‘I’m appalled’: Residents tear down anti-immigrant posters in Simcoe
Dominion Society of Canada advertising has locals concerned about spread of ‘hate-based ideology’
Seeing a poster advertising a white nationalist group in downtown Simcoe last week filled Josh Parsons with “visceral disgust.”
“I recognized the group immediately and thought, ‘Oh jeez, this isn’t good,’” said Parsons, a community organizer who has studied the rise of far-right hate groups in Canada.
The laminated poster bore the name and logo of the Dominion Society of Canada, an anti-immigrant group founded in 2025 that calls for the “remigration” — or mass deportation — of anyone not descended from Canada’s original Anglo and French settlers.
The group’s website blames “mass immigration” for low wages, a lack of jobs and housing, and overstretched health-care and education systems.
A report from the Canadian Anti-Hate Network calls the Dominion Society the “incorporated political arm” of a white nationalist movement that includes Diagolon — a far-right extremist group that held a rally in Jarvis in 2024 — and the more “militant” Second Sons.
Dominion Society founder Daniel Tyrie — former executive director of the People’s Party of Canada — rejects that characterization and says the group is “a non-partisan advocacy group dedicated to promoting Canadian identity, heritage and nationalism.”
But the anti-hate network maintains the Dominion Society is trying to get the idea of “remigration” into mainstream political discourse as what Parsons called “the suit-and-tie arm” of Canadian white supremacy.
Parsons ripped the poster off an electrical box on Robinson Street and scoured the downtown core in search of others.
Not finding any, he hoped that was the end of it.
But things “escalated” on April 27 when he discovered seven more Dominion Society posters pasted to utility poles near the Simcoe library, a hockey arena and the public high school.
Parsons believes the group is using the posters to recruit new members.
“These groups particularly focus on communities they perceive to be struggling. And they specifically target young men and boys with the intent of radicalizing them toward their hate-based ideology,” he said.
Some of the posters — which The Spectator has seen — feature what appear to be historical photographs of Canadian soldiers during the First World War and the Latin phrase “Populus Noster, Domus Nostra,” which translates to “our people, our home.”
“To have people use Canadian heroes who quite literally fought directly against what this group is preaching … they’re really flattening Canadian identity,” Parsons said.
“They completely ignore the genocide of the First Nations people and describe themselves as ‘heritage Canadians.’”
Standing against racism
Masked groups of white nationalists held demonstrations in downtown Hamilton and London in recent months, while posts on Reddit indicate Dominion Society posters were spotted — and taken down — in Winnipeg and the Niagara region.
“I’m appalled that this rhetoric is rearing its ugly head in our community,” Norfolk County councillor Kim Huffman told The Spectator.
“Preying on vulnerable members of our community shows that these groups who preach hate, violence racism and intolerance know that the majority of Canadians do not support them,” Huffman said.
“I am vehemently opposed to everything they stand for and will use my voice to protect our community.”
Const. Andrew Gamble of Norfolk County OPP said while it may not be a criminal offence to put up posters, depending on their content and location, the police service “encourages community members to promote respect and understanding, both in person and online.”
Gamble told The Spectator the OPP “remains committed to the safety and well-being of all individuals in Ontario, regardless of race, ancestry (or) place of origin.”
He invited residents to report hate-motivated or discriminatory incidents to the police or Crime Stoppers.
Parsons and fellow Simcoe resident Andrew Peach said they did not hesitate to cut down the “detestable” posters and are ready to act should more turn up.
“They have to engage in these clandestine, in-the-shadows acts in order to recruit,” Parsons said.
“So the less time that these posters stay visible in the community, the less effective they are. And it’s my full intent to make it not worth their time to come here.”
Peach said standing against hateful ideology should not be a partisan issue.
“If you don’t take action, it festers. You have to show them that the community will not stand for this,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter if you sit on the right or the left or smack dab in the middle. This is something we should all denounce.”
