Toronto (October 6, 2022) – Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) welcomes yesterday’s jury verdict against Travis Patron, former leader of the now-defunct Canadian Nationalist Party (CNP), who was found guilty of hate speech against Jewish people in an Estevan, Saskatchewan courtroom.

Patron was arrested and charged with wilful promotion of hate in February 2021 in connection with an online video titled “Beware the Parasitic Tribe,” which was flagged in 2019, in which Patron claimed that Jewish people "infiltrate the media, they hijack the central bank, and they infect the body politic like a parasite," and "what we need to do...is remove these people, once and for all, from our country."

FSWC had worked vigorously with the Crown and Saskatchewan Attorney General’s office, urging for hate crime charges to be laid against Patron. In July 2020, FSWC filed an additional hate speech complaint with the RCMP against Patron after a flyer was posted on the CNP's social media pages quoting the video and also calling Jewish people "liars and deceivers" and a "tribe of parasites.”

“Finally, justice has been served in the case of Travis Patron, who for years was given an outlet to promote vile, antisemitic tropes online,” said Michael Levitt, FSWC President and CEO. “At a time when we are seeing an explosive increase in anti-Jewish rhetoric, particularly online, this verdict sends a strong message that hate crimes against the Jewish community will not be tolerated and perpetrators will face consequences.”

“It remains quite shocking that an individual with such hateful views could be the leader of a registered so-called political party in Canada,” Levitt added. “Elections Canada must take the necessary action to prevent hate groups such as the Canadian Nationalist Party from registering as a political party and being given a stage to promote hatred and extremism.”

FSWC thanks the RCMP, Crown prosecutor, Saskatchewan Attorney General and community groups and witnesses whose efforts led to this outcome.

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