Hamilton mayor warns venues about far-right group’s conference with banned speaker
Andrea Horwath alerts businesses to Dominion Society event featuring Austrian remigration advocate Martin Sellner
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Hamilton mayor warns venues about far-right group’s conference with banned speaker
Photograph: City News (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath notified local venues about the Dominion Society’s planned conference on 29 August, which promotes mass deportations of immigrants.
- The group’s speaker, Martin Sellner, was banned from the UK in 2019 on security grounds, but Canadian officials have not confirmed whether he can enter Canada.
- Anti-racism groups in Hamilton signed an open letter urging businesses not to rent space to the Dominion Society, which advocates for a 10-year immigration moratorium.
- No right-rated outlet reported on the story, though 15 outlets across the left and centre covered it.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 15 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. Coverage measured .
Trust
62/100
Craft
55/100
Hype
15/100
15 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
None of the 15 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath sent letters to local businesses on 12 August warning them about the Dominion Society, a group planning a conference in the city on 29 August. The group advocates for "remigration", which it describes as the mass deportation of immigrants. Its website calls for a 10-year moratorium on immigration and the deportation of 5 to 9 million people, including temporary foreign workers, permanent residents, and people born in Canada to non-citizens.
The Dominion Society’s advertised speaker is Martin Sellner, an Austrian remigration advocate banned from entering the UK in 2019 on security grounds. Canadian government officials, citing privacy reasons, have not confirmed whether Sellner is eligible to enter Canada. The group has not disclosed the conference’s location, citing concerns about member safety.
Horwath’s office stated that the city would not rent facilities to the Dominion Society and that bylaw staff are monitoring event-related materials on public property. Several Hamilton anti-racism groups, including the Hamilton Anti-Racism Resource Centre, signed an open letter urging businesses not to rent space to the group. The letter called on elected officials to denounce the Dominion Society and reject policies that scapegoat immigrants.
What the coverage left out
No right-rated outlet ran the story. None of the left- or centre-rated digests mentioned the number of businesses that received Horwath’s letter, though CBC News reported that her office did not disclose the figure. The centre-rated digests did not include the Dominion Society’s denial of being a hate group or the response from Pring Guesthouse.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 7 times, most recently on 12 Aug 2026, 21:30, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
A screenshot from a video by Dominion Society of Canada shows members gathering by the statue of Queen Victoria in Hamilton's Gore Park. The group, which advocates deporting immigrants, is advertising a conference in the Hamilton area this month. (Dominion Society of Canada/YouTube)
CBC News — embedded from source
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
9 rated outlets
- The left-rated reports led on Horwath’s warning to businesses and the Dominion Society’s advocacy for mass deportations. CBC News quoted Horwath’s statement that the group is part of Canada’s "broader white-nationalist movement" and included the open letter from anti-racism groups urging venues not to rent to the Dominion Society. It also reported that the group’s website promotes the "great replacement" conspiracy theory, which it described as suggesting "white people are being replaced by racialized people".
- CBC News carried the Dominion Society’s denial that it is a hate group, quoting its spokesperson: "We are an advocacy group that promotes and preserves Canadian heritage and identity with a focus on immigration reform." The report also included a response from Pring Guesthouse, an immigrant- and queer-owned business that received Horwath’s letter, stating it would not host the group. The left-rated digests uniformly noted the mayor’s warning and the group’s remigration advocacy.
Centre
6 rated outlets
- The centre-rated reports focused on the city’s notification to venues and the uncertainty over Sellner’s eligibility to enter Canada. City News led with Horwath’s statement that the Dominion Society is part of the "broader white-nationalist movement" and included the group’s website description of remigration as "the return of foreigners to their respective homelands". It also noted the group’s plan to deport 5 to 9 million people and its 10-year immigration moratorium proposal.
- The centre-rated digests carried the same core facts: Horwath’s warning, the Dominion Society’s remigration advocacy, and Sellner’s UK ban. None of the centre-rated reports quoted anti-racism groups or included the Dominion Society’s denial of being a hate group. The digests did not mention the open letter or the group’s promotion of the "great replacement" conspiracy theory.
Right
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated right has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Read it at the source
15 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
9- Hamilton mayor warning venues about anti-immigration conference in city (opens Bay Today in a new tab)
- Hamilton mayor warning venues about anti-immigration conference in city (opens Sudbury in a new tab)
- Hamilton mayor warning venues about anti-immigration conference in city (opens Elora Fergus Today in a new tab)
Elora Fergus Today — is Elora Fergus Today biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Hamilton mayor warning venues about anti-immigration conference in city (opens Orillia Matters in a new tab)
Orillia Matters — is Orillia Matters biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Hamilton mayor warning venues about anti-immigration conference in city (opens SooToday.com in a new tab)
SooToday.com — is SooToday.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Hamilton mayor warning venues about anti-immigration conference in city (opens The Record in a new tab)
The Record — is The Record biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Hamilton mayor warning venues about anti-immigration conference in city (opens The Hamilton Spectator in a new tab)
The Hamilton Spectator — is The Hamilton Spectator biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Warning on a Conference of an Anti-Immigration Group (opens Radio-Canada in a new tab)
Radio-Canada — is Radio-Canada biased? Our profile of this outlet
Centre
6- Hamilton mayor warning venues about anti-immigration conference in city (opens Ckpg Today in a new tab)
Ckpg Today — is Ckpg Today biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Hamilton mayor warning venues about anti-immigration conference in city (opens Medicine Hat News in a new tab)
Medicine Hat News — is Medicine Hat News biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Hamilton mayor warning venues about anti-immigration conference in city (opens meadowlakeNOW in a new tab)
meadowlakeNOW — is meadowlakeNOW biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Hamilton mayor warning venues about anti-immigration conference in city (opens Battlefords NOW in a new tab)
Battlefords NOW — is Battlefords NOW biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Hamilton mayor warning venues about anti-immigration conference in city (opens City News in a new tab)
- Hamilton mayor warning venues about anti-immigration conference in city (opens Winnipeg Free Press in a new tab)
Winnipeg Free Press — is Winnipeg Free Press biased? Our profile of this outlet
Right
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Not rated
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Hamilton mayor warns venues about far-right group’s conference with…?
- Of the 15 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 60% are rated left, 40% are rated centre, 0% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Hamilton mayor warns venues about far-right group’s conference with… left or right?
- Neither side dominates it. Of the 15 rated outlets on this story, 60% are rated left, 40% are rated centre, 0% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
- Is the coverage of Hamilton mayor warns venues about far-right group’s conference with… biased?
- Hamilton mayor warns venues about far-right group’s conference with banned speaker is one event reported by 15 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Hamilton mayor warns venues about far-right group’s conference with…?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Hamilton mayor warns venues about far-right group’s conference with…?
- 15 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What is the Dominion Society advocating for?
- The Dominion Society advocates for "remigration", which it describes as the mass deportation of immigrants. Its website calls for a 10-year moratorium on immigration and the deportation of 5 to 9 million people, including temporary foreign workers and permanent residents. The group is planning a conference in Hamilton on 29 August.
- Who is Martin Sellner and why is he controversial?
- Martin Sellner is an Austrian remigration advocate banned from entering the UK in 2019 on security grounds. He is listed as a speaker at the Dominion Society’s conference in Hamilton. Canadian officials have not confirmed whether he is eligible to enter Canada, citing privacy reasons.
- How did Hamilton’s mayor respond to the conference?
- Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath sent letters to local businesses warning them about the Dominion Society’s conference. She stated the group is part of Canada’s "broader white-nationalist movement" and urged venues to be aware of its advocacy for mass deportations. The city will not rent facilities to the group.
- Which outlets covered the story and which did not?
- Fifteen outlets, all rated left or centre, covered the story. No right-rated outlet reported on it. The left-rated reports included more detail on the Dominion Society’s ties to white nationalism and the response from anti-racism groups, while the centre-rated reports focused on the city’s warning and Sellner’s UK ban.
How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
