The founder of the group “Diagolon,” Jeremy Mackenzie, says he is not associated with the federal Conservative Party (CPC) or its leader, Pierre Poilievre.
Mr. MacKenzie made the comments in a video posted on X, formerly Twitter, just hours after Mr. Poilievre was ousted from the House of Commons on April 30 following a heated exchange with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau where the prime minister accused Mr. Poilievre of associating with Diagolon.
“The CPC has no connections or affiliations with myself or anyone involved in my circles,” Mr. MacKenzie said. “These claims by the Liberals are an outright and deliberately malicious fabrication in a desperate and pathetic attempt to sway support away from the Conservative Party’s momentum.”
He said, “I have been and will continue to be a sharp critic of state power, including Mr. Poilievre and his team.”
The Liberals have been criticizing Mr. Poilieve for his appearance last week at a carbon tax protest at the Nova Scotia and New Brunswick border where there was a Diagolon symbol on the door of an RV.
The issue was raised again in the House of Commons on April 30, when the Tories were asking the Liberal government about ending the decriminalization of drugs in British Columbia as requested by the provincial government.
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In response, Mr. Trudeau accused Mr. Poilievre of consorting with Diagolon.
“What hasn’t been answered by the leader of the Opposition is why he chooses to continue to court extreme white nationalist groups like Diagolon,” Mr. Trudeau said.
Responding to the prime minister’s comments, Mr. Poilievre again called on the government to reverse course on drug decriminalization, saying Mr. Trudeau “continues to allow those drugs to kill the people in our hospitals and on our public transit. When will we put an end to this wacko policy by this wacko prime minister?”
At that comment, House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus asked for Mr. Poilievre to withdraw his remark. Mr. Poilievre said he would withdraw and replace the word “wacko” with “extremist” or “radical.” The speaker again asked him to simply withdraw the comment and eventually expelled Mr. Poilievre from the House for the remainder of the day. The Tory caucus left the chamber alongside him.
The Diagolon symbol in question was a flag drawn on the RV door about two years ago during the convoy protest in Ottawa, according to Mr. MacKenzie.
“My partner Morgan doodled a Diagolon flag on his trailer door over two years ago during the Ottawa protest,” he said, noting the owner of the vehicle is a co-organizer of the recent carbon tax protest. “The action was meant as a friendly gesture of support, and nothing more.”
He said any connections between the groups were “tenuous at best, and purely coincidental,” and that he has no association with the recent protest organizer.
“There was no involvement whatsoever and I have relayed this to [the carbon tax organizer] to immediately remove that drawing from his doors,” Mr. MacKenzie said.
Mr. Poilievre has previously denounced Mr. MacKenzie for offensive words toward Mr. Poilievre’s wife.
“It is very clear to my audience as well as the CPC, I’m sure, and Mr. Poilievre himself that we are not mutual friends,” Mr. MacKenzie said in the video. “In fact, there’s a very deep and, I’m sure, mutual disdain for one another.”
He also said that the “Diagolon” group basically consisted of listeners of his podcast.
“At its core, is a tightly knit group of like-minded folks that enjoy my podcast and commentary.”
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