CALGARY—The day after a gunman opened fire inside two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand — killing at least 50 people — a fringe political party hostile to immigration live-streamed families at a diverse northeast Calgary community centre in what the head of a national anti-hate group calls a concerning display of white nationalism.

At no point during the nearly 15-minute video posted to social media accounts of the National Citizens Alliance on Friday does the unidentified cameraman and narrator make overtly threatening remarks, but he claims the people around him at the Genesis Centre represent the replacement of “traditional Canadians,” and present an existential threat to Canada.

“Traditional Canadian populations are being replaced,” the cameraman claimed in the video. “That is a fact. Canada is being turned into a UN globalist village.”

For much of the video, the unidentified cameraman wanders around the Genesis Centre, commenting aloud on how those he encountered at the community centre — women, men, and children of all ages and ethnicities — are examples of the “changing demographic realities” seen in Canada.

In one occasion, he stands beside and films a row of Sikh men sitting in chairs beside the community centre’s door. On another, he trails behind a young boy walking down a hallway holding his father’s hand.

“This is the demographic reality,” the cameraman says as he follows them. “We can own it, or we can just let it continue on.”

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The timing of the video is particularly troubling in light of the recent mass shootings in New Zealand’s third-largest city. A gunman inspired by white nationalists, including convicted Quebec City mosque shooter Alexandre Bissonnette, opened fire inside two mosques during Friday prayers. Dozens continue to recover from their wounds in hospital.

A 74-page manifesto released by the alleged gunman cites an irrational fear about white population displacement by non-white immigrants as one motivation for the attack. The NCA video is framed along the exact same concerns, although NCA founder Stephen Garvey claimed there’s no relation. He declined to identify the narrator, but said he could speak on behalf of the video and the organization.

“We don’t feel there’s an equivalency to that,” Garvey said in an interview on Sunday. “We don’t have anything to do with what’s happened in New Zealand. There’s nothing wrong with talking about this subject.”

Evan Balgord, executive director of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, has followed Garvey’s activities for some time. While he doesn’t believe Garvey himself is violent, he said acts such as the posting of a live-stream in the aftermath of the Christchurch massacres are nonetheless unsettling.

“I would certainly be concerned if I was part of that community,” Balgord said.

The cameraman says the NCA is using the video to simply start a debate about immigration, but claims the presence of non-white immigrants is “replacing” what he described as “traditional Canadians.” This rhetoric is an example of a white nationalist belief sometimes known as replacement theory, according to Balgord. The cameraman claims several times during the video that “globalist politicians” in Canada’s federal government are responsible and insists immigrants themselves aren’t to blame.

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What’s most troubling about this theory is the means by which its adherents would go about reducing Canada’s non-white population. The NCA video leaves it up to the viewer’s imagination, but Balgord explained the logical conclusion to such rhetoric given the diversity of Canada’s population would be mass deportation or genocide.

“Whenever we talk about white nationalism, that’s the framework it’s in, because if they actually wanted to achieve their stated goal, they’d have to kill people,” Balgord said.

In spite of the video’s intent, Garvey claimed it wasn’t racist. He also claimed the NCA doesn’t want to spread hate. But in an interview with the Star Calgary on Sunday, he said welcoming more immigrants from developing countries to Canada would end in a future where “white people — European Canadians — are going to be brutalized.”

In response, the Genesis Centre — which hosts a YCMA and a library among its facilities — said it values diversity and inclusion in a statement on Monday. The statement did not address the video itself, nor whether the centre would take any action, but said more needs to be taught about the benefits of a diverse community.

“We are reminded that there is always a need for more education on the benefits of inclusive diversity,” the statement reads.

Live-streaming diverse groups of people as “evidence” of these theories also isn’t new. Balgord noted how far-right live-streamers recorded footage of a hotel in Toronto used to house refugees last September. Toronto Sun columnist Sue-Ann Levy would go on to claim in an erroneous column that these refugees had been slaughtering goats in the hotel’s public bathrooms. The night before her column appeared, an unknown person was caught on security footage attempting to set fire to it with a gas can. The act of live-streaming isn’t necessarily dangerous, he explained, but it may inspire others to commit more aggressive acts.

“We don’t know the motives behind that perpetrator, but it very easily could have been something inspired by that, and it can be dangerous,” Balgord said.

Despite repeatedly saying the NCA is on the fence, the party’s policy is overtly hostile to immigration. According to the party’s website, it would cut intake to 50,000 people or less per year, and oppose the non-binding UN Migration Pact. It vows to prevent the entry of “persons who pose a cultural threat to Canada,” but states Canada’s immigration policy should be based on an immigrant’s values, not their physical characteristics.

“Canada must remain Canada and not submit to the globalist social engineering that we see playing out across Europe,” the NCA’s platform reads.

In spite of the video’s rhetoric, Balgord said there isn’t much one can do to prevent someone from shooting such a video. The cameraman did not harass or intimidate anyone on camera, and a community centre is intended to be open to members of the public.

“He’s probably within his legal rights to do so, despicable as it is,” he said.

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