Far-right German politician known for ‘racist, hateful views’ meets with Oshawa, Niagara, Norfolk MPs

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Published February 24, 2023 at 2:23 pm

Oshawa MP Colin Carrie, Haldimand-Norfolk MP Leslyn Lewis and Niagara West - Glanbrook MP Dean Allison met with a German MEP known for her "hateful, racist views."

A far-right German politician known for staunch anti-immigrant, anti-Islam, anti-vaccine and transphobic positions recently met with three Canadian MPs as she toured the country.

Member of European Parliament (MEP) Christine Anderson is a member of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, described as “radical right-wing.” She has been on tour in Canada over the past few weeks meeting primarily with leaders of the so-called “Freedom Convoy” to Ottawa and delivering speaking engagements.

In addition to tour stops in Calgary, Hamilton, Montreal and Toronto, Anderson stopped in Whitby on Feb. 22, where she met with Niagara West-Glanbrook MP Dean Allison, Oshawa MP Colin Carrie, and Haldimand-Norfolk MP Leslyn Lewis. Recently, Lewis ran for Conservative leader, finishing in third place.

Anderson’s AfD was founded in 2013 as a moderately conservative group. However, since 2015, they have moved further to the right, becoming more German nationalist. They have since been described as using xenophobic rhetoric and members have been condemned for attempts at historical revisionism regarding the Holocaust.

Additionally, the AfD has railed against immigration to Germany, mainly refugees from predominantly Muslim countries in the Middle East. The AfD manifesto reads, “Islam does not belong to Germany. Its expansion and the ever-increasing number of Muslims in the country are viewed by the AfD as a danger to our state, our society, and our values.”

The party also works to promote “traditional” gender roles, seeks to ban kosher slaughter, denies the human cause of climate change and opposes marriage equality. Some in the party oppose aid to Ukraine as it defends itself from the now year-long Russian incursion.

Anderson launched her tour of Canada in January, saying she was attracted to the convoy to Ottawa, calling Canada a “once free country being turned into a totalitarian regime” and that she was “impressed” by the convoy protests.

The convoy caused millions of dollars in damages and lost revenue to Ottawa and resulted in hundreds of criminal charges.

During her tour Anderson has met with convoy organizer Tamara Lich, currently out on bail for six charges relating to the convoy.

She toured through Hamilton with numerous convoy supporters, saying it was a “dream come true” and that she is now “a Freedom Trucker.”

Anderson also met with members of Diagolon, an alt-right, extremist militia network with the goal of a “white ethnonationalist state” to “run diagonally from the Pacific Northwest through Canada to Florida,” per Ontario Tech University Centre on Hate, Bias and Extremism director Barbara Perry.

“Frankly, it would have been better if Anderson never visited Canada in the first place. She and her racist, hateful views are not welcome here.
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