Chuck Crate
Encyclopedia
Chales Brandle "Chuck" Crate (1916–1992) was a Canadian
fascist and leader of the Canadian Union of Fascists
.
He was born and grew up in northern Ontario
, moving into a working class district of Toronto
in 1927. The poverty and unemployment brought by the Great Depression
turned the young Crate into a radical, sympathizing with the fascist movement of Europe
. He began to associate himself with expatriate members of the British Union of Fascists
, who directed him to the Canadian Fascist Party
, based in Winnipeg
. After being associated for only a short while with the nascent party, Crate became its leader in 1933 at the young age of 17.
Over the next decade, Crate and the party, now renamed the Canadian Union of Fascists, would make electoral appeals to both English and French Canadians. However, the union would never command enough electoral support among the Canadian public to equal its British counterpart or displace the Parti national social chrétien
of Adrien Arcand
as the major fascist party of Canada.
After Canada's declaration of war against Nazi Germany
, the union was dissolved and its members were asked to work for a negotiated peace with the Axis powers
. Crate escaped a charge of treason
handed down by the government and joined the Royal Canadian Navy
. He was based in Great Britain
, and attempted to become associated with British fascists, but this was made impossible through the efforts of British counterintelligence. He met his future wife in England and would bring her back to Canada after World War II
ended. They would have two daughters.
Crate would continue to involve himself in local and national politics until his death, his last cause being the defence of Eastern European immigrants who had been accused of war crime
s. He died in 1992 at the age of 76.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
fascist and leader of the Canadian Union of Fascists
Canadian Union of Fascists
The Canadian Fascist Party was a fascist political party based in the Canadian city of Winnipeg. The formative core of the party was a splinter group from the Canadian Nationalist Party that found the principles of corporativism to be more important than the largely racial motivations of the...
.
He was born and grew up in northern Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, moving into a working class district of Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
in 1927. The poverty and unemployment brought by the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
turned the young Crate into a radical, sympathizing with the fascist movement of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. He began to associate himself with expatriate members of the British Union of Fascists
British Union of Fascists
The British Union was a political party in the United Kingdom formed in 1932 by Sir Oswald Mosley as the British Union of Fascists, in 1936 it changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists and then in 1937 to simply the British Union...
, who directed him to the Canadian Fascist Party
Canadian Union of Fascists
The Canadian Fascist Party was a fascist political party based in the Canadian city of Winnipeg. The formative core of the party was a splinter group from the Canadian Nationalist Party that found the principles of corporativism to be more important than the largely racial motivations of the...
, based in Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
. After being associated for only a short while with the nascent party, Crate became its leader in 1933 at the young age of 17.
Over the next decade, Crate and the party, now renamed the Canadian Union of Fascists, would make electoral appeals to both English and French Canadians. However, the union would never command enough electoral support among the Canadian public to equal its British counterpart or displace the Parti national social chrétien
Parti national social chrétien
The Parti National Social Chrétien was a Canadian political party formed by Adrien Arcand in February 1934. The party identified with anti-semitism, and German leader Adolf Hitler's Nazism. The party was later known, in English, as the Canadian National Socialist Unity Party or National Unity...
of Adrien Arcand
Adrien Arcand
Adrien Arcand was a Montreal journalist who led a series of fascist political movements between 1929 and his death in 1967...
as the major fascist party of Canada.
After Canada's declaration of war against Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, the union was dissolved and its members were asked to work for a negotiated peace with the Axis powers
Axis Powers
The Axis powers , also known as the Axis alliance, Axis nations, Axis countries, or just the Axis, was an alignment of great powers during the mid-20th century that fought World War II against the Allies. It began in 1936 with treaties of friendship between Germany and Italy and between Germany and...
. Crate escaped a charge of treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
handed down by the government and joined the Royal Canadian Navy
Royal Canadian Navy
The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...
. He was based in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
, and attempted to become associated with British fascists, but this was made impossible through the efforts of British counterintelligence. He met his future wife in England and would bring her back to Canada after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
ended. They would have two daughters.
Crate would continue to involve himself in local and national politics until his death, his last cause being the defence of Eastern European immigrants who had been accused of war crime
War crime
War crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...
s. He died in 1992 at the age of 76.