I’m presenting “Fascists in Hogtown” at the #AskHistorians2020 conference, recorded and available for free: . I’m going to post some of the images relating to the fascist rallies and anti-fascist protests in Toronto in the summer of 1938. Thread.

The speakers at the fascist rally at Queen and Davenport, 6 June 1938. Left to right, Major J.M. Scott, head of the “protective legion;” Joseph Farr, of the Nationalist Party of Canada in Toronto, and Adrien Arcand, of the Parti National Social Chrétien in Montreal.

Note that there was nothing subtle about this fascist movement. These groups openly displayed swastikas and gave the Hitler salute, openly advocated for violence, called for the marginalization and deportation of Jewish people, believed in conspiracy theories, etc..

Outside the hall, the Provisional Anti-Fascist Committee protested, second one that week. The first rally escalated to tomato throwing and a police officer was struck with a sign. So even though this rally was entirely peaceful, the police seized the signs from the protestors.

During the first weekend of July, the different fascist organizations united as the National Unity Party (NUP) at a secret meeting in Kingston, Ontario. Left: the seal of Toronto’s Nationalist Party (note the swastika). Right: the seal of the new National Unity Party.

There are very few images of the NUP rally in Massey Hall on 4 July, but here are two with men on stage giving the Hitler salute.

There were three protests against the NUP that night. One at Queen’s Park, a larger one at Maple Leaf Gardens, and the noisiest one near Massey Hall organized by the Provisional Anti-Fascist Committee. Here’s a picture of the crowd outside.

Bill Krehm speaking, about to be arrested by Cst Wilfred Gillen. Krehm shouted, “Down with fascism, down with the police, and down with the police commission.” He and four others were arrested and the crowd was dispersed. The NUP rally proceeded according to plan.

The NUP did not last long. Its leaders were interned early in the Second World War. But their brief existence is an important reminder that such groups can and have taken root in Canada.

If you found this interesting/disturbing, listen to our panel on racism in mid-century North America. Dr. Megan Hunt speaks on racial protest in Birmingham, AB and Ryan Abt talks about the co-opting of anti-Nazi axioms by American fascists during the early Cold War.

And stay tuned for my book on William Krehm, the leader of the Provisional Anti-Fascist Committee. He lead his own Marxist group in Toronto, was in Spain with George Orwell, guarded Trotsky’s body after his assassination, and then the Time correspondent for Latin America.