Immigration Watch Canada

According to its founder, Dan Murray, in his 2015 YouTube video, IWC was originally just a small group of environmentally-minded people concerned that the Lower Mainland of British Columbia was being overwhelmed by newcomers by the mid-1990s. They met in each other's homes or at the Burnaby Public Library. When they realized that 83% of the new arrivals were immigrants, they changed the name of their group from the Lower Mainland Sustainable Population Group to Immigration Watch Canada. Murray blamed the increase on immigration policies introduced by Barbara McDougall in 1990 to get more votes for the Conservative party. He claimed that Liberals, NDPs and Conservatives all support immigration to get votes.[5]

Early in the morning of November 19, 2014 five IWC members, including IWC spokesperson, Dan Murray and Bradley Salzberg, hung a large banner on Richmond, British Columbia's Highway 99 Blundell Road overpass blaming Canada's immigration policy for the Lower Mainland's traffic congestion problems and for the increased price of housing in Richmond.[6] The RCMP asked protesters to "ensure they did not drop anything from the overpass onto the roadway below."[6]

Both Dan Murray and Bradley Saltzberg are co-founders of Putting Canada First (PCF), a non-profit political organisation incorporated on March, 2014.[7] PCF challenges "Canadian multiculturalism and large-scale immigration".[8] In his response to an article that was critical of PCF,[9] The PCF Board wrote that "Putting Canada First would never support or tolerate racist or hateful policy and action." On September 18, 2014 Bradley Saltzberg, then-PCF director, was outed "for PCF's use of fake identities" in social media accounts and in his "lengthy emails" to "dozens of journalists, politicians and candidates" in the Vancouver area, to "propel an anti-Asian agenda"[10] targeted specifically Meena Wong, who was then running for Mayor of Vancouver.[7] As a result, Saltzberg, "one of the most vocal critics of Asian immigration in Canada" was fired by PCF.[7] By October, 2014, a "web of fake identities, bogus social media accounts and misleading email addresses" behind IWC and PCF promoting an anti-immigration agenda, was uncovered.[8]

In April 2014, the IWC distributed a flyer targeting the Sikh community in Brampton, depicting a black-and-white photo of an all-white group with the caption "From this," above a colour photo of a group of angry Sikh protesters, with the caption "To this."[11] The flyer was denounced by Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.[12] A representative of the World Sikh Organization of Canada (WSO) said that while the flyer was "quite upsetting", it was not a hate crime. He did not "expect anything to be done."[12]

Another anti-Sikh flyer with the IMC name on it, was distributed in Brampton, Ontario on August 7, 2014,[13] was denounced by Ontario's Citizenship and Immigration minister Michael Chan.[14] The IMW's distribution of "hateful material" was condemned officially by a unanimously adopted motion in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. The House re-affirmed "the positive values of tolerance and inclusion that are the hallmarks of modern Ontario society.[15] IMC denied being linked to the Brampton flyer.[13]

Less than a week after the Brampton flyers were distributed,[16] anti-immigration flyers bearing IWC's name were circulated on York University’s on Keele Street campus. Some were placed in mailboxes in the university's Village area of residences.[17] This followed a previous distribution of similar flyers in Toronto that week.[13] The posters were removed by York. The university also posted to the YorkU Memes Facebook Group that the York logo was used without the university's permission.[17] While IMW's founder and spokesperson Dan Murray, in an email clarified that IWC did authorize the "distribution of two flyers at York University", they did not authorize the flyer [with the York logo]."[13]

The RCMP through its General Investigation Section (GIS), consulted with the B.C. Hate Crime Team in regards to the November 28, 2016 distribution in Metro Vancouver city of Richmond, British Columbia of IWC anti-immigration flyers.[18] In his in-depth article on racism against China in Canada in 2017, Canada's 150th anniversary, Vancouver-based Ng Weng Hoong, referred to the distribution of flyers in Richmond by the "shadowy Immigration Watch Canada" (IWC) which described the "thousands of wealthy Chinese" arriving in Canada as plunderers. The flyers referred to IWC published online reports that blame the housing crisis with its "grossly inflated house prices" in Metro Vancouver on Chinese buyers. British Columbia Premier Christy Clark and other "political and community leaders" "swiftly condemned" the flyers.[19]

An IWC spokesman said in September 2016[18] that the dozen anti-Sikh posters which included the link to the IWC webpage, found on the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta campus on September 19, 2016, were not their posters, adding that they do not use "vulgar posters" but use fact-based arguments on immigration issues.[20] The posters, including one that was "taped to the door of the Rutherford Library", were torn down but a digital image went viral.[21] The WSO President said in 2014 "similar posters appeared at York University in Toronto and in Brampton. He called it a "pathetic attempt at drawing the spotlight to deplorable views that have been rejected in Canada." He noted that "Sikhs are an integral part of the Canadian fabric and we are proud that many turbaned Sikhs serve Canada in the federal cabinet, Armed Forces and many other capacities."[20] He noted that University President David H. Turpin said there were other instances of similar posters on other Canadian university campuses in Canada. Turpin announced the investigation by the University of Alberta Protective Services and noted that the "University of Alberta is a space that is open to all people and we take pride in the strength of our diverse community."[20] The representative of the Indian Students’ Association on campus, representing over 2,500 Indian students, said it was unfortunate that this happened in the first weeks of the semester when new international students are just arriving.[22]

In his November 30, 2016 Vancouver Sun article, Nick Eagland wrote that in 2014, "the same group distributed anti-immigration flyers singling out the Sikh community in Brampton, Ont. It also hung an anti-immigration banner from a Richmond overpass. It promotes white nationalism in its materials and on its website. In an email, Immigration Watch Canada spokesman Dan Murray confirmed his group was responsible for the new flyers. Murray said the issues raised by the flyers are "extremely important."[18]

In July 2018, the IWC distributed a single-page flysheet through Canada Post[23][24] in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, criticizing government immigration policies and claiming that "Canada’s founding majority population" will be replaced and the "diversity" was a "disaster".[23][24] Alan Holman, the author of one of the articles in The Guardian observed that, if "by that, the flysheet means people of British decent, then that train has already left the station."[25]

• Immigration Watch Canada website