Could Charlottesville happen in Canada...and how should it be handled?

Managing hate.

The question many Canadians are asking as they watch the events unfold south of the border is: "Could it happen here?"

The U.S. has had a long and troubled history of slavery, civil war, emancipation and Jim Crow laws. Canadians prefer to think of this country as a beacon of multicultural harmony. But Canada has had its own dark secrets and has not been immune to public expressions of white nationalism or actions fuelled by racist hate.  

Just last February, Muslims at prayer were attacked in their own mosque in Quebec City by a gunman who killed six and injured 19.  The shooter was a 27-year-old university student with white nationalist views.

Just recently a white nationalist group called La Meute held a rally in the same city protesting against immigration.

Last month in Halifax, an Indigenous group protested a statue of controversial British military officer Edward Cornwallis. That peaceful protest was interrupted by a group of off-duty Armed Forces men in black shirts. The group, who called themselves the Proud Boys, came out in support of the statue. That encounter ended after a few short minutes of discussion and the Boys agreed to retreat — very different from south of the border.

In Vancouver yesterday, a right-wing rally was planned against Islam and immigration, complete with confederate flags and "alt-right" symbols.  But in the wake of Charlottesville, anti-racism protesters turned out by the thousands and swamped the handful of white nationalists.

Many people feel something is brewing. Whether it's been Trump enabling and emboldening, or a new unsettling trend blowing across the Western world, it all adds up to a fear that racist hate is growing.

Is Canada immune? How do you prevent it? In a democratic society people are free to speak their mind, even if it is filled with hate.  

Is the example of the Vancouver protest the answer? To counter with greater numbers?  Is it dangerous to stifle people's beliefs, and drive them underground? 

Our question: "Could Charlottesville happen in Canada, and how should it be handled?"