The Classocracy League of Canada

Abstract

This article recounts the neglected story of a group of radical-right intellectuals based in Montreal, who mobilized during the 1930s for the establishment of a new Canadian state. Inspired by Ukrainian ultraconservative thought, the Italian School of Elitism, and fascist corporatism, this diverse group founded an interwar movement called the Classocracy League of Canada. Their vision framed Canadian identity in Christian and European supremacist terms, while its leading members were engaged with other Canadian and transnational fascistic organizations, such as the Christian National Social Party and the Friends of National Spain. Although the Classocracy League of Canada remained ultimately marginal, its vision of racially restricted pluralism represented a novel form of exclusionary politics at the basis of which was fascist ideology.