terrorist entities,” a spokeperson told True North. “The decision to list an entity results from a rigorous process based on evidence, intelligence, and the law.”

When asked whether he would designate Antifa as a domestic terrorist group during a press conference in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump said he “would do that 100 per cent,” if he had the support of his administration.

“There are other groups. We have some pretty radical groups, and they got away with murder,” Trump said, referring to Kirk’s assassination. “I've been speaking to the Attorney General about bringing Rico against some of the people that you've been reading about that have been putting up millions and millions of dollars for agitation.”

Trump said recent anti-deportation riots, which involved throwing bricks at ICE officers and burning vehicles, were “crimes,” not “protests.”

But Antifa groups are active in Canada as well, and this isn’t the first time the Liberals’ Public Safety ministry has ignored the ideologically driven individuals who identify as Antifa, or “Anti-fascist.”

In June, Antifa members used smoke bombs, firecrackers and loud sound devices in a coordinated attack on a March for Life event in Montreal, intimidating protesters, including toddlers and the elderly.

At the end of last year, Montreal Antifa vandalized shop windows and burned vehicles in the street during an anti-capitalism and anti-Israel protest.

In May of last year, on May Day, a day of solidarity with worker movements, similar scenes of anti-capitalist Antifa protesters smashed shop windows, throwing rocks at police and spraying Antifa inspired graffiti on walls.

During May Day protests in Montreal in 2022, again, Antifa demonstrators assaulted police and vandalized businesses on the historic Ste. Catherine Street, and similar incidents occurred in 2018.

Resistance Internationaliste, an Antifa group, claimed responsibility for several bombings between 2004 and 2010, including attacks on a Montreal oil and gas executive and a Canadian Forces recruitment centre in Trois-Rivières.

Another group, Hamilton Against Fascism, conducted several violent attacks resulting in multiple arrests. Its ringleader, Cedar Hopperton, pleaded guilty to mischief over $5,000 and counselling to commit mischief after leading a riot in late 2018 that caused significant property damage.

Toronto Against Fascism, another Antifa group, was linked to violent rallies, including one outside a Munk Debate at Roy Thomson Hall in November 2018. Toronto police reported 12 arrests at that rally after officers were assaulted.

One post on X, known as Twitter at the time, by Toronto police, said one officer was hit with a stick, and another was punched in the face, though injuries were reportedly minor.

Antifa is decentralized and lacks a single international leader, though its cells are often organized.

Despite Antifa activity in Canada, the Liberal government has not indicated it would follow Trump’s lead in cracking down on radical left-wing violence.