German MEP Christine Anderson Forced To Find New Venue For Ottawa Stop
The event is scheduled to take place tonight at a new venue. Management has not responded to requests for comment. Posted on November 29, 2023
Peter Smith
Canadian Anti-Hate Network
Christine Anderson and Eva Vlaardingerbroek pictured together on the promotional poster for the Make It Your Business North American Tour. Source: Trinity Productions
A member of the European Parliament for a far-right political party is attempting to move ahead with a speaking date in Ottawa tonight after one capital city venue cancelled the booking following pressure from local activists.
Christine Anderson, an MEP with Alternative für Deutschland (Alternative For Germany – AfD), has already appeared in Vancouver and Winnipeg. The final planned Canadian stop on the tour is in Ottawa on Wednesday.
According to a social media post by the organizers, the event is now taking place at the Preston Event Centre, in Ottawa’s Little Italy neighbourhood.
Anderson has brought Eva Vlaardingerbroek, a far-right political pundit, with her for each Canadian appearance, as well as a number of local speakers for each stop.
The locations of Anderson’s events are not revealed to ticket holders until two days before they are scheduled.
Initially planned to take place at the Ottawa Conference and Event Centre, an email shared by Tammy Peterson on Twitter — the wife of Jordan Peterson — purports to show an email from the venue cancelling the event. The post was reshared by two of the founders of Trinity Productions, the organizer of this and previous talks by Anderson.
“At the time of your booking, there was no disclosure to OCEC of the nature of the event Trinity Productions intended to hold at our conference centre,” the email read. “Today it has been brought to our attention that your event features two speakers, Christine Anderson and Eva Vlaardingerbroek commonly associated with hate speech and beliefs that are antithetical and completely unwelcome to OCEC, its management, employees and others who use our conference and event centre.”
OCEC did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
A post by Ottawa antifascist activist Joe Morin shows an email he received from the venue thanking the Ottawa community for informing the venue about the people involved and that they were unaware when the event was scheduled.
“This booking has been cancelled,” the response reads.
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Dubbed Christine Anderson’s Make It Your Business North American Tour, it does include a single stop in New Jersey, the only US date scheduled.
“I think in one way it’s a victory in terms of making them scramble to find something last minute,” Sam Hersh, a member of the advocacy group Community Solidarity Ottawa told the Canadian Anti-Hate Network. “Of course, it’s disappointing to know that, especially where we live, there’s a business that is willing to take this [event] on. I think the fact that this particular place, Preston Event Centre, agreed to take this on so last minute, says a lot about what I think their values and principles are.”
Before leaving the capital, Anderson will also be appearing on Parliament Hill at 10 pm on Thursday to speak and participate in a march to Confederation Park.
Hersh adds that he would like to see local politicians raise the issue of events like the one featuring Anderson and Vlaardingerbroek.
“It would be great to see them take leadership,” he said. “We need to start seeing these folks materially support efforts to stop these types of things from happening.”
A follow-up to February’s What Would Christine Anderson Do tour and a shorter spate of speaking engagements in Southern Ontario in June, her previous visits included meeting with Conservative MPs Colin Carrie, Dean Allison and Leslyn Lewis. In response, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre issued a statement calling Anderson’s views “vile” and do not have a place in Canadian politics.
“Frankly, it would be better if Anderson never visited Canada in the first place. She and her racist, hateful views are not welcome here,” the statement said, according to the CBC.
The Ottawa stop will be the largest lineup on the tour with six speakers besides Anderson and Vlaardingerbroek. Among those scheduled to appear is Josh Alexander, who appeared on Anderson’s last tour. During his previous appearance, she not only endorsed the young activist but literally embraced him. Alexander has organized a series of anti-2SLGBTQ+ protests, some of them in front of schools, after being suspended from a school in an Ontario Catholic board for what he says are his religious beliefs.
A parent of a transgender student at the school told City News that Alexander had been suspended for harassing her child.
“You know what guys, this is what we need,” Anderson said from the stage before hugging the 17-year-old. “Young people standing up for what they believe in.”