A former Canadian soldier who tried to join Second Sons Canada said recruiters from the self-described “men’s nationalist club” made him sign a nondisclosure agreement, checked him for a hidden wire and asked him to say racial slurs as a test -- before the conversation turned to Hitler.
The man, whose account to CBC News is the first window into the group’s in-person recruitment, said much of the meeting was about how Jewish people were evil and Hitler’s philosophy was “genius.” CBC is not naming him, citing concerns for his safety and legal retribution.
“They advertise themselves as one thing,” he said. “And then as soon as I met them ... the sheets were pulled down and it was a whole other thing that was disgusting. It seems like they really want to brainwash their new candidates into hatred.”
The claim matches earlier reporting by CBC’s visual investigations team. On its official social media, Second Sons, formed in 2024 and now with chapters across Canada, keeps a curated image of fitness and heritage advocacy. On their own podcasts and livestreams, its leaders have praised Hitler and the Nazi party, said they welcome neo-Nazis and called for mass deportations at gunpoint and the execution of Canadian politicians.
The recruit said he did a virtual interview over the messaging app Telegram, then set up an in-person 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.” The recruits also discussed training in hand-to-hand combat to prepare for potential violence, he said. The group’s training has lately moved from mixed martial arts sparring to military-style drills, including cot-carrying and army crawls, and its website welcomes former armed forces members who can show they are no longer serving.
The nondisclosure agreement identifies the group as a federally registered numbered company, 16130623 Canada Inc., whose internal documents, reviewed by CBC, describe it as a “media organization that creates, develops and publishes content.” Corporate filings name Jeremy MacKenzie as director, with Alex Vriend and Alex Cabana as shareholders.
Mr. MacKenzie is an Afghan war veteran who founded Second Sons and its predecessor, Diagolon, which the RCMP has described as an “extremist, militia-like organization.” Mr. Vriend, the group’s vice-president, has publicly advocated brutally beating counter-protesters. Mr. Cabana, another Afghan war veteran, was affiliated with Veterans 4 Freedom, an advocacy group formed by central figures in the 2022 “freedom convoy” protests in Ottawa.
The website requires an application fee, with a $20 monthly commitment for accepted members, and the group’s public Telegram channel says a “support shop” is in the works. Mr. Vriend has said on the platform Rumble that the leadership isn’t paid and lives off fan subscriptions. The corporation’s required financial filings for 2025 and 2026 are listed as “overdue,” and the Government of Canada’s registry says the company faces a notice of intent to dissolve unless it files its statements “immediately.”
Asked in a September 2025 livestream how a registered company squares its admission process with human rights laws, Mr. Vriend told viewers: “In Canada, it is illegal to discriminate based on immutable characteristics like race, gender, disability, et cetera ... We are an organization that takes members based on meritocracy. Can you read between the lines?”
Richard LeBlanc, a professor of governance, law and ethics at York University who reviewed the documents CBC located, said the registration may not protect anyone. “Calling for the execution of a politician is not a legitimate activity of any company, let alone a media company,” he said, adding that broad N.D.A.s, hate speech and face coverings don’t insulate founders and directors from “liability and possibly prosecution.” Richard Moon, a law professor at the University of Saskatchewan, said the N.D.A. signals a group “clearly anxious” about exposure and risks “a chilling effect” on members speaking to reporters or legal authorities about possible unlawful activity.
Second Sons belongs to the “active club” movement, a loose network of male-only groups promoting white supremacist ideals that has grown globally and moved from online forums to real-world training and anti-immigration demonstrations. A government report earlier this year said the movement poses a risk of “extreme violence.” Second Sons has folded the Quebec-based Frontenac AC, once one of Canada’s most prominent active clubs, into its ranks.
Over the weekend, the group demonstrated on Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc land near a former residential school and stood on a Kamloops overpass with a banner reading “Got bones?” -- a taunt about unmarked graves -- drawing condemnation from community members who had reported the earlier gathering and from Prime Minister Mark Carney, who called it abhorrent and said it “has no place in this country.” The RCMP said it is treating the matter seriously as part of an ongoing investigation. On Tuesday, Mr. MacKenzie reshared to Telegram a doctored image showing Second Sons members holding the “Got bones?” banner in front of the Auschwitz death camp, where the Nazis killed nearly one million Jews.