The Canadian Fascist Party was a fascist

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

based in the city of

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...

, Manitoba, Canada in the 1930s. The formative core of the party was a splinter group from the Canadian Nationalist Party that found the principles of

corporatism Corporatism is a collectivist political ideology which advocates the organization of society by corporate groups, such as agricultural, labour, military, business, scientific, or guild associations, on the basis of their common interests. The ...

to be more important than the largely racial motivations of the Nationalist Party. This disposition is highlighted in one official statement that "anti-semitism was a symptom of Germany not of Fascism". The party was founded as the British Empire Union of Fascists and was affiliated with the British Union of Fascists. It later became known as the Canadian Union of Fascists and Canadian Union. It published its own newspaper, ''The Thunderbolt''. The party was led by "Chuck" Crate, who became leader at the age of 17. He had contacted the British Union of Fascists, who put him in touch with the party.

John Ross Taylor John Ross Taylor (1913 – November 6, 1994) was a Canadian fascist political activist and party leader prominent in white nationalist circles. Early life and family Born into a well-known Toronto, Ontario family, the son of lawyer Oscar Taylor ...

of Toronto became the party's secretary and organizer. The party had a hard time attracting supporters because most Canadians who supported fascism leaned towards the racist brand espoused by

Adrien Arcand Adrien Arcand (October 3, 1899 – August 1, 1967) was a Canadian journalist who promoted a series of fascist political activities between 1929 and his death in 1967. During his political career, he proclaimed himself the Canadian Führer. He wa ...

and others. At the party's first meeting, there was an attendance of roughly 200 people. This disparity between the party and Arcand's would continue throughout its existence. Before the government took action against Canadian fascist parties, the Canadian Union of Fascists and Arcand's group held simultaneous fascist congresses in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

. While Arcand's group, dubbed the "National Union" drew a crowd of around 4,000, the Canadian Union managed to draw only some 30 local residents to its cause. The party was dissolved when the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

began. The party told its members to obey the law but to work for a negotiated peace. Crate escaped a

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

charge and ended up in the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack submar ...

. The party, though not officially racist or anti-semitic, had strong connections to

's National Unity Party.

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