As Barbara Perry took the St. Thomas University Kinsella Auditorium stage on Mar. 13, criminology Chair Dawne Clarke introduced her as “one of the world’s leading experts on hate crimes and right-wing extremism.”
Perry was there to hold a lecture for students titled “Trump Redux: Implications for Hateful Narratives and Action” as a part of the Endowed Chair Lecture Series in Criminology.
In the lecture, she delved into U.S. President Donald Trump’s right-wing rhetoric and its implications for Canada.
Perry is the Director of the Centre on Hate, Bias and Extremism at Ontario Tech University, as well as the UNESCO Chair in Hate Studies.
Having written and edited extensive work in the area of hate crime and right-wing extremism and been appointed to the Order of Canada in Dec. 2024 for her work, she says that Trump’s political extremism is nothing new to her.
“But in this particular round, there are no filters this time and there doesn’t seem to be any stopping him,” she said. “He doesn’t feel like the Constitution applies to his decisions … [he thinks] he’s above everyone in every framework that is meant to constrain the power of an individual or party.”
Throughout the lecture, Perry referred to various policies, orders and statements by Trump that have influenced the right wing and contributed to hate crimes and speech in Canada.
One example she cited was in the aftermath of Trump’s vilification of Muslim immigrants, with Quebec Premier François Legault stating, “I don’t think there’s Islamophobia in Quebec, so I don’t see why there would be a day dedicated to Islamophobia.”
His comments were in response to calls to make Jan. 29, the anniversary of a Quebec mosque shooting, an official day dedicated to combating Islamophobia.
Another example she included was current Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre’s statement, “I am not aware of any other genders than men and women,” made after Trump’s prohibition of transgender military soldiers.
With Trump’s recent comments declaring former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau the “Governor of Canada,” among expressed wishes to make Canada “the 51st state,” Perry reported an influence on anti-Trudeau rhetoric.
However, she noted, after Trump’s imposing of tariffs on Canada and the ensuing trade war, there was an uptick of national pride. A poll from last month showed that Canadian pride is on the rise just one month after different poll results depicted a decrease.
“The danger [is] that national pride can tip over into a more exclusionary form of nationalism, like we see amongst white nationalists, white supremacists, that sort of thing. I’m not sure that we might see that danger this time, I think only if the Conservatives find a savvy way … to capture that nationalism.”
Perry said that the groups of people she feels are in the most danger under Trump’s government are members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, as well as immigrants and “communities he understands as immigrants, even if they’re generations old here.”
Perry added that “anyone who bubbles up, that threatens him in some way or threatens what he sees as the ideal norm” is also in danger.
Trump’s discrimination has made waves in Canada as well. Canadian government officials who are predominantly women and people of colour have found themselves facing immense online hate speech.
“It’s had a real damaging impact … we’ve heard a number of women at the federal level say ‘I’m not gonna run again.’”
As for the question of what students can do to protest the political climate, Perry said in reference to the Episcopal Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde’s plea to Trump to give mercy and compassion, “We have to demand political leadership. We have to demand that our leaders stand up like the Bishop did.”
