By Jessica Russak-Hoffman, JNS
Brandon Taylor Moore, of Saskatoon, has "shown no remorse for the hate he has incited and the harm he has caused to Jewish Canadians," said Richard Robertson of B'nai Brith Canada.
Jewish groups in Canada are calling on provincial governments to establish specialized hate-crime prosecution units after a Saskatoon man received an 18-month conditional sentence for publicly inciting hatred against Jews.
Brandon Taylor Moore, 45, was sentenced on Monday in Saskatchewan Provincial Court after pleading guilty in June to public incitement of hatred against an identifiable group. He will serve the sentence under house arrest followed by probation and counseling rather than in prison.
Moore was arrested in December 2025 after the Saskatoon Police Service investigated complaints about antisemitic posts on his X account. At the time, he was also charged with unsafe storage of a firearm. Prosecutors later added charges of willfully promoting hatred and willfully promoting antisemitism by condoning, denying or downplaying the Holocaust. Those charges are expected to be stayed under the plea agreement.
At his June plea hearing, Moore acknowledged that his posts were likely to lead to a breach of the peace and that he was reckless in that regard, according to an agreed statement of facts read in court. Prosecutor David Piche said Moore had about 180,000 followers on X and had made numerous statements about Jews, including calls for their removal or exclusion from society. The posts were not alleged to have resulted in violence or physical harm.
During sentencing, Moore argued that his statements would have been protected by free-speech laws in the United States and said his posts were motivated by Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza. Among the posts cited in reports on the case was one blaming Jews for open borders and another asking whether Jews' belief that Jesus “is boiling in human excrement in hell” constitutes hate speech.
Under Section 319 of Canada's Criminal Code, publicly communicating statements that incite hatred against an identifiable group, when the incitement is likely to lead to a breach of the peace, is a criminal offense. The code also prohibits the willful promotion of hatred against an identifiable group.
Canada's Combatting Hate Act, which received royal assent in June and took effect in July, added offenses involving the public display of certain terrorism and hate symbols, created a hate-crime offense for crimes motivated by specified forms of hatred, and created offenses involving intimidation or obstruction at certain religious, cultural and community sites. It also removed a previous defense based on expressing an opinion on a religious subject or religious text in certain hate-propaganda cases.
B'nai Brith Canada called Moore a "convicted hatemonger" who has "evaded accountability for his hateful conduct." The Jewish advocacy group said Moore had "targeted Jewish Canadians on social media for several years" and that its complaints to the Saskatchewan Real Estate Commission in 2024 led to the termination of his registration to trade in real estate.
The organization criticized Moore's sentence and renewed its call for specialized hate-crime prosecution units.
"Time and again, Moore has proven to be an unrepentant antisemite. He has shown no remorse for the hate he has incited and the harm he has caused to Jewish Canadians," Richard Robertson, director of research and advocacy for B'nai Brith Canada, stated. "It is unfortunate that Moore was permitted to enter into a plea deal that seems to have not taken into account the full extent of his hateful conduct and its consequences."
"Provincial governments, including Saskatchewan, must establish specialized hate crimes prosecution units to ensure that these complex charges are prosecuted by Crown attorneys with a nuanced understanding of the offenses and their impact on affected communities," Robertson said.
