An Online Environmental Scan of Right-wing Extremism in Canada

The report identifies a significant online presence of right-wing extremism in Canada, involving 6,660 accounts and channels across seven platforms with a collective reach of over 11 million users. While ethnonationalists are the most prevalent group on mainstream platforms like Facebook and Twitter, explicit white supremacist activity is concentrated on fringe sites such as Iron March and Fascist Forge. The study finds that RWE activity spikes around key events, specifically the Christchurch attack and the 2019 Canadian federal election, with anti-Muslim and anti-Trudeau rhetoric serving as primary drivers of conversation. Offline findings indicate a growth in RWE activity in the Maritime provinces and an increasing fascination with paramilitary training and weaponry among groups like the Three Percenters.

• Researchers identified 6,660 right-wing extremist entities across seven platforms, including 6,352 Twitter accounts, 130 Facebook pages and groups, 32 YouTube channels, 42 Gab accounts, 88 Iron March accounts, and 31 Fascist Forge accounts, collectively reaching over 11 million users.
• Ethnonationalists constitute the largest RWE community on mainstream platforms, representing 60% of communities on Twitter, 53% on Facebook, and 46% on YouTube. In contrast, white supremacists dominate fringe platforms, accounting for 100% of identified Canadian users on Fascist Forge and 72% on Iron March.
• RWE online activity experienced significant spikes in March 2019, linked to the Christchurch attack, and in October 2019, linked to the Canadian federal election.
• Mainstream platform users rarely use explicit extremist language; only 1% of identified Canadian RWE Twitter users were 'prolific' (12+ extremist tweets in 2019), and only 0.7% of posts by RWE-associated Facebook pages and groups contained anti-minority slurs or extremist slang.
• Anti-Muslim and anti-government rhetoric targeting Justin Trudeau are the most prominent themes. Muslims were the most discussed minority on Facebook and the primary target of hate speech (23%), while Justin Trudeau was mentioned in 11.4% of RWE Facebook posts and 28% of analyzed YouTube content.
• Offline analysis indicates that RWE activity has grown in the Maritime provinces and that there is an increasing focus on paramilitary training and weaponry, exemplified by the Three Percenters in Alberta and Quebec.
• Canadian users are highly active on extreme fringe boards; they represent the third largest nationality using 4chan's /pol/ board after the US and UK, and were the third largest community on Iron March during its activity.
• Fascist Forge targets a young, male demographic, with some prospective users claiming to be as young as 15, suggesting that recruitment efforts targeting Generation Z may be effective.

APA

Davey, J., Hart, M., & Guerin, C. (2020). An Online Environmental Scan of Right-wing Extremism in Canada. Institute for Strategic Dialogue. https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/An-Online-Environmental-Scan-of-Right-wing-Extremism-in-Canada-ISD.pdf

Chicago

Davey, Jacob, Mackenzie Hart, and Cécile Guerin. An Online Environmental Scan of Right-wing Extremism in Canada. Institute for Strategic Dialogue, 2020. https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/An-Online-Environmental-Scan-of-Right-wing-Extremism-in-Canada-ISD.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Davey |first1=Jacob |last2=Hart |first2=Mackenzie |last3=Guerin |first3=Cécile |title=An Online Environmental Scan of Right-wing Extremism in Canada |publisher=Institute for Strategic Dialogue |date=2020 |url=https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/An-Online-Environmental-Scan-of-Right-wing-Extremism-in-Canada-ISD.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{davey2020online, author = {Davey, Jacob and Hart, Mackenzie and Guerin, Cécile}, title = {{An Online Environmental Scan of Right-wing Extremism in Canada}}, institution = {Institute for Strategic Dialogue}, year = {2020}, url = {https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/An-Online-Environmental-Scan-of-Right-wing-Extremism-in-Canada-ISD.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }