Yves Engler

Yves Engler (born 1979) is a Canadian writer, political activist, and critic of Canadian foreign policy based in Montreal. In addition to twelve published books, Engler's writings have appeared in alternative press and in publications such as The Ecologist. As an activist on foreign policy issues, Engler has filmed and posted to social media his public confrontations with politicians both at events and in the street.

Engler announced his candidacy in the 2026 New Democratic Party leadership election in July 2025 with the backing of the NDP Socialist Caucus. He was deemed ineligible to run by the party in December and later had his party membership revoked.

Life and career Engler moved to Montreal to study at Concordia University in the early 2000s, where he was elected vice president of communications with the Concordia Student Union. He was suspended from the university due to his involvement in the Concordia University Netanyahu riot, which erupted in response to a visit to the campus by then-former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Engler was extensively interviewed for the six-part documentary series Truth to the Powerless: An Investigation into Canada's Foreign Policy, released in August 2022, which examined the role of Canadian foreign policy in the international arena since the Second World War. He appeared in the series as a featured interviewee alongside academics, former diplomats, politicians, and foreign policy commentators.

NDP leadership campaign In July 2025, Engler announced his intention to run as a candidate in the 2026 New Democratic Party leadership election. His campaign was supported by the NDP Socialist Caucus. Engler officially submitted his application in November. In December, he was deemed ineligible by both the NDP's leadership vote committee and an independent review committee, which alleged he had "harassed, intimidated, and confronted" elected officials and repeated disinformation about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, favouring Russia. The reasoning for his disqualification also mentioned an "unclear commitment to the NDP", referencing a Bluesky profile with Engler's name that posted about running for the Green Party, which Engler claims was someone falsely impersonating him. In January 2026, his wife, Bianca Mugyenyi, who helped coordinate his campaign and ran a left-wing foreign policy think tank until 2025, filed to run in the race. She was also rejected by the party's vetting committee, being deemed a "proxy candidate". In March 2026, his NDP membership was terminated for "conduct fundamentally inconsistent with the obligations of membership and contrary to the constitution and principles of the party".

Views Haiti Engler presenting Pierre Pettigrew with a copy of the "Griffin Report on Human Rights Abuses in Haiti"

Engler was critical of Canada's role in the 2004 Haitian coup d'état. In June 2005, he interrupted a press conference being held by then-Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Pierre Pettigrew. Engler poured a bottle of cranberry juice onto Pettigrew and said, "Pettigrew lies, Haitians die". The juice was meant to represent the blood Engler said was on the hands of the Canadian government due to its alleged involvement in the 2004 coup and subsequent United Nations peacekeeping mission.

Israel A vocal critic of Israel, in 2010, Engler wrote the book Canada and Israel: Building Apartheid on the history of Canada's ties with Israel. He is a longtime supporter of the international campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

In 2016, Engler wrote an essay for the Huffington Post, titled "'Anti Semitism': The Most Abused Word in Canada". A week later, The Canadian Jewish News editor Yoni Goldstein criticized the text in an opinion piece, concluding that Engler "has seriously misjudged the state of anti-Semitism in Canada today". Engler has said that the charge of antisemitism is wrongly used to shut down criticism of Israel and that he strongly condemns real antisemitism.

Legal issues In 2002, a student tribunal found Engler guilty of assault and vandalism for his part in the Concordia University Netanyahu riot. He was fined $500 and expelled for one term. Engler said he did not assault anyone or commit any vandalism during the riot. His attempt to appeal the suspension was rejected by the Supreme Court of Canada. Engler's suspension was later made permanent when he violated a ban on political activity, imposed by the university in the aftermath of the riot, by handing out anti-FTAA pamphlets on university grounds.

In 2006, Engler pleaded guilty to forgery and was fined $100. In 2023, he was found guilty of breaching a Montreal bylaw for gluing, nailing, or stapling on urban furniture.

In 2022, he was charged with assault and causing a disturbance near a public place but was acquitted after agreeing to keep the peace for 12 months. In January 2026, Engler was convicted of two counts of harassment and one count of obstruction for the email campaign. On March 4, 2026, he was sentenced to two years of probation and 50 hours of community service.

Published works

Canada in Haiti: Waging War on the Poor Majority with Anthony Fenton. Co-published by RED Publishing and Fernwood Publishing, August 2005. Playing Left Wing: From Rink Rat to Student Radical (RED/Fernwood Publishing, 2005) The Black Book of Canadian Foreign Policy. Co-published by RED Publishing and Fernwood Publishing, April 2009. Canada and Israel: Building Apartheid. Co-published by RED Publishing and Fernwood Publishing, February 2010. Stop Signs: Cars and Capitalism on the Road to Economic, Social and Ecological Decay with Bianca Mugyenyi, Published April 2011; Lester Pearson's Peacekeeping The Truth May Hurt. Fernwood Publishing (September 1, 2012) The Ugly Canadian: Stephen Harper's Foreign Policy. Co-published with: Red Publishing (Published: 2012) Canada in Africa: 300 years of aid and exploitation. Co-published by RED Publishing and Fernwood Publishing, August 2015. A Propaganda System — How Government, Corporations, Media and Academia Sell War and Exploitation, Fall 2016. Left, Right: Marching to the Beat of Imperial Canada. Black Rose Books, 2019. House of Mirrors: Justin Trudeau's Foreign Policy. RED Publishing/Black Rose Books, 2020 Stand on Guard for Whom? — A People's History of the Canadian Military Black Rose Books, October 2021. Canada's Long Fight Against Democracy with Owen Schalk. Baraka Books, 2024.