Canada designated Proud Buys a banned terrorist group

Far-right Proud Boys named a ‘serious and growing threat’ and put in same company as Islamic State and al-Qaeda.

Members of the Proud Boys gather outside of Harry's bar during a protest in Washington in December 2020. Picture: Stephanie Keith/Getty Images

Canada became the first country to list the Proud Boys as a terrorist entity on Wednesday, putting the far-right group in the company of Islamic State, al-Qaeda and Boko Haram.

The all-male organisation espouses “western chauvinism” and includes street brawling as a founding concept. A number of the rioters who stormed the US Capitol last month in support of Donald Trump have been linked with the group.

Members of the Proud Boys kick a member of Antifa on the ground during a protest on December 12, 2020 in Washington, DC. Picture: Stephanie Keith/Getty Images/AFP

Enrique Tarrio, leader of the Proud Boys, left, was arrested in January, charged in connection with unrest following pro-Trump protests in Washington. Picture: Stephanie Keith/Getty Images/AFP

The government’s terrorist designation, which was also handed to three other white nationalist and neo-Nazi groups as well as affiliates of al-Qaeda and Isis, brings significant criminal and financial risks for members of the Proud Boys. It allows banks to freeze their assets and police to seize property and charge anyone who financially or materially supports the group.

It is, according to the Canadian government, a “neo-fascist organisation that engages in political violence” and whose members “espouse misogynistic, Islamophobic, anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant, and/or white supremacist ideologies.” Public Safety Minister Bill Blair told a news conference members “represent a serious and growing threat to Canadian society.”

A man with ammunition and a confederate flag, takes part in far right militias and white pride organisations rally in Georgia in 2020. Picture: Logan Cyrus/AFP

“There has been a growing body of evidence … of the escalation of violence that this group has been involved in,” he said, noting that Canadian authorities have been monitoring the Proud Boys since 2018.

The Proud Boys were founded by Gavin McInnes, who was born in Britain but raised in Ottawa and co-founded the media company Vice, which has since distanced itself from him. In an election debate with Joe Biden last year Trump refused to denounce the group, saying: “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by.”

The Times/AFP

A man wearing a 'Proud Boys' shirt and an Australian flag attends an Invasion Day rally in Melbourne on Australia Day. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images