As head of Canadian Armed Forces (2005 to 2008), General Rick Hillyer (ret’d) was chiefly responsible for convincing Canada to send a large contingent of troops to fight the Taliban in Afghanistan. He now has a new fight as honorary patron of “Allies for a Strong Canada”, a Canadian NGO whose main objectives are to combat antisemitism and increase Canadian support for Israel. Read more.
“It is with a sense of honour and duty that I serve as the Honorary Patron of Allies for a Strong Canada (AFSC)” said Gen. Hillyer in introducing the new organization. “Having dedicated my life to the defence of Canada, I recognize that the fight against hate, particularly antisemitism, is as crucial to our national security as any external threat.“
According to its website, the new organization called “Allies for a Strong Canada” (or, “The Allies”) is dedicated to combating the rise of antisemitism and developing support for Israel in Canada by mobilizing non-Jewish allies from all backgrounds.
“The “Allies” (…) are committed to advocating for the visible and safe expression of Jewish identity, supporting Israel’s right to exist, and ensuring that Canada is a society committed to democratic values,” it says.
According to its website, “Unlike other pro-Israel advocacy organizations such as B’nai Brith Canada or the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs — which were both created by and for Jews — Allies for a Strong Canada was created to encourage non-Jewish Canadians to express solidarity with Israel.”
The new organization has already been actively involved in the current federal election, organizing townhall meetings and letter-writing campaigns encouraging its supporters to urge election candidates to oppose marches supporting human rights for Palestinians. “Tell your election candidates that you are sick of the antisemitic hate marches through our streets, click here to send them a message” says its website.
“Allies for a Strong Canada has been created to engage and mobilize allies of the Jewish community who want to speak up in support of our friends during these difficult times“,” said Michael Westcott, Chief Executive Officer of the new organization.
Westcott was previously Chief Operations Officer at United Jewish Appeal of Greater Toronto. Prior to that, according to his Linked-In account, he has experience as a manager of government affairs for Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc.
Westcott and Hellyer are the only two people mentioned on the organization’s website. There is no indication of its staffing, governance structure or sources of funding.
Canada Talks Israel Palestine (CTIP) is the weekly newsletter of Peter Larson, Chair of the Ottawa Forum on Israel/Palestine (OFIP). It aims to promote a serious discussion in Canada about Canada’s response to the complicated and emotional Israel/Palestine issue with a focus on the truth, clear analysis and human rights for all. Readers with different points of view are invited to make comment.
Want to learn more about us? Go to Ottawa Forum on Israel/Palestine.ca
Canada Talks Israel/Palestine 
The marches have brought Canadians from all backgrounds together as allies in condemning Israel’s bombing and killing of tens of thousands of Palestinians, as its denial of food, water, and the means to sustain life. Canadians are calling on our politicians to condemn Israel for the daily horrors we are witnessing in Gaza. Canada must do its part by condemning Israel’s extreme violence and imposing a two-way arms embargo, along with other sanctions. Instead, on February 26th, 2025, on the recommendation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Government of Canada created a special permit that nullifies all previous exemptions and prohibitions on extreme settler violence in the West Bank. (https://gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p2/2025/2025-03-12/html/sor-dors50-eng.html).
Given that Israel is a declared genocidal state, illegally occupying lands it has stolen and having committed the most heinous crimes of this century, why is an organization being created to support such evil. Allies for a strong Canada should be supporting peace, truth, morality , humanity, end of all wars just as the Jewish, Palestinian and all world citizens endorse. Such an organization is conflating Zionism with Judaism which could not be further from the truth. The Zionists are using anti-semitism as their cover to justify their very flawed existence. The Palestinians are semites, not the Zionists who have no historic connection to the land they have stolen.
The world is sick to death from the atrocities Zionism has committed against an innocent population. It is mind boggling that such an organization dare to be created and promote its hate. Instead they should be advocating for the goals of 2 eminent and brilliant Jewish professors, authors, thinkers, Norman Finkelstein and Jeffrey Sachs. There are many others who could be named but anything less that what the aforementioned intellectuals , political experts stand for is a travesty of justice and peace.
This phoney organization should be abolished forthwith.
In this time of humanitarian crisis that engulfs the Palestinian people in both Gaza and the Occupied Territories at the hands of Israel’s government and army, I find it hard to believe that such organization is created in Canada! As Canadians, we’ve always sided with peace and justice for the people of different nations and ethnic backgrounds. No one wants to spread hate against the Jewish community here or else where. However, we must make a clear distinction between Judaism and Zionism. What Israel is doing is purely based on their agenda to eradicate the Palestinian people from their land. It has nothing to do with protecting their religion or their culture.
let’s just be honest for once and see things the way they are. Let’s not be blindsided by the Zionist narrative. All religions should be respected, all human beings should be protected, no one is less of a human than others based on their beliefs, race, where they live!
Yes and yes! Thanks for the two excellent and eloquent previous comments!!!
Re. Rick Hillyer article Allies for a strong Canada, indeed! A strong Canada that will not tolerate “plausable genocide”. A strong Canada that demands an end to 58 years of illegal military occupation. A strong Canada that opposes administrative detention without a charge or a trial. A strong Canada that will not tolerate the incarceration of children as young as 12 years of age by only one country in the world. A strong Canada that supports the UN World Food Program feeding hundreds of thousands of displaced persons. A strong Canada that will enforce international law and execute a search warrent issued by the ICC for those charged with crimes against humanity m