Update! No Hate in Huron is beaming with pride to share our endorsement from the incomparable Maude Barlow—world-renowned author, activist, Canadian icon, and former senior advisor to the United Nations.
Click here to read Maude Barlow’s endorsement.
No Hate in Huron invited you to endorse our open letter to Gord Leamen—a moral appeal urging him to take down his xenophobic signage and consider replacing it with a message of peace.
Together, as people of conscience, we raised our voices. We continue to show that this community chooses kindness, inclusion, and a future free of hate.
We invited you to add your name to the letter below, which was delivered to Gord Leamen by UPS on August 12, 2025 at 12:56 PM.
All friends, family, allies, and residents of Huron County were welcome to sign. So too were individuals and organizations—both near and far—who uphold our shared dignity and humanity.
This story has received significant press coverage over the past year. The specific articles referenced in the letter include:
CTV News: “White Lives Matter Billboard Sparks Controversy in Southwestern Ontario“
CTV News: “Mayor Denounces Hate as Debate Around White Lives Matter Sign Intensifies“
London Free Press: “Small Town Tensions Enflamed Over Defiant Landowner’s White Lives Matter Sign“
For more information on why neo-Nazism and white supremacist ideologies are particularly concerning in this context, please read this article from the Canadian Anti-Hate Network regarding a cross-border neo-Nazi meetup that occurred in Goderich in August 2024:
CAHN: “US Neo-Nazis Visit Canada for Meeting of White Supremacist ‘Active Clubs‘”
Our letter follows below:
Dear Gord Leamen,
Over the past year, your homemade billboards have dominated the visual landscape at the northern gateway to Goderich.
Amid the many topics you’ve chosen to highlight, two stand out as particularly troubling:
- Save Canada Stop Immigration
- White Lives Matter
We pride ourselves on being a pluralistic, democratic community: one that strives to be inclusive, caring, and welcoming. In contrast, we find your signage to be xenophobic, exclusionary, and harmful.
Though you have denied the link in media interviews, there is no mistaking that “White Lives Matter” is a well-established white supremacist slogan and the name of a recognized hate network promoting neo-Nazi ideologies.
This is not a matter of opinion; it is affirmed by multiple prominent organizations widely recognized across the political spectrum as authorities on hate activity. These include the Southern Poverty Law Centre, the Anti-Defamation League, and the Canadian Anti-Hate Network. A basic web search confirms this immediately.
We cherish freedom of expression, but we also recognize that it does not mean freedom from consequence. In response to your signage, we proudly exercise our right to peacefully and openly resist hate in our midst. We reject your misguided campaign.
Your signs empower those who seek to harm beloved members of our community, Gord. They are an embarrassment to Goderich, to Huron County, and to us all, on the national stage. They do not reflect who we are nor who we hope to become. We strive for kindness, caring, and community.
Our plea is not an instance of so-called “cancel culture.” It is a moral appeal. We ask you to look within and consider:
Is this the personal legacy you want for yourself? Do you truly want to be known forever as the man who repeatedly defended the name of a neo-Nazi and white supremacist hate network on national broadcast media?
In one widely circulated interview with the London Free Press, you cited your father’s service in the Second World War as your reason for continuing to display “White Lives Matter” signs on your property.
The irony is staggering.
Did your father risk his life fighting Nazism so you could defend its modern-day heirs? What would he think of your family name now being linked to those who carry Hitler’s torch? Gord, you’re better than this.
We are residents, friends, allies, and family bound to Goderich and Huron County by love, history, and responsibility.
We strive for a world in which all people are free to pursue joyous lives without fear of harassment, cruelty, or violence.
We celebrate and cherish diversity, inclusion, compassion, and courage.
We unequivocally denounce Nazi, neo-Nazi, and white supremacist ideologies in all their historical and modern forms.
We urge you, Gord, to take down your signs. In their place, we offer a better message rooted in compassion, not division. One that reflects the community we’re still striving to build together:
WELCOME TO GODERICH
LOVE LIVES HERE
Sincerely,
No Hate in Huron
Alina Oomen
Goderich
Barbara Kane and John Meyers
Residents of Goderich
Ben Sheardown
Goderich
Bob Conley
Union Plumber, Bruce Power, Goderich
Bonita Eitel
Retired Social Worker
Carol Bowyer
Wingham
Catherine Armour RMT
Goderich
Chuck and Susan Chan
Goderich, Huron County
Colin Carmichael
Executive Director, Huron Chamber of Commerce
Corey Allison
Executive Director, Huron Women’s Shelter, Second Stage Housing and Counselling Services; Goderich
Courtney G Henry
Nomadic Hair Artistry, Goderich
David Armour
Goderich
David Walker
Retired Medical Doctor, Goderich, Huron County
Diane Sutton
Goderich
Don Hayward
Writer, Goderich
Genelle Reid
Huron Women’s Shelter, Goderich
Janet Wheeler
Goderich
Jim Hollingworth MD
Goderich
Kathryn Wettlaufer
Goderich
Lorraine Brophy
RR 2 Auburn Ontario
Maude Barlow
Water justice activist and author
Mike Beazely
Associate Professor, School of Pharmacy Associate Dean, Graduate and Post-Doctoral Affairs, Faculty of Science Chair of Rural Substance Use, Gateway Centre of Excellence in Rural Health; Goderich
Nick and Fanny Geleynse
Huron residents, Clinton
Norah Chaloner
Retired nurse with message for Gord: come on Gord, join the parade of caring people!; Guelph
Roberta Stemp
Bayfield
Rico Rodriguez
CEO, Escondidos No More!, Toronto
Sally Ford
Early Childhood Educator, Goderich
Sharon Johnston
Resident of Goderich
Sheila Chick
Retired College Professor, Goderich
Tony McQuail
Farmer, ACW
Wendy and Heinz Hoernig
Retired teachers, proud inhabitants of our beautiful, peaceful county; Huron County