Former soldier exposes how Canadian white supremacist group recruits members

Second Sons Canada incorporated as business, requires members to sign confidentiality contract

Second Sons Canada describes itself as a "men's nationalist club" dedicated to fitness and preserving Canada's heritage, but a former military member who attempted to join the group says he only learned about its true nature — which includes adoration for Hitler, neo-Nazis and hatred for Jews — when he met them in person.

Not only was the prospective member told to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) that would ban him from revealing confidential information about the group, the recruit said he was also searched for recording devices and asked to say racial slurs as a test.

"They advertise themselves as one thing," said the former CAF member, who CBC News is not naming due to concerns for his personal safety and legal retribution. "And then as soon as I met them … the sheets were pulled down and it was a whole other thing that was disgusting."

He said much of the in-person meeting was about how Jewish people were evil and how Hitler's philosophy was "genius."

"They really, really wanted to know my knowledge of their version of racial ideology history and how it influences today's society," he said. "It seems like they really want to brainwash their new candidates into hatred. And that really put me off."

The former CAF member's account is the first glimpse CBC has gotten into the inner workings of the Second Sons in-person recruitment process.

Previous reporting by CBC's visual investigations team aligns with the source's information. The group itself maintains a carefully-curated image on its official social media platforms. Its leaders, meanwhile, have praised Hitler and the Nazi party, said they welcome neo-Nazis into their ranks and called for mass deportations at gunpoint and the execution of Canadian politicians while talking on personal podcasts and livestreams.

'The Nazis were right': What the leaders of Canada's biggest 'nationalist' group really want

"The organization is clearly anxious about individuals coming forward, speaking to the press or others about their activities," said Richard Moon, Law Foundation Chair at the College of Law, University of Saskatchewan focusing on freedom of expression.

"I think there's a real risk that an NDA like this might have a chilling effect on someone's speech, and particularly on their speaking to the media or the legal authorities about activity they may be concerned about as unlawful."

Since forming in 2024, Second Sons has expanded rapidly. There are chapters across the country.

The group is part of what's known as the "active club" movement, a decentralized assortment of male-focused groups promoting white supremacist ideals. The movement has grown globally in recent years, increasingly moving from online forums to real-world training groups and anti-immigration protests.

Second Sons even folded Quebec-based Frontenac AC — one of Canada's most prominent active clubs — into their group.

Earlier this year, a government report said the active club movement posed a risk of "extreme violence."

'Active clubs' are all over Canada. What are they?

'We will not be intimidated,' Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc chief says of white nationalist gathering

Over the weekend, Second Sons held a demonstration at Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc reserve near a former residential school, also appearing on a Kamloops overpass with a banner that read "Got bones?" The demonstration was condemned by community members and Prime Minister Mark Carney.

"The cowardly act that took place at Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc yesterday, is abhorrent. It has no place in this country. My thoughts are with everyone who are shaken and hurt by this disgusting display of hate," Carney wrote in an X post Monday.

The RCMP say they are taking the matter seriously and "will continue to engage the group as part of our response and current ongoing investigation."

On Tuesday, Second Sons president Jeremy MacKenzie reshared a doctored image to Telegram showing Second Sons members holding the "Got bones?" banner in front of the Auschwitz death camp, where the Nazis killed nearly one million Jews.

White supremacist 'media organization'

The non-disclosure agreement says Second Sons is federally registered as a numbered company: 16130623 Canada Inc.

Corporate documents found in the federal registry of businesses list Jeremy MacKenzie as director, along with Alex Vriend and Alex Cabana as shareholders.

MacKenzie is an Afghan war veteran and the founder and president of Second Sons and its predecessor, Diagolon. RCMP have described Diagolon as an "extremist, militia-like organization." Vriend is a long-time associate of MacKenzie and the vice-president of Second Sons.

Cabana has not been as openly associated with Second Sons as MacKenzie and Vriend. He is an Afghan war veteran who was affiliated with Veterans 4 Freedom, an advocacy group that was formed by central figures in the self-described "freedom convoy" protests that overtook downtown Ottawa in the winter of 2022.

It's not clear how much revenue the corporation has generated because required annual financial filings for the company in 2025 and 2026 are listed as "overdue."

The Second Sons website notes that people trying to join the group must pay an application fee, with a $20 monthly commitment if they are accepted. In livestreams on the video-sharing platform Rumble, Vriend has claimed that the group's leadership don't get paid themselves and rely on income from subscriptions by fans.

A post in the Second Sons public Telegram channel says they are working to set up a "support shop" for the group.

Canadian, U.S. fascist fight clubs joining forces south of the border, CBC investigation finds

A white nationalist group visiting Canadian locations is trying to normalize extremism, says a former neo-Nazi

But experts say there are questions about whether the company, which describes itself in the NDA as a "media organization that creates, develops and publishes content," should be allowed to operate due to the nature of its activities.

"Calling for the execution of a politician is not a legitimate activity of any company, let alone a media company," said Richard LeBlanc, professor of governance, law and ethics at York University, who reviewed the documents that CBC located.

The leaders of Second Sons appear to be aware of the rules that a registered company must follow — for example, human rights laws that ban discrimination based on race — and how the organization skirts them.

Addressing a viewer question about the group's admission process in a September 2025 livestream, Vriend said, "Second Sons is an officially-registered organization … I can't speak to what Second Sons' policy is, but in Canada, it is illegal to discriminate based on immutable characteristics like race, gender, disability, et cetera … Can I make that more clear for you? We are an organization that takes members based on meritocracy. Can you read between the lines?"

LeBlanc says if a company is engaging in overly broad NDAs, hate speech, excessive anonymity or face coverings, "that doesn't insulate the company and the founders and the officers and directors and employees of said company from liability and possibly prosecution."

The company's regulatory compliance practices may lead to its failure before anything else. The Government of Canada's website states that it has sent a notice of intent to dissolve the corporation if it does not file its financial statements "immediately."

The former CAF member said he was looking to belong to a community that espoused patriotic views, so he decided to apply after seeing Second Sons content online.

The Second Sons website states that it welcomes former members of the armed forces, if they can show that they are no longer serving. Recently, the group's training — which initially focused on mixed martial arts sparring — has taken on a more military-style feel, including cot-carrying, army crawls and other drills.

Large white supremacist meeting shakes residents of Alberta town

No place for 'hate' or 'divisiveness': Politicians condemn white nationalist group's visit to northern Ontario

The source said he did a virtual interview over messaging app Telegram. Following that, they agreed to set up a meeting in Ontario.

"They had me pull my shirt down to make sure I wasn't wearing a wire," he said. "They had me leave my phone face up on the table to show I wasn't recording them. They were very cautious that I would leave first and not follow them."

He said they also spoke about training in hand-to-hand combat skills to prepare for potential violent situations.

Vriend, the vice-president, has publicly advocated for brutally beating counter-protesters.

Referring to a 2025 incident where a man grabbed a flag from the leader of a "Canada First" demonstration, Vriend said the response should have included the leader spearing the man in the face, cross-checking him and punching and kicking him in the head.

"Is he arrested? Yes. Does he catch a charge? Yes. Is it the end of his life? No. Does that immediately become a symbol of resistance for all Canadians? Yes."

CBC's source said he did not learn the names of the men he met.

The application process mirrors what happened when two La Presse journalists, Tristan Peloquin and Vincent Poirier, applied to join Second Sons over the summer, under a false name. The existence of the NDA was first reported by La Presse. CBC obtained it independently.

Shortly after applying, the two La Presse journalists received an email that included 17 questions asking for their name, family history in Canada and political beliefs. From there, they were messaged on Telegram by someone from Second Sons — who turned out to be the former leader of Frontenac Active Club, Shawn Beauvais-MacDonald, who has referred to himself online as a Nazi and praised Hitler.

"He was trying to have more information on why we wanted to join Second Sons. And after that, in the first 24 hours, he asked us for a meetup. We were surprised," Poirier told CBC News.

Second Sons also sent a non-disclosure agreement to the journalists, saying that the document "not only legally protects our Organization and its members, it also protects you from having any of the personal information you provide released under penalty of law."

La Presse did not meet in person with Second Sons.

Second Sons did not respond to CBC's request for comment.

Do you have more information on this story? Email us at vi@cbc.ca

Eric Szeto is a journalist with CBC's visual investigations unit.