National Citizens Alliance

The National Citizens Alliance[lower-alpha 1] (French: Alliance National des Citoyens) was a minor federal political party in Canada, registered with Elections Canada from 2014 to 2017 and from 2019 to 2023. It was founded and led by perennial candidate Stephen Garvey, a proponent of far-right conspiracy theories. The party had been described by critics as alt-right, white nationalist, and Islamophobic.

Not to be confused with the National Citizens Coalition. For the political party founded in 1977, see Nationalist Party of Canada.

National Citizens Alliance
Alliance National des Citoyens
AbbreviationNCA
FounderStephen Garvey
FoundedNovember 18, 2014 (2014-11-18)
DissolvedFebruary 28, 2023 (2023-02-28)
Headquarters728 Northmount Drive NW
PO Box 94
Calgary, Alberta
T2K 6J8
Ideology
Political positionFar-right
Senate
0 / 105
House of Commons
0 / 338
Website
www.nationalcitizensalliance.ca

History

In August 2015, the party was registered under the party name, Democratic Advancement Party of Canada (DAPC). The party, under the DAPC name, fielded four candidates in the 2015 federal election.[2] In January 2017, the party name was changed to National Advancement Party of Canada (NAPC). Garvey was a candidate in Calgary Skyview, receiving 1.5% of the vote, Fahed Khalid was a candidate in Bow River where he won 0.17% of the vote, Max Veress received 0.33% of the vote in Calgary Forest Lawn, and Faizan Butt received 0.34% of the vote in Calgary Nose Hill. No candidate was elected.[3]

The NAPC fielded two candidates in by-elections for the Calgary ridings in April 2017: Garvey was the candidate in Calgary Heritage (79 votes, 0.3%), and Kulbir Singh Chawla was the candidate in Calgary Midnapore (81 votes, 0.3%).[4]

On December 13, 2017 the NAPC voluntarily deregistered itself from Elections Canada effective December 31, 2017.[5] However, the party was revived as the National Citizens Alliance (NCA) and its registration with Elections Canada was confirmed in January 2019.

The party ran four candidates in the 2019 federal election and received 510 votes overall.[6]

The NCA submitted a request to the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada to voluntary deregister on February 24, 2023. The request was accepted and the party was deregistered four days later on February 28.[7]

Policy and views

The NCA has been described by critics as far-right,[8][9][10][11] alt-right,[12][13] white nationalist,[14] anti-immigration,[8][15] and Islamophobic.[16][17] The party, however, claims that it is "neither left nor right" and adopts policies from both sides of the political spectrum.[18]

Nationalism

The NCA describes itself as "nationalist, pro-Canadian and anti-globalist".[19] The party's platform proposes amending the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to include the preservation of "European-Canadian heritage".[20] The party also supports the preservation of Quebecois culture, but opposes Quebec independence, instead advocating for greater cooperation between the federal government and Quebec.[21] The party opposes multiculturalism in Canada and wants to repeal the Canadian Multiculturalism Act.[22] They are particularly opposed to the idea of a post-national state.[23]

Immigration

The NCA proposes limiting the immigration rate, which they believe to be too high for proper screening and vetting, as well as restricting or halting immigration from nations with "strong terrorist activities", or that supposedly do not share what the party describes as "Canadian values". The party also advocates for the deportation of all illegal immigrants who entered Canada through the United States as part of a Safe Third Country Agreement loophole.[24]

Rights

The NCA proposes a ban on abortions after three months of pregnancy.[25] The party advocates the prohibition of "schools and any other relevant organizations / institutions from exposing children to indoctrination [on] sexual identity".[26] The party supports gun rights and describes the current gun regulations in Canada as excessive and ineffective.[27]

The party proposes increasing penalties for animal cruelty, and implementing a full ban on bestiality,[28] which is currently only partly banned in Canada.[29]

Conspiracy theories

The leader of the NCA, Stephen Garvey, is known for his support of several far-right conspiracy theories, and in turn the party's policies have also reflected such beliefs.

Politics and society

The NCA supports the "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory and states that there is a plot between "globalists" and "cultural Marxists" to replace the white population of Canada with "Third World immigrants".[30] Muslims and Sikhs in particular are often targets of the party's anti-immigration rhetoric.[17]

In early 2021, the NCA released a statement denouncing its coverage on Wikipedia, claiming that "communists and Marxists" had been paid by mainstream media to spread misinformation about the party on the website.[31]

Science and technology

The NCA supports the chemtrail conspiracy theory and asserts that the chemicals released are used to deflect sunlight.[32] The party also supports the conspiracy theory that exposure to 5G radio waves leads to adverse health effects and 5G technology is being used for mass surveillance on behalf of the government.[33] The party does not accept the scientific consensus on climate change and dismisses it as "globalist alarmism".[34]

Leader

Stephen Garvey is a former associate of the anti-immigration group Worldwide Coalition Against Islam (WCAI),[15][35][36] until publicly cutting ties with the group in June 2017.[37] He was the lead organizer of a March 2017 protest in Calgary against Motion 103 (M-103), a non-binding resolution in the federal House of Commons which condemned Islamophobia and all other forms of systemic racism and religious discrimination.[13][16][38]

Garvey believes in the "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory and has claimed that there is a deliberate plot to demographically replace whites in Canada.[30][39] He also dismisses the existence of Islamophobia as "complete nonsense ... created in the 1990s by the Muslim Brotherhood for the sole reason to silence criticism on Islam."[40]

In May 2017, Garvey was the spokesperson for a protest in Red Deer which alleged that Syrian students at Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School were given more lenient punishments for participating in a fight than other students.[41] The allegations were false, as school officials and local RCMP confirmed all eight students involved were suspended for one week.[42]

In June 2017, the NAPC held an impromptu press conference in protest against the City of Calgary for revoking the special event permit for the party's "Say No to Hate and Racism Festival", which the City viewed as "anti-Muslim and Islamophobic" and other observers characterized as "anti-Islam".[36][43] Garvey, former candidate Kulbir Singh Chawla and several other National Advancement supporters were interrupted later that month at another press conference by marchers from the anti-fascist group Calgary Antifa.[37]

In August 2019, Garvey was charged with offences under the Criminal Code and Canada Elections Act for providing false information to the Chief Electoral Officer and circumventing election contribution limits.[44]

A man, later identified as Garvey, was captured on video questioning Ontario MPP Gurratan Singh at MuslimFest in September 2019 and demanding to know if Singh supported "political Islam".[17] Garvey was shown being escorted out of the event by security in the video. Singh classified the encounter as racist and other politicians, including Justin Trudeau and Andrew Scheer, released statements condemning racism and discrimination in response to the video.[45]

Election results
Election Leader Candidates Seats +/− Votes  % Rank Outcome
2015 Stephen Garvey
4 / 338
0 / 338
 Steady 1,187 0.01% 15th No seats
2019 Stephen Garvey
4 / 338
0 / 338
 Steady 510 0.00% Decrease 19th No seats
2021 Stephen Garvey
4 / 338
0 / 338
 Steady 476 0.00% Steady 19th No seats

Notes
  1. Formerly known as the:
    • Democratic Advancement Party of Canada (2014–2017)
    • National Advancement Party of Canada (2017–2019)

References
  1. Mosleh, Omar; Green, Melanie (October 27, 2019). "They're immigrants to Canada. So why are they supporting far-right parties that want to reduce immigration?". Toronto Star.
  2. "List of registered political parties". CBC News. October 18, 2015. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  3. "PARLINFO – DEMOCRATIC ADVANCEMENT PARTY OF CANADA". Parliament of Canada. Archived from the original on June 9, 2017. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  4. "Calgary By-elections". National Advancement Party of Canada. Archived from the original on March 27, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
  5. Elections Canada (December 13, 2017). "Deregistration of the National Advancement Party of Canada". CNW. Cision. Retrieved February 17, 2018.
  6. Elections Canada | Official Voting Results, Forty-Third General Election
  7. "Deregistration of the National Citizens Alliance of Canada". www.elections.ca. Elections Canada. February 24, 2023. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  8. "Two members of National Citizens Alliance greeted by protesters during Saint John appearance". Global News. Retrieved August 14, 2019. The far-right, anti-immigration group, which is a federally registered party, had originally planned to hold an event at Branch 69 of the Royal Canadian Legion on Friday which was later cancelled.
  9. "Saint John mayor joins protest against National Citizens Alliance". CTV News. June 28, 2019. Retrieved August 14, 2019. The mayor of Saint John was among those who showed up to protest, when members of a far-right political party showed up at City Hall on Friday.
  10. "Large crowd cheers as far-right group escorted from rally by Halifax police". Toronto Star. August 19, 2018. Retrieved August 14, 2019. The National Citizens Alliance (NCA), a far-right group based in Calgary, Alta., held a "Canadians First Rally" and were quickly surrounded by counterprotestors.
  11. "Anti-immigration rally on Hill fizzles, leader disappointed". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved August 14, 2019. Dozens of tourists took photographs of the far-right participants, many waving Canadian and Quebec flags.
  12. Gunn, Andrea (August 9, 2019). "Atlantic Canada's alt-right fringe". The Guardian.
  13. "Alt-right groups hold M-103 protest outside Calgary City Hall". Metro Calgary. Archived from the original on September 5, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  14. McSheffrey, Elizabeth (June 22, 2019). "Two arrested after confrontation between far-right group and Halifax Against Hate". Global News. Retrieved May 8, 2020.
  15. Patil, Anjuli (May 28, 2021). "Why groups like the National Citizens Alliance feel comfortable speaking out". CBC News. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  16. Montpetit, Jonathan (March 5, 2017). "What we learned about the far right over the weekend". CBC News. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
  17. Harris, Sherina (September 2, 2019). "Brampton MPP Gurratan Singh denounces Islamophobic remarks made toward him at MuslimFest". The Star. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  18. "Our Platform and Policies". National Citizens Alliance. Archived from the original on September 21, 2021. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  19. Garvey, Steven. We are at war with a privileged globalist elite (Video). Retrieved September 20, 2017. We support Canadian nationalism over globalism. We are pro-Canadian, anti-globalists.
  20. Gunn, Andrea (August 9, 2019). "Atlantic Canada's alt-right fringe". The Guardian. Retrieved April 17, 2020. Garvey's policies are decidedly anti-immigrant, and he speaks extensively about the need to preserve Canada's 'European heritage'. His platform calls for a change of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to include the preservation of European-Canadian heritage.
  21. "NCA Canadian Unity and Quebec Policy Statement". National Citizens Alliance. Archived from the original on April 29, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  22. "NCA Rescind Multiculturalism Act Policy Statement". National Citizens Alliance. Archived from the original on April 23, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  23. "NCA Integration Of New Arrivals Policy Statement". National Citizens Alliance. Archived from the original on September 19, 2021. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  24. "NCA Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Policy Statement". National Citizens Alliance. Archived from the original on April 23, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  25. "NCA Abortion Policy Statement". National Citizens Alliance. Archived from the original on April 29, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  26. "NCA LGBTQ Policy Statement". National Citizens Alliance. Archived from the original on April 29, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  27. "NCA Firearms Policy Statement". National Citizens Alliance. Archived from the original on December 10, 2018. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  28. "NCA Animal Welfare Policy Statement". National Citizens Alliance. Archived from the original on April 29, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  29. "Supreme Court clarifies Canada's bestiality law with ruling". Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  30. Gunn, Andrea (August 9, 2019). "Atlantic Canada's alt-right fringe". The Guardian. Retrieved April 17, 2020. Garvey warns that 'sustained immigration' is causing the replacement of white Canadians with 'Third World' immigrants. But in speaking with SaltWire, Garvey categorically denied being a white supremacist and blamed his reputation as such on a 'cultural Marxist' smear campaign.
  31. "WiKi Corrupted". National Citizens Alliance. March 16, 2021. Archived from the original on August 5, 2021. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  32. Garvey, Stephen (August 20, 2020). "Geoengineering: Rural Alberta". National Citizens Alliance. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  33. "NCA Information Technology, 5G, Mass Surveillance Policy Statement". National Citizens Alliance. Archived from the original on April 23, 2020. Retrieved April 28, 2020.
  34. "Home". National Citizens Alliance. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
  35. Snowdon, Wallis; Huncar, Andrea (May 23, 2017). "Anti-immigrant protest at Alberta school follows student fight". CBC News. Retrieved September 20, 2017. Stephen Garvey, a member of the anti-immigration group Worldwide Coalition Against Islam, said the intent of the protest was to raise awareness about the need to protect 'Canadian culture' in schools.
  36. Kury de Castillo, Carolyn (June 24, 2017). "Calgary rally draws dozens opposed to proposed anti-Islam event". Global News. Retrieved September 20, 2017. Garvey suggests his event was punished because of his previous association with the World Wide [sic] Coalition Against Islam through their shared opposition to Sharia Law.
  37. "Calgary anti-racism activists rally, cross paths with opponents". Calgary Herald. June 25, 2017. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  38. Brooks, Anna (March 5, 2017). "Protesters in Calgary clash over M-103 anti-Islamophobia motion". Calgary Herald. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
  39. Stephen J Garvey Interview by Free Bird Media (YouTube). Retrieved October 17, 2019.
  40. Montpetit, Jonathan (March 5, 2017). "What we learned about the far right over the weekend". CBC News. Retrieved April 17, 2020. 'This whole thing of Islamophobia is complete nonsense, as far as we are concerned,' Garvey said. 'It was created in the 1990s by the Muslim Brotherhood for the sole reason to silence criticism on Islam.'
  41. "Protesters left unsatisfied following meeting with Thurber school officials". rdnewsNOW. May 23, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  42. Wood, James (May 24, 2017). "'We are Albertans': Notley weighs in on Red Deer school protest by anti-immigration groups". Calgary Herald. Retrieved September 20, 2017. School officials and the RCMP said four Canadian students and four Syrian students who had been involved in a fight had all been suspended for a week from school.
  43. Message of Unity to ALL Canadians (YouTube). National Advancement Party of Canada. June 24, 2017. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  44. Sarah, Rieger (August 18, 2019). "Far-right Calgary candidate faces criminal, election act charges from 2015 vote". CBC News. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  45. Tunney, Catharine (September 2, 2019). "Jagmeet Singh proud of brother for confronting 'racism' at MuslimFest". CBC News. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
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