The Ku Klux Clan in Canada

~ Report by Margot Belanger ~

Mention of the Ku Kluk Klan usually evokes disturbing images of white-robed, hooded figures and burning crosses in the Southern United States. But author Allan Bartley, currently a professor at Carleton University and a former intelligence analyst, has been both horrified and absorbed by his research which revealed that “the Klan” was very active in many provinces in Canada for over a century.

The Ku Klux Klan evolved amid the chaos of the postCivil War Southern United States as a reaction to a crisis in public order. While it is now perceived as primarily a means to control the freed black population and protect the white citizenry, the Klan’s broader interests were also political and economic in nature. But as the Klan’s activities and intimidation tactics grew increasingly more racist and violent, its first Grand Wizard, Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest, disbanded the organization, and spoke out for racial tolerance. However, the Klan simply went underground.

In the early 20 th century, the Ku Klux Klan had a startling revival, in large part because of the novel, and subsequent play, “The Clansman”, by Thomas Dixon Jr., which evoked a very romanticized and attractive image of The Klan and its adherents as defenders of the population. Then Hollywood stepped up in the form of producer/director D.W. Griffith’s early blockbuster spectacle, “The Birth of a Nation”, an adaptation of the play. The film was a novelty in that it ran for two hours and was enormously popular. Sadly, it became a de facto recruiting film for the Klan, not only in the United States, but in Canada. The film premiered at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto in September 1915 and, in part due to the fact that Canada was at war, the realistic battle scenes greatly interested audiences. Canada’s black population protested the movie’s theme, and newspaper reviews were negative, but the outcry was ignored, except in Nova Scotia; that province banned the showing of the film because it was perceived to have the potential for national unrest, something to be avoided in wartime.

Stronger than ever, the Klan became a significant political, economic and social force to be reckoned with in the United States, and not only the black population was victimized; Jews and the Catholic Church were also targeted. A number of State Governors and federal politicians owed their positions to the influence and wealth of the Klan.

The Klan found fertile ground in which to grow in Canada in the post-World War I era, thanks to three factors: tolerance to organizations such as the Orange Lodge which was a major political force, fiercely anti-Catholic and pro-white; bigotry directed at the black, French and Jewish populations; and the lure of monetary profit for recruiters … there was handsome money to be made from membership fees and the obligatory purchase by members of robes and other Klan regalia.

The Klan made its Canadian headquarters in Toronto in January 1925 under the leadership of two American Klansmen, C. Lewis Fowler and John Henry Hawkins, who joined forces with a Torontonian, Richard L. Cowan, who became the frontman and first Grand Wizard, although the men agreed to split all the profits three ways.

The Canadian version of the Klan tried to distinguish itself from its American counterpart, while at the same time espousing its main principles of white supremacy and nationalism which required members to pledge that they were white, gentile, and Protestant. Organizers stated that the Ku Klux Klan was a Christian organization with "first allegiance to Canada and the Union Jack", disqualifying Jews from membership because they were not Christian, and Roman Catholics because their first allegiance was to the Pope in Rome. Robes were worn with a maple leaf insignia.

Thousands joined and large Klan rallies were held throughout Southern and Eastern Ontario, including London, Hamilton, Kingston, Belleville and Smiths Falls.

Klan activities were under scrutiny by law enforcement. OPP Inspector John Meller undertook an investigation of a bombing of a Catholic church in Barrie, Ontario and three Klansmen were convicted. A court case that drew national scrutiny was the March 1930 trial in Oakville, Ontario of three men who kidnapped and threatened what was perceived to be a mixed-race couple.

Although the KKK operated throughout Canada, it was most successful in Saskatchewan where, by the late 1920s, its membership was over 25,000. Two Americans, Hugh Finlay Emmons and Lewis A. Scott, toured the province promoting the Klan … and then fled Canada with all the membership profits. John James Maloney, with support from John Hawkins, took over and it was during their leadership that the activities of the Klan became increasingly anti-Catholic and anti-French. The entrenched Saskatchewan Liberal Party, which had held power in the province since its inception in 1905, tried to link the Conservative Party with the Klan during the province’s 1929 election, and there is conjecture that the party failed to form a minority government as a result of Klan support of the Conservatives at Liberal election rallies.

John James Maloney, who felt rejected by the resulting Conservative government in Saskatchewan, moved on to Alberta, where he was instrumental in organizing a number of Klan chapters, especially in Edmonton, where its Mayor Don Knott was elected with the support of the Klan. But Maloney was convicted of fraud, related to Klan funds, and his departure from the scene led to the downfall of the Klan in Alberta.

Meanwhile, out in British Columbia, another American Klansman, Luther Powell, created the Kanadian Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, setting up quite an elaborate and stately headquarters in Glen Brae Manor in Vancouver, much to the dismay of neighbours. Powell did not last long; accusations of fraud had pursued him from Oregon and it is possible that this is why he was booted out of the chapter and, eventually, the province.

The Great Depression put an end to influence of the Ku Klux Klan in Canada. It became an ugly memory, especially during and after the Second World War. In the United States, David Duke revived the Klan to some degree, as the civil rights movement motivated a segment of the American population to violent incidents and an undercurrent of bigotry that can still be felt to this day.

This is not to say that there have not been Klan activities in Canada. James Alexander McQuirter revived the Klan and was involved in a number of violent incidents in in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1981, he was charged, along with Wolfgang Droege and other white supremacists, with plotting to overthrow the government of Dominica, and spent several years in prison. Wolfgang Droege founded the Heritage Front in 1989; this Canadian white supremacist organization disbanded in 2005.

Mr. Bartley’s presentation was informative, enlightening … and disturbing, as we can see evidence every day of racist ideology, fueled by the power and reach of social media. Mr. Bartley concluded by expressing his concern that, as Canadians, we tend to be made uncomfortable and, therefore overlook, glaring issues such as racism; he feels we must acknowledge and give credibility to organizations that promote hatred and violence. In so doing, we are taking steps to dealing with it.