In response to pressure from a Zionist organization, a Toronto-based Anglican church has cancelled a scheduled event featuring NDP leadership candidate Yves Engler.

Engler was set to speak at St. Paul’s Bloor Street Church on Thursday, Sept. 18. The event would mark the beginning of his 10-city “Capitalism Can’t be Fixed” speaking tour. Other invited guests included Rabbi David Mivasair, University of Toronto student organizer Sara Rasikh, and former Canadian Union of Postal Workers President Mike Palecek.

Engler says the room had been fully paid for and booked since Aug. 26, adding that church administrators were well aware that the event was political in nature. He says his team handed out “thousands” of leaflets and posted hundreds of posters around the city letting the public know about it. He clarifies that the event was not church-led or -sponsored. 

But at 10:39 AM on Sept. 15, Elin Goulden, the social justice and advocacy consultant for the Diocese of Toronto, sent an email confirming the event had been cancelled. 

That email, however, was not sent to Engler or his team but to someone who had reached out to the church to inquire about the event.

“You will know from that e-mail that I reached out to the Rt. Rev. Jenny Andison, incumbent of St. Paul’s Bloor Street, to inquire about the event. She confirmed that it is not a church-led or -sponsored event, and in fact that it has been cancelled. She further confirmed that St. Paul’s is reviewing its processes with its Events Department,” Goulden wrote.

“Thank you for reaching out.”

Ten minutes later, at 10:49 AM, @Beaf333 (The Greasy Walrus of Monte Cristo) posted a screenshot of that email on X with the recipient’s name and email address blanked out.

“A few quick queries and @stpaulsbloor @anglicandioTO confirmed that the (sic) have done the right thing and Mr. Engler's appearance previously slated for September 18, 2025, has been cancelled,” they wrote.

“@caefto thanks St. Paul's and the Diocese of Toronto for their urgent attention to this matter.”

@caefto is the official X account for the Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation (CAEF), a CRA-registered charity that “exposes the dangers of AntiZionism which is an aspect of Antisemitism (sic), promotes Jewish rights to the land of Israel, and and (sic) debunks lies about Israel,” according to its webpage.

Engler’s team, however, was not officially informed that the event was cancelled until 10:52 AM.

“I am writing to inform you that, after further review, we cannot proceed with hosting your upcoming event at St. Paul’s due to the political nature of the event, which places it outside the scope of what we can support in our space,” wrote Beril Karasahin, St. Paul’s events manager.

By 11:04 AM, CAEF was thanking “the Anglican Diocese of Toronto and the leadership of St. Paul's Anglican Church for their swift response in cancelling this event, based on the information provided to them.”

Though @caefto seems to be CAEF’s official X account, @Beaf333 has posted many times on behalf or presenting as CAEF. On Aug. 28, for instance, @Beaf333 (The Greasy Walrus of Monte Cristo) wrote on X:

“As the Jewish New Year approaches, like many other Jewish community organizations, we at @caefto appeal to our supporters to visit our website and chip in a few dollars if you like what you see.”

When asked, CAEF president Michael Teper did not deny having any involvement in the cancellation. Instead, he told the Media Co-op, via email: 

“Aquila non captat (sic) muscas,” which translates from Latin to: “The eagle does not catch flies.”

@Beaf333 did not reply to inquiries about whether their account was linked to CAEF.

Neither St. Paul’s nor the Diocese of Toronto responded to requests for comment.

Pressuring St. Paul’s

The Greasy Walrus of Monte Cristo’s first tweets looking to get Engler’s event cancelled appeared on Sept. 13. In it, the user tells others to “Ask the Rector, Bishop Jenny Andison, why they are hosting this antisemite at their facility, giving him and his followers aid comfort (sic) and support.”

The next one came on Sept. 14, tagging the NDP, Engler, The Anglican Church of Canada, the Diocese of Toronto, St. Paul’s and CAEF. 

Also tagged were the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, B’nai Brith Canada, the chair of The Abraham Global Peace Initiative, Tafsik Organization and the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto.

The Greasy Walrus tweeted two more times tagging the Diocese of Toronto and St. Paul’s church at 4:49 and 4:54 AM on Sept. 15 before officially announcing the event was cancelled later that morning and throughout the day.

“@caefto thanks @anglicandioto and @stpaulsbloor for their swift action in cancelling this event, given the information they received upon opening their office this week,” reads one at 12:47 PM, for instance.

Still going ahead

Despite this setback, Engler says they are going ahead with the event on Sept. 18 at 7 PM , even if it has to be outside the church's doors. 

As of time of writing, more than 10,000 people have signed a petition asking St. Paul’s to reverse course and not “cave to pro-Genocide Pressure.”

“The idea that a church that is supposed to stand up for social justice is giving in to the Zionist lobby is just wrong,” says Engler. “It sets a very bad precedent. At minimum, they [the church] are emboldening those who advocate for some of the most heinous crimes taking place each day [in Gaza].”

On Sept. 17, Meir Weinstein, the former head of the Jewish Defence League (rebranded as Israel Now), called for police to shut down the event, claiming that it "will be in violation of the bubble zone bylaw."

Engler says he's undeterred and ready to face the consequences.

"If, by some outside chance, the church applies to be a bubble zone and the police seek to apply this odious anti-Palestinian law, I will take responsibility for the event and I will let them lock me up," he posted on Facebook.

"It is essential to defy such anti-democratic legislation — especially as Mark Carney is set to adopt similar 'bubble zone' legislation federally."

Engler says his team is considering litigation against St. Paul’s due to the financial repercussions that cancelling the event — which was also a fundraiser — will have on the campaign.