‘Freedom movement’ backs Hamilton candidates

It was not an endorsement Brad Clark was looking for, but one he has earned all the same.

Through the pandemic, the Ward 9 incumbent has been steadfastly opposed to firing City of Hamilton employees who refused to comply with the municipality's vaccine mandate. His opposition does not stem from an anti-vaccine ideology - Clark has had four doses of COVID vaccines to date - but rather from concerns over legal and financial liabilities.

It is not in their collective contract that they have to be vaccinated," said Clark, saying there were other levers the city could use that don't include termination of employment.

That position was enough for Clark's name to appear on a list circulating through Hamilton's freedom convoy" community that identifies freedom candidates."

Clark says he doesn't give the networks of freedom" groups - which oppose vaccines and COVID mandates along with what they consider woke" policies, including school-based lessons around gender diversity - much thought at all.

I did not seek their endorsement," said Clark, who also did not reject the endorsement in an interview with The Spectator. But I cannot tell these organizations what they can do."

The list appears to have originally been circulated in Hamilton Freedom Movement channels on the social media platform Telegram, which allows users to create invitation-only chats.

It defines a freedom candidate" as someone who is against vaccine and mask mandates, and says most of the candidates on the list are also against new ideology being indoctrinated in public schools as well as gender fluidity" and critical race theory."

Clark was not contacted by anyone from the Hamilton Freedom Movement or similar groups before he was listed as a freedom candidate."

He is one of two Hamilton council candidates named on the list, which has been frequently updated over the past few weeks. The other is Ward 7 incumbent Esther Pauls, who also opposed the termination of employees who did not comply with the city's vaccine mandate.

Pauls, who said the policy caused mental anguish" for some employees, pushed for deadlines for compliance to be extended to give employees more time to get their shots. The deadline was extended several times before the policy was finally abandoned in August.

At least 95 per cent of city employees are vaccinated.

Pauls, whose administrative assistant is an applicant in a lawsuit against the city over the vaccine policy, would not be interviewed for this story.

In an emailed statement, Pauls said her commitment to public service and the issues raised by the residents of Ward 7 have resulted in numerous endorsements from a variety of individuals, from all sorts of political stripes."

She did not specifically address questions about the freedom movement" endorsement.

The freedom movement" list is not limited to candidates for city council. It also recommends public school board trustee candidate Catherine Kronas as someone who is on a mission to stop woke culture in schools and protect kids."

Kronas has launched a website called Stop Woke and a petition to stop the teaching of critical race theory in Hamilton schools.

The academic theory, which examines how racism impacts public institutions, is not part of the provincial curriculum taught in public schools, although students do learn about diversity and inclusion.

The Stop Woke website is aligned with the politics of the far right New Blue Party of Ontario, which failed to win any seats during June's provincial election.

Kronas, who did not respond to an emailed interview request from The Spectator, is not the only anti-woke school board candidate in Hamilton.

Larry Masters, whose campaign materials include a Stop the Woke" flyer that claims the school board is indoctrinating children, is running in Ward 13, although his name is not included on the freedom movement" list. He also did not respond to an emailed interview request.

The freedom movement list also includes an endorsement of Ward 7 trustee candidate Amy Cowling, a member of the Hamilton Christian Fellowship.

I am not sure how my name ended up on the stop the woke' list," said Cowling in an email. I am running to see transparency and accountability for what happens in the classroom."

Cowling did not respond when asked if she accepts the endorsement or for her views on the stop the woke" campaigns.

The number of candidates on the list from the Hamilton area is relatively small compared with other regions, particularly Niagara. The list endorses numerous candidates in West Lincoln, Grimsby and Fort Erie, which have been hubs of anti-vaccine and anti-mandate activity.

Special interest groups endorsing candidates in an election is not a new phenomenon. Several organizations across the political spectrum, from environmental activists to anti-abortion groups, routinely issue endorsements or candidate report cards on issues they focus on.

The influence of these kinds of endorsements has been limited at best, said Eric Merkley, a political-science professor at the University of Toronto.

They might squeeze out a few extra votes for a particular candidate in circles where voters are very engaged in specific issues with activist groups, but they have never swayed the result of a general election, he said.

However, Merkley said the combination of lower voter turnout and the reach of social media might make these endorsements more effective now than they have been before.

If voter turnout is down, endorsement campaigns could have a greater influence because the groups that issue them are typically very motivated to get out the vote, he said, and will leverage social media platforms to do it. Local freedom groups are also advertising an Oct. 14 meeting that is specifically about why local politics matters to them.

Voter turnout sunk to a historic low of 43 per cent in June's provincial election, with turnout in Hamilton ridings ranging from a low of 37 per cent to a high of 48 per cent. Merkley said municipal turnouts are typically markedly lower than those in provincial contests.

Turnout in Hamilton for the 2018 municipal vote was 38 per cent. In 2014, it was less than 34 per cent.

The absence of political parties in local elections also plays in the favour of special interest groups, Merkley said, because voters are less swayed by partisan attachments.

You don't have party labels attached to candidates. And so you're more likely to influence," he added. At the municipal level with the absence of party labels and lower turnout, you can exert stronger pull. So it's not so it's not surprising, right, that they're trying to do this."

Grant LaFleche is an investigative reporter with The Spectator. Reach him via email: glafleche@torstar.ca