Downtown Hamilton hate incident prompts strong response from anti-racism advocates

With hate-crime reports in Hamilton climbing sharply in recent years, a new incident downtown is causing fear among residents.

A white-supremacist group appeared in Gore Park Saturday night displaying a hateful message, prompting a strong response today from anti-racism advocates.

Gore Park looked quiet and empty today, but last night was a different story.

Masked, organized and holding a large banner pushing a message of hate and racism. Since groups like this are looking to use the media to spread their message of hate, CHCH has chosen to blur their words.

“That incident stoked fear in our community,” said Lyndon George, executive director at the Hamilton Anti-Racism Resource Centre (HARRC).

George says they started receiving alerts from community members shortly after 7:30 Saturday night. He says this kind of activity has no place in Hamilton.

“This particular group we’re well aware of and we’re not here to give them more attention. We’re here to be able to call them out and say that that’s not acceptable in our community, and to ensure that community members who were impacted by this level of hate know that they’re not alone,” said George.

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Last night’s rally was not the first demonstration of hate in Hamilton within the last year. A similar group of masked individuals appeared at Jackson Square on Nov. 9, 2024, holding an anti-immigration sign.

“Events like these have a huge impact on our community because we start to feel like it’s okay to spout that kind of racist white nationalists’ or white-supremacists’ view in public. And it makes people feel afraid and not part of Hamilton,” said Amber Dean, a member of the HARRC.

HARRC’s new board chair, Marlene Dei-Amoah, says yesterday’s Gore Park incident shows observable evidence that hate is prevalent in our community.

In fact, recent Hamilton police statistics show hate crimes have risen 173.2 per cent in the last five years.

Today, HARRC held a meeting to map out its strategy for the coming year, and the timing wasn’t lost on them.

“I just think it’s actually ironic that today, as a board, we’re meeting in terms of strategizing for our 2026-2027 work plan and this incident occurred last night, which I think people came into the meeting today with a renewed sense of commitment and energy to eradicate hate in the Hamilton area,” said Dei-Amoah.

HARRC says this latest incident has only strengthened their push for more education, more reporting and more support for those affected by hate.

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