Executive Summary

Contributing Societal and Political Variables

Right-wing organisations have gained strength in Europe and North America, fuelled by the impact of economic globalisation and high levels of immigration. Radical and extremist groups occupy ideological space at the margins of populist political parties focused on related grievances. Extremists reject consensus political responses and many advocate violence. There are many organisational categories and sub-groups, but they are increasingly able to coalesce to pursue common objectives. Some support populist parties with the potential for electoral success.

• Globalisation has led to job losses in many regions and generated working-class resentment. Right-wing groups believe immigrants absorb employment opportunities which would otherwise be available to native citizens. Immigrants are viewed as culturally and religiously alien, illegally present in the country, attracted to criminality, and destined to dilute national identity and culture.
• Radical and extremist narratives are driven by political frustration which compounds the sense of economic and cultural alienation. Political elites are perceived as representing a globalist and liberal ideology which ignores the grievances of the excluded; the political establishment uses its security and legal powers to support minorities rather than the national collectivity.
• Populist parties validate parts of the extremist narrative and attract the support of extremist group members.
• Technology—including dedicated servers, social media and hacking tools—enable extremist groups to spread their ideas, interact with potential allies, organise festivals and demonstrations, support populist parties and intimidate opponents.

Anatomy of the New Right Wing

Radicals and extremists represent different but overlapping beliefs. Radicals are illiberal democrats who work within democratic systems while rejecting the norms protecting human rights and procedural safeguards. Extremists reject democratic institutions and believe in violence to attain their goals. They attack political opponents and immigrants, and the most extreme advocate murder and genocide. Differences between group agendas do not prevent cooperative action.

• Immigrants have become the visible symbol of all the grievances embraced by radicals and extremists. Cultural nationalists defend Western culture against Islam, but will accept Muslims already present if they are assimilated. Ethnic nationalists accept cultural equality but are nativist in believing each culture should have its own state. Racial nationalists hate immigrants, Jews and other minorities, and advocate expulsion or extermination.
• While extremists are mostly on the ideological right, some have adopted more leftist views which reinforce the necessity of excluding alien cultures. Women and LGBTQ rights are portrayed as reflecting the Western value of individual freedom which is threatened by intolerant Muslim newcomers. Social welfare programs are acceptable if they support the state’s true citizens, and are not distorted by payments to immigrants who have no right to be in the country.
• The establishment, including politicians, intellectuals and mainstream media, are portrayed as traitors to their own culture and the true interests of the nation. They cannot be trusted to take effective action against illegal immigration, crime or cultural dilution.
• Extremist narratives are reinforced by conspiracy theorists, such as QAnon, and Russian state-sponsored news networks.

Evolution of Right-Wing Extremist Activity

Extremist groups are tactically and technically sophisticated. Many direct-action strategies, such as vigilantism, are common to similar groups in different countries.

• Many groups use a variant of vigilantism to draw attention to their agenda with direct action. Vigilantism may include terrorist attacks on immigrants; pogroms, lynchings or arson; and border patrols or street patrols. Border patrols demonstrate that the authorities have lost control of immigration and need help from patriotic citizens. Street patrols single out immigrants as targets but are also designed to reinforce the culturally-positive theme of protecting vulnerable women from immigrant criminals.
• Extremists infiltrate populist parties and protest movements and engage in sophisticated re-branding exercises to identify themselves more closely with popular political causes and attach their brand to popular values. Some groups place themselves strategically as bridges between different radical and extremist groups, increasing the potential for coordinated action.
• There is a sub-culture of music, festivals, mixed martial arts competitions, clothing, code words and symbols which provide opportunities for extremist networking aided by subtle identification signs. Festivals and special merchandising raise funds for group activities. Aspects of youth culture, such as gaming, have been weaponised by including extremist themes.
• Groups may build their own IT platforms, but they also use the IT platforms of sympathetic organisations and hijack the vulnerable forums of others to spread their message. Individual influencers with ideological or charismatic appeal expand the reach of radical and extremist ideas. Groups may harass individual opponents, particularly by hacking into their computers and releasing compromising information. Information can be distorted or invented, and many have the sophistication to create deep fakes through advanced IT capacity.

Right-Wing Extremism in Canada

As a multicultural country with historical support for immigration, Canada represents more of a challenge than some European countries for right-wing extremists. Recent protections against misuse of social media data makes tracking radicals and extremists difficult, but research suggests that right-wing extremism is growing in Canada, a conclusion supported by Statistics Canada hate crime data.

• Support for extremism is strongest in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia, but trends in Québec are also notable.
• Support is strongest in the 25-to-34 age group, but differences between age cohorts are not marked. Most activists are male. Younger supporters tend to look for information on groups, suggesting they are looking for pathways to participation. Older supporters focus on influencers, suggesting greater interest in exploring ideologies.
• Targets are similar to those in Europe—immigrants, Jews, blacks and homosexuals. The same common culture pattern is also present, with an emphasis on music and specialised music labels and bands.

Extremists in Québec are in contact with those in the rest of Canada, but there are some characteristics of extremism which are more marked there. The influence of Scandinavian, neo-pagan groups is strong. French extremist ideologues and French extremist movements are also influential. The anti-Muslim theme is prominent because of the same fears of cultural and religious incompatibility as in Europe, but with the additional fear that Muslims represent a return to the strong religious influence in Québec life that was ended by the Quiet Revolution in the 1960s.

• Québec extremist groups can be classified as follows: violent and semi-clandestine; nativist; ultra-nationalist; and anti-immigrant. Some mainstream political sentiments on immigration and cultural values align with extremist narratives.
• Action in the US to restrict visas, which has contributed to illegal border crossings into Canada, and particularly Québec, have helped extremists suggest a crisis at the border, and reinforced the anti-immigrant narrative.
• There is evidence of splintering among extremists trying to reconcile a Québec nationalist perspective with European versions of extremism. However, connections with Scandinavian extremists remain important. There are also Québec groups promoting greater coordination of all organisations with related goals.
• Some Québec radicals and extremists look to both French politician Marine Le Pen and US President Donald Trump as inspirational leaders. Radical right ideologues in France, and influencers elsewhere in Canada, have an impact in Québec. Québecers follow the Alt-Right media in the US, and some attended the Unite the Right demonstration in Charlottesville.

Conclusion

Modern technology and common grievances have the potential to sustain radical and extremist organisations, and unless mainstream parties can find effective counter-strategies and convincing economic policies, extremist groups may continue to grow. Trends suggest that extremists will increasingly influence radical and populist parties with the potential to gain legislative strength, and in some cases power. Countering extremism requires the maintenance of popular trust in leaders, political institutions and the police.