The Canadian League of Rights (CLR) was the Canadian offshoot of

Eric Butler Eric Dudley Butler (7 May 1916 – 7 June 2006) was an Australian political activist and journalist, who in 1946 founded the far-right Australian League of Rights, which he led until 1992. He was known as a staunch anti-communist and virulen ...

's Australian League of Rights. Following speaking tours of Canada in the mid-1960s, Eric Butler sought to establish of a local version of his organisation. The CLR was formed in 1968. The CLR was run for most of its existence by

Ron Gostick Ronald A. Gostick (July 18, 1918 – July 16, 2005) was a long-time figure on the Canadian far right and founder of the Canadian League of Rights. Gostick was involved in the Canadian social credit movement and later published far-right and ...

and Patrick Walsh. Like its sister organisations, the CLR adheres to

social credit Social credit is a distributive philosophy of political economy developed by C. H. Douglas. Douglas attributed economic downturns to discrepancies between the cost of goods and the compensation of the workers who made them. To combat what he ...

and

anti-semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

. Academi
Stanley Barrett
author of ''Is God a Racist? The Right Wing in Canada'' and various studies race and ethnicity in Canada, suggested that the CLR had 10,000 members at its peak. The CLR was described as "one of Canada's largest and best organized anti-Semitic groups" in the 1987 book ''A Trust Betrayed''. A notable member was Jim Keegstra. The CLR linked with various groups such as the

Alliance for the Preservation of English in Canada An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

and ran a book service selling

Holocaust denial Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements: ...

material. The third Crown Commonwealth League of Rights conference was held in 1983 in Canada.Spoonley, Paul ''The Politics of Nostalgia: racism and the extreme right in New Zealand'' The Dunmore Press (1987) p102 The CLR supported a tour of Canada by

David Irving David John Cawdell Irving (born 24 March 1938) is an English author and Holocaust denier who has written on the military and political history of World War II, with a focus on Nazi Germany. His works include '' The Destruction of Dresden'' (1 ...

in 1991.

References

Anti-communist organizations Canadian far-right political movements Canadian social credit movement Holocaust denial in Canada Organizations established in 1988 {{Canada-org-stub

See also

References