Since late 2015 Canada has experienced a marked increase in the number of far-right groups opposed to the governing Liberal Party, immigration and refugees, Muslims, and the nebulous concept of globalism which in itself is mired in an assortment of conspiracy theories and antisemitism both subtle and overt. While many of the groups that have emerged are tiny, generally confined to social media, and splinter quickly as personality conflicts emerge, there are groups such as the anti-Muslim militia/leather vest fetishists Northern Guard that are active off-line and are growing with chapters across the country. While claiming to be “patriots” and acting as a charitable endeavor, one does not have to scratch the surface of that claim too deeply to find the real motivation of the group.
The Northern Guard’s origins can be found in an earlier far-right group. In October 2015 Finnish neo-Nazi Mika Ranta, a member of the Nordic Resistance Movement and who in 2005 and 2016 was convicted racially-based assaults, founded the Soldiers of Odin (SoO). Though claiming to be a patriotic organization that aimed to protect Finnish citizens, its real purpose was to intimidate immigrants and refugees, in particular those from predominately Muslim countries who had fled conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa. SoO chapters soon emerged in other European countries and by early 2016 the far-right group had a presence in Canada. It soon became the largest far-right group in Canada since the Heritage Front of the late 1980s and early 1990s with a national president as well as provincial and city chapters across the country. While also claiming to be community activists, Anti-Racist Canada found evidence that the group was composed of members who held virulently racist, Islamophobic, and antisemitic views in Canada and across the globe.
By 2017 with greater media attention particularly focused on SoO’s links to the Finnish chapter founded by an overt neo-Nazi, the Canadian SoO began to fall apart and a cohesive nationally-controlled entity. The national and some provincial chapters disavowed any connection to Finland though they kept the name while other provincial chapters, especially the Quebec chapter, reaffirmed their connection to the Finnish founding chapter. Still other provincial chapters broke away entirely forming new groups, most of which did not last for more than a few months at best. As of 2020 the SoO still exists in Canada however in a much more fragmented form.
Most of the splinter groups existed for a very brief time but there were two that had much greater staying power. The first was the Storm Alliance which was founded by the former national SoO vice-president/Quebec chapter president.The second, founded by former New Brunswick SoO chapter leader Nick Gallant in 2017, is the Northern Guard.
Like the other splinter groups, the Northern Guard maintained the look of the SoO – leather vests with patches designating chapter and rank reminiscent of biker culture – as well as the public claim of being a service organization. It has also attempted to mainstream itself by being photographed with federal political figures and claiming to organize food, toy, and clothing drives. However, the online discourse clearly indicated that their ideology was and remains profoundly xenophobic. In one exchange in early February 2020 two members of the private Facebook group discussed refugees and Muslims two members wrote about burning down mosques (which he misspells) with one suggesting that he already had done so elsewhere:
Since its inception the Northern Guard has had members and
supporters who have expressed racist, antisemitic, and Islamophobic views. A
Saskatchewan vice-president proudly flew a Nazi flag in his home. Members and supporters of the Northern Guard were also members and supporters
of other groups including the KKK and the now outlawed Blood & Honour. Nick
Gallant himself in an interview with a white nationalist in Toronto stated that
the Northern Guard would be, “pushing that white nationalism.”
Gallant, who has recently taken to claiming FNMI ancestry, disputes claims that the Northern Guard is a hate group:
However former Northern Guard Nova Scotia vice-president Georgie Fagan confirmed it was a hate group when he left:
The violence and the threats came after that. Because I knew everything about them. I told them, you’re a bunch of liars. You’re a bunch of white supremacists. I have no respect for you guys.
In response to this article, Nick Gallant wrote in the group’s private Facebook group:
In fact, Gallant and other members seem to see the Northern Guard as a means of settling personal vendettas and intimidating their detractors. For example when the British Columbia chapter leader posted he was angry about a protest he was planning being shut down by the police prior to occurring, blaming a “snitch”, Gallant responded:
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What’s the Dept for the Police?? … What idiots don’t realize is cops have to release that info to a lawyer if asked And we just so happen to have We just so happen to have a lawyer .. I’ll get your fuckin snitch
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In both Gallant’s Fagan post and this second one referring to the aborted protest in BC, members replied with some variation of “snitches get stitches” but it is in the second post that we find this:
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Liberals. Run and tell them to hide under their bed!... I can’t wait until we can do what needs to be done to all the liberal pieces of shit in this country… power tools are a good investment right now. Drills with long bits...
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On several occasions members of the Northern Guard have acted in a physically aggressive manner at a number of rallies across the country including Toronto and Calgary. Members have also acted, in what can only be considered to be euphemistically, as “security” for other far-right groups.
An examination of the Northern Guard wouldn't be complete without a look at the conspiracy theories that inform the memberships' worldview much as it does that of other far-right groups:
Though always inclined towards unquestioningly accepting conspiracy theories, 2020 is the year that the Northern Guard has gone all-in on the QAnon conspiracy theory. Beginning in January with the approval of the Northern Guard leadership, Steve Gutsche, a moderator on the private Facebook group has, been posting a series of manifestos that he terms as “political education”:
The contents of these paranoid missives put to lie any claim by Gallant (if it wasn't already self-evident) that the Northern Guard isn't an extremist group:
The very first and most important thing is to realize that we are in a state of WAR. It has been so far a covert war, but it is a war none the less. The second most important thing to realize is that this war is a global war and not solely confined to Canada.
In the same January 30 article, as well as the February 13 and March 10 follow-ups, exhibit the strong antisemitic and Islamophobic tenor of the pieces as well as the same baseless tropes that have existed in the conspiratorial echo chamber for decades:
The single largest threat to the world today is the “Globalization” plan of the world elites. They are known by several names. The New World Order, The Illuminati, The G(K)hazaryan Mafia, and others. The world elites have taken over and are using the UN as their platform to initiate their plans for world domination, and are using Islam as their agent for creating chaos and mayhem inside many of the countries they wish to topple…
Next installment will be an overview of the “Elites” who are behind this plan…known as the Illuminati, the NWO, the Khazarian mafia, club of rome, council on foreign relations, etc…many secret societies will be revealed…
Globalism is face of the elites. The un-elected Uber wealthy. The ones saying we have too many people in the world. Some of the names are Rothschild, Rockefeller, Gates, Soros.
Rothchild’s are the world’s richest family with an estimated $500 Trillion dollars. They have financed both sides of every major war since Napoleon. They own all the world’s central banks except 5. They own the USA Federal Reserve. Central banks in every country not sovereign controlled but privately owned.
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted increased hyperbolic language and paranoia as the articles since March 28 through May 4 have been subtitled “War Updates”:
My interpretation of the research regarding this virus is that it was developed in a research lab near Winnipeg and then stolen and taken to China by Chinese intelligence agents. The patent for the virus does list Bill Gates as one of the patent holders through the Gates foundation, and it is believed the virus was developed as a bio-weapon and is a part of the de-population agenda…
I cannot say that the covid19 crisis is a hoax because we know the virus is real; however the level of media attention, hype and the ensuing panic it creates does offer a certain skepticism because this is simply the latest of several other designer viruses released in recent times…AIDS/HIV, Bird flu, Swine flu, SARS, MERV, H1N1, Ebloa, Ecoli, Zika, West Nile, etc…These are all man made patented viruses that have been released upon the world in the past 4 decades (co-incidentally Agenda 21 was signed near 30 yrs ago)…
It is an election year and some believe the virus was released in an attempt to interfere with the election by creating another crisis situation they try to blame on Trump, once again trying to reduce his support in the coming election.
This crisis has now created a world-wide travel restriction which makes it much easier to pursue the deep state criminals and make mass arrests. Military is not under the same restrictions and there are now 30,000 plus US troops in Europe to help with this operation.
There is chatter on the net about a shutdown of social media and MSM platforms coming for 10 days…April 1-10…this will be a global shutdown and the only thing on TV will be from the Emergency Broadcast System, which will be explaining the world elites crimes, who is being arrested, potentially footage of military tribunals which will be processing the arrested (No appeals).
It is expected that this will be ongoing for the 10 days of darkness and includes world leaders and senior government officials, The Vatican, The Royals, Many Uber wealthy deep state players, celebrities, etc.…
Time will tell if this is in fact true and allowances must be made for deep state counter moves that could interfere with the timing…
Canada will be saved from the globalists by the domino effect (Trudeau has already been indicted and charged with crimes against Humanity and is currently under house arrest) and we will need to completely redo our own style of government very soon. I am not sure how that will play out.
The next real danger to Canada, and this will not be removed by Trumps efforts, are all the agents of Islam now embedded into our country, some will be gone through this war but some will remain.
Once we have restored our sovereignty and have a Nationalist government once again we can shift focus to removing Islam from Canada.
Finally, and the announcement of the gun ban by the federal government resulted in this missive on May 4:
Trudeau is doubling down on the announced gun ban after what appears to be a false flag mass shooting event in Nova Scotia. (False flag does not mean no one was harmed…it means the event is being used to further a political agenda). There is no valid reason for the gun ban and it does not include the Indigenous so it is also discriminatory. Trudeau and Blair say these guns are NOT used for hunting, and then exempt the natives because they ARE used for hunting. An Oxymoron if there ever was one. I am advocating everyone stockpile as many firearms and ammo as they are able and NOT COMPLY. If you know of anyone thinking about turning their firearms in to the government, suggest that they would be better served in the hands of Patriots instead…
There are reports of “UN” patrols now going door to door in Lac Laloche Sakatchewan, supposedly checking for infected people. Apparently these “Patrols” are made up of new immigrants and are wearing uniforms. Are they planning to remove any suspected cases out of their homes and into camps? All for the “Public Health and Safety?”…Hmmm?...
Many, many Patriots are frustrated and wishing to do more than sit and watch. The time to rise and act is upon us. Resist all govt mandates.
The QAnon and gun control conspiracies have recently become increasingly relevant. On July 1, 2020 a protest occurred on Parliament Hill in which anti-government QAnon supporters and anti-gun control advocated urged the American government to charge Justin Trudeau with a nebulous list of crimes ranging from treason to being part of an international satanic pedophile ring. Included in this group were some Northern Guard supporters. On June 2 a active reservist ran through the gates of Rideau Hall with his truck. Armed with numerous weapons he was soon taken into custody. His target appears to have been the Prime Minister and his social media indicated he was also influenced by the QAnon conspiracy cult.
In August NG leader Nick Gallant started a new project linked to QAnon:
A feature of QAnon is the belief that a cabal of powerful individuals in government, business, and entertainment associated with progressive politics are secretly Satanic pedophiles and cannibals who rule the world and that Donald Trump is waging a secret war to save children and eliminate this perceived evil forever. Those who subscribe the the QAnon conspiracy believe that this cabal is mocking the good people of society by displaying the symbols of their depravity out in the open for all to see; those who are able to decipher "Q drops" are able to discern the symbolism for what it is, at least if you are a devout adherent of QAnon who are so divorced from reality that they can't see a pizza and think of it as anything other than a symbol for ritual child abuse. Gallant's M.A.P.P is no exception and if you argue that perhaps a shirt with sharks and pizza on is JUST a shirt with sharks and pizza because kids like both sharks and pizza then you are implicated in the conspiracy as well:
Recently there have been actions that have been taking place offline as yesterday members of the Northern Guard and Soldiers of Odin protested in Collingwood, Ontario demanding access to the provincial sex offender registry (which isn't something that the mayor of the city could grant even if he wished to):
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Mystified by downtown storefronts and light traffic?
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And Gallant has started another group whose aim appear to be focused on hunting for people they believe to be pedophiles, whether that characterization is warranted or not:
In looking at the content of his posts on the subject of child sexual abuse and trafficking however one wonders if Gallant and the Northern Guard (as well as the Soldiers of Odin, Yellow Vests Canada, and the host of other far-right groups who have taken up the cause) isn't simply jumping on the bandwagon both as a means of virtue signaling as well as engaging in ad hominem slurs against his enemies real and perceived since there are few accusations worse in our society than being accused of being a child molester.
For instance, when we were critical of Gallant and M.A.P.P. for perpetuating conspiracy theories and encouraging vigilantism, his reaction was make the baseless accusation that us and the founder of this blog must be child molesters who should be killed. He and another individual then engaged in friendly banter in which it was posited that the founder of this blog be raped which further calls into question his claim to be opposing sexual violence:
And, if there was any question regarding the ideology informing the Northern Guard's and other far-right groups' current fixation, this should put that to bed:
Child abuse and sexual violence are legitimate problems that need to be addressed much more vigourously, but claiming to do so by disseminating on ridiculous conspiracy theories and esoteric readings of mundane things as having symbolic meaning is doing real damage to that effort. Actual organizations who combat child sex abuse and trafficking are not at all surprisingly upset their work being is being hijacked by QAnon conspiracy adherents and extremists such as the Northern Guard:
