Chuck Crate

Crime doesn't pay.

Charles Brandle Crate (1914/1915–1992) was a Canadian fascist and the leader of the Canadian Union of Fascists (one of the earliest fascist groups in Canada).^[1][2] Alongside Adrien Arcand, he was a significant progenitor of fascism in Canada and a major leader in Canadian fascist parties.^[3]

In 1936 when he was 21, he was named as Canada's #1 fascist by the The Globe Mail.^[4] His party was banned in 1940 by the Canadian government during the midst of World War 2.^[5]

Life[edit]

Crate hailed from a working class family in northern Ontario. Crate became radicalized into fascism as a result of the Great Depression. He joined the navy during World War 2 as a postman and a gunner. He also worked for several years as a gold miner, a mine mill and smelter worker shop steward, and union organizer where he actually helped get equal pay for Native American mine workers.^{[citation needed]}

At the age on 17, he became a member (and later the leader) of the Canadian Union of Fascists (CUF) during his time as a student at York Memorial Collegiate Institute. He eventually became a teacher in his later years as he taught and lived in various small towns across Canada. The subjects he taught were mainly English and history to Native American children.^[6]

Fascist political activity[edit]

After joining the CUF at the age of 17, he became the leader of the organization and made them lobby for native rights. However, they did also ally with the British Union of Fascists, as well as having close ties with and inspiration from Adrien Arcand, another Canadian fascist.^[7] He also wrote for The Thunderbolt, a fascist newspaper, in which he blamed Canada's ills on Catholics, Jews, and Freemasons.^{[8][9][10][11][12][13]}

In their time of political activity, Crate and CUF often clashed with Canadian anti-fascist protestors.^[14] Crate was even arrested later in Edmonton, Alberta on June 21st, 1943 after the Canadian government learned of his ties to other fascist parties.^[15]

Legacy[edit]

While Crate himself has long been forgotten in modern Canadian politics, his tactics and rhetoric have evolved and been adopted by modern Canadian fascist and far-right movements, most notably the Canadian convoy protest (also called the "Freedom Convoy").^[16]

References[edit]