White nationalist group aims to establish a chapter at McGill

Toronto-based white nationalist George Hutcheson and his Students for Western Civilization (SWC) organization is attempting to establish a White Students Union at McGill.

Hutcheson told CTV that the group “seeks to affirm the rights, interests and identity of European-Canadians” by, among other things, “fighting anti-white hate speech” and “preserving and enhancing our cultural heritage.” The SWC announced its intention to set up at McGill in a post on Monday, stating that “Canadian universities like McGill have many ethnicity-based student groups, but none which defend the special interests of white students.”

According to CTV, Hutcheson has worked with and dated Canadian far-right media personalities and recently appeared in a documentary about white nationalism. He faced backlashes in 2015 and 2017 after he attempted to recruit students into his groups at Toronto universities. Observers of the SWC and White Students Union question whether the “supposedly multi-branched ‘student group’ is much more than” Hutcheson acting alone.

In a statement, the Students’ Society of McGill University said that the SWC’s “messages do not align with the values of the SSMU,” and that they have not received an application for official status from the group (nor would they approve it if they had). Hutcheson told CTV that he had submitted such an application.

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