HAMILTON, ONTARIO, CANADA | B’nai Brith Canada is urging the Canada Border Services Agency to prevent several foreign extremists from entering Canada for a nationalist conference scheduled for August 29 in the Hamilton area, warning that the event could normalize antisemitism, racism and extremist ideology.
The organization announced on August 23 that it had contacted the CBSA about individuals expected to attend the Dominion Conference, also known as DomCon, and had engaged law enforcement and community partners over potential public-safety concerns.
The Dominion Society of Canada, which is organizing the event, describes DomCon as “Canada’s Premier Nationalist Conference” and says the one-day gathering will bring together Canadian nationalist activists and international speakers. The organization says its movement is seeking to build a more organized and enduring nationalist political network.
B’nai Brith, however, describes the event as a gathering of ethnonationalists and says several advertised speakers have histories that warrant scrutiny by federal authorities.
“Canadians should be concerned about certain international speakers who will be entering Canada” to attend the event, said Richard Robertson, B’nai Brith Canada’s director of research and advocacy.
Martin Sellner Among Speakers Flagged by B’nai Brith
One of the most prominent international speakers advertised for the conference is Austrian activist Martin Sellner.
B’nai Brith said Sellner was convicted in his youth for defacing a synagogue and had associations with neo-Nazi organizations, although he has said he no longer identifies as a neo-Nazi.
Sellner has become one of Europe’s leading advocates of what he calls “remigration,” a political concept involving the large-scale removal or deportation of immigrants and, in some formulations, people with immigrant backgrounds.
The Dominion Society describes Sellner as an author, activist and founder of the Remigration Institute, and says his work focuses on migration policy and national identity.
B’nai Brith points to a broader history of concern surrounding Sellner.
In 2019, United States border officials denied him entry after authorities learned he had exchanged messages with Brenton Tarrant, the white supremacist terrorist who murdered 51 Muslim worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Tarrant had also donated money to an organization associated with Sellner.
That same year, Sellner was permanently banned from entering the United Kingdom on security grounds. British authorities said his presence could undermine efforts to combat extremism.
Sellner told The Canadian Press earlier this month that he still hoped to enter Canada for the conference. Federal officials declined to say whether he would be admissible, citing privacy restrictions governing individual immigration cases.
B’nai Brith Also Raises Concern About Charles Fraser Downes
B’nai Brith also identified British activist Charles Fraser Downes as another planned speaker of concern.
B’nai Brith describes Downes as the campaign director for Restore Britain, a British far-right political organization that supports remigration policies.
The Jewish organization said Downes has promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories on social media, including claims that Jewish people have “bought” certain British politicians.
TheJ.Ca has not independently verified every statement attributed to Downes by B’nai Brith. The allegations are presented as the organization’s documented assessment of his public activity.
B’nai Brith says it has notified CBSA about Sellner, Downes and other foreign figures believed to be planning to enter Canada for the event.
“We are also engaging with local law enforcement and community partners to ensure that DomCon does not cause disorder or threaten members of the public,” Robertson said.
Conference Promotes “Remigration”
The Dominion Society says “remigration” is central to its political program.
According to material cited by B’nai Brith and the organization’s own public messaging, the group argues that large-scale immigration has threatened the demographic position of what it regards as Canada’s historic population.
The Dominion Society rejects the idea of Canada primarily as a “nation of immigrants” and promotes a nationalist conception of the country centered on descendants of earlier European settlers. B’nai Brith says the organization describes multiculturalism as an artificial product of globalism.
The group’s publicly available conference site uses more restrained language, describing DomCon as a professional gathering intended to connect nationalist organizers and provide speakers, discussion and networking opportunities.
The event is scheduled for August 29 in the Hamilton area. Its precise venue has not been publicly disclosed.
Hamilton Officials Have Already Raised Concerns
The dispute over DomCon began before B’nai Brith’s August 23 intervention.
Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath said earlier this month that the Dominion Society had been identified as part of Canada’s broader white-nationalist movement and that the city was warning local venues about the group.
Horwath said hotels, event spaces and other businesses should understand the nature of the organization before agreeing to host the conference.
Local anti-racism organizations have also mobilized against the event.
The Hamilton Anti-Racism Resource Center and other community groups launched an open letter, petition and guide for businesses and venues on August 4, calling on local institutions to reject hate and violent extremism.
Their campaign asks businesses to understand extremist symbols, rhetoric and organizing methods and to consider the potential consequences of providing meeting space to organizations associated with white nationalism.
CBSA Has Authority to Deny Entry
B’nai Brith is asking federal authorities to use existing Canadian immigration law rather than create a new legal mechanism.
Foreign nationals can be found inadmissible to Canada on several grounds, including security concerns and certain forms of extremist or organized activity.
B’nai Brith says the CBSA therefore has the authority to deny entry where sufficient evidence shows that a visitor may pose a national-security or public-order concern.
Whether federal authorities will act in the cases of Sellner, Downes or other expected speakers has not been publicly confirmed.
Canadian officials generally do not disclose individual admissibility determinations before or during travel because of privacy laws.
That means Sellner’s ultimate ability to enter Canada may not become publicly clear until shortly before the conference, or when he attempts to cross the border.
Antisemitism Central to B’nai Brith’s Warning
Although the controversy surrounding DomCon extends beyond antisemitism, B’nai Brith says the Jewish community has particular reason to be concerned.
The organization has documented a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents across Canada in recent years and has repeatedly warned that conspiracy theories involving Jews, immigration, demographic replacement, government control and global elites remain recurring themes within white-nationalist movements.
Robertson said DomCon should not be treated as an ordinary political conference.
“DomCon is nothing more than a gathering of racist ethnonationalists,” he said.
“Such events serve only to normalize hatred and extremism in Canadian society. Our Government cannot allow foreign agitators to enter Canada to indoctrinate Canadians and spread their hateful vitriol.”
The Dominion Society rejects the characterization of its event as a rally and instead presents it as a structured political conference for people who support Canadian nationalism.
That distinction will likely remain at the center of the debate surrounding the event.
The legal question for federal authorities is narrower: whether any individual foreign speaker meets the statutory threshold for inadmissibility to Canada.
The broader political question is whether a conference promoting ethnonationalism and remigration should be treated as legitimate political organizing or as part of a growing extremist movement.
B’nai Brith has made its position clear.
It says Canada should not wait until after the conference to confront the potential spread of antisemitism and extremist ideology.
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