Beyond the Rhetoric: The Human Cost of the Dominion Society's Rise

While political debates over immigration levels are common in Canada, the emergence of organized groups like the Dominion Society of Canada signals a shift toward a more dangerous, exclusionary climate. As first reported by CBC News, the group is planning a conference in the Hamilton area on Aug. 29, sparking widespread alarm among elected officials, labor organizers, and anti-hate experts.

**The Architecture of Exclusion** Founded by Daniel Tyrie, the former executive director of the People's Party of Canada (led by Maxime Bernier), the Dominion Society registered as a non-profit in 2025. On its public website, the group claims to promote "immigration reform" and "Canadian nationalism." However, Evan Balgord, director of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, tells CBC News that the group's internal rhetoric is far more extreme, focusing on deporting individuals who are not "the right kind of white and European."

Balgord describes the organization as the "political arm of the white nationalist movement," aiming to mainstream these ideologies to eventually seize political power. This is evidenced by the group's promotion of the "great replacement" conspiracy theory and a specific plan for "remigration." This plan, as detailed by CBC News, advocates for the mass deportation of five million to nine million people, including permanent residents, temporary foreign workers, and Canadian-born citizens whose parents were not Canadian citizens.

**A Climate of Fear** For newcomers, the danger is not merely theoretical. Barbara Perry, director of the Centre on Hate, Bias and Extremism at Ontario Tech University, told CBC News that the group's arguments are "inherently racist and xenophobic" because they blame immigrants for the nation's problems. Perry notes that the group's language targets non-white and non-Christian individuals, stating that the mere presence of the Dominion Society is "intimidating" to the communities they seek to remove.

Further concerns regarding the group's ties to extremism were raised by the Canadian Anti-Hate Network. Balgord reports that the group shares members with white nationalist organizations such as Second Sons and Diagolon. He specifically cited an instance from last summer where a co-leader of Second Sons posted an image of a membership card featuring the number 88, a known white supremacist code for "heil Hitler."

**Bipartisan Condemnation** The backlash against the group extends across the political spectrum. Jason Kenney, former Alberta premier and former federal immigration minister (2008–2013), told CBC News that while there are legitimate concerns regarding "imprudent or irresponsible immigration policy," basing such policy on race is "categorically different." Kenney stated that the Dominion Society appears more interested in skin color than a person's contribution to Canada, calling this approach "clearly un-Canadian."

In response to these allegations, Daniel Tyrie told CBC News that the group's membership includes Canadians from various political backgrounds. In a follow-up email, Tyrie denied any interest in "foreign political movements of the 1930s," asserting that the group is focused on "Canada's heritage and political solutions for the problems of the 2020s."