National Unity Party

The National Unity Party of Canada (NUPC) was a Canadian far-right political party which based its ideology on Adolf Hitler's Nazism and Benito Mussolini's fascism. It was founded as the (PNSC) by Nazi sympathizer Adrien Arcand on February 22, 1934. The party's activities were originally limited to Quebec, but it later expanded to Ontario and Western Canada. Party membership swelled in the mid-to-late 1930s as the party absorbed smaller fascist groups across the country. Following the outbreak of World War II, the Canadian government banned the NUPC on May 30, 1940, under the Defence of Canada Regulations of the War Measures Act. Arcand and many of his followers were consequently arrested and interned for the duration of the war. The ban on the NUPC was lifted following the war's end in 1945, and the party resumed its activities shortly afterwards. However, its public presence greatly diminished after the war and all but disappeared following Arcand's death in 1967. The 1949 federal election was the only election ever contested by the NUPC; Arcand ran in the Quebec riding of Richelieu—Verchères and placed second, receiving just over 29 percent of the vote. History Arcand founded the (PNSC) on February 22, 1934. It was known as the "Christian National Socialist Party" in English. A fascist and antisemite, Arcand described Jews in Canada as "cockroaches and insects", decried liberal democracy as a "Jewish invention" and lauded Hitler as the "saviour of Christianity". Arcand looked toward Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy for ideological inspiration. His supporters referred to him as the "Canadian Führer", a reference to the title held by Hitler.