Toronto Mayoral Candidate Who Does Not Want Support From People Who “Sow Division,” Attended an Event with Individuals who have Shared Islamophobic Beliefs

Toronto mayoral candidate Brad Bradford can’t seem to put distance between himself and Islamophobes. 

After Bradford disavowed a supporter last week for posting several Islamophobic tweets, PressProgress has learned this is not the only Bradford supporter who has publicly expressed bigoted views.  

Last week, Bradford came under fire for posting that he was grateful for support from business advocate Catherine Swift. Swift, a supporter of the Toronto mayoral candidate posted  an Islamophobic message on X on August 14. 

“I am a proud Islamophobe. I oppose marrying little girls to dirty old men, raping women, treating women like animals, so-called honour killings which are disgusting, selling off daughters to old men. How can anyone support this?” the post, which has since been deleted, read.

The message thanking Swift for her support has also been removed from Bradford’s Facebook page.

This wasn’t Swift’s only Islamophobic post–others were gathered by Progress Toronto, an organization affiliated with mayor Olivia Chow. Another tweet from Swift simply read, “Pedophiles=Islam.”

In a recent post, Bradford distanced himself from Swift.

I wasn’t aware of Catherine Swift’s posts on Islam. Now that I am, I condemn them completely, and suggest to her that she should take them down and apologize. I don’t want or need the support of those who promote division and prejudice.

— Brad Bradford (@BradMBradford) August 25, 2026

“I wasn’t aware of Catherine Swift’s posts on Islam. Now that I am, I condemn them completely, and suggest to her that she should take them down and apologize. I don’t want or need the support of those who promote division and prejudice,” read Bradford’s tweet. 

Although Bradford claims he doesn’t want support from those who promote division and prejudice, Swift is not the first supporter of his to be caught promoting division or prejudice.

On Oct 21, 2025, National Post columnist, anti-harm reduction activist, and self-proclaimed spy Adam Zivo posted a set of photos to X from an event he attended which included Bradford and event attendees. 

Met @BradMBradford at an event last night. Very smart guy. Principled. Excited to see what his political future holds. pic.twitter.com/kfl3u6DBF7

— Adam Zivo (@AdamZivo) October 21, 2025

Doc von Lichtenberg

Doc von Lichtenberg, owner of Doc’s Leathers on Queen Street in Toronto, hosted this event for Bradford in October 2025.

Despite most of the coverage about Von Lichtenberg in local publications focusing on his business venture, he has also made the news for his affiliations to a number of different political groups and actions.

Brad Bradford made a Facebook post on October 23, 2025 that included several photos from this night, including one with von Lichtenberg, thanking him for hosting.

“A night hearing from residents who are fed up with crime, congestion and a City Hall that doesn’t seem to listen. Grateful for the chance to hear from them and talk about how we can keep moving Toronto forward. Thanks so much to Doc for hosting,” read the post. 

When asked about the event in a phone call, von Lichtenberg told PressProgress he thought this event was held just a few months ago, not last year. 

He did not answer questions about event attendees asked by PressProgress, but demanded to be sent articles from PressProgress’ reporter before potentially continuing the conversation. 

“Or maybe I’ll give your name and links to some people I know,” said von Lichtenberg. “I know a lot of people.” 

“A lot of people might find you to be a very interesting writer,” von Lichtenberg added.

von Lichtenberg denied that his comments were intended as a threat and did not respond to any further contact from PressProgress.

In 2017, von Lichtenberg was involved in planning an Islamophobic “death march” at Toronto’s Pride Parade. The “death march,” according to a livestream video before the event, was going to include fake severed heads, caskets, drums and anti-Islamic signs. One sign the group intended to carry read, “Defeat the islamic death cult.”

This march was organized by the Jewish Defense League, a now disbanded group that was listed as a terrorist organization by the FBI. 

In the lead up to that event, von Lichtenberg was pictured with Meir Weinstein, the JDL’s former national director in Canada.

Image credit: https://www.buzzfeed.com/ishmaeldaro/jdl-canada-toronto-pride)

Meir Weinstein 

On top of von Lichtenberg’s connection to Weinstein, a photograph from Zivo shows a man in the back of a photo resembling Weinstein attending this event last October. von Lichtenberg told PressProgress that he couldn’t remember if Weinstein was in attendance.

The man third from the left resembles Weinstein. Image credit: AdamZivo/X

Weinstein did not respond to questions from PressProgress attempting to confirm his attendance.

Weinstein, as the former national director of the Jewish Defense League, has a history of making Islamophobic statements and advocating for violence against Muslims. 

Weinstein also refers to Jewish people whose views regarding Israel do not reflect his own as “so-called Jews” or “Hamas supporters.” 

In 2009, as reported by the CBC, Weinstein’s Facebook page linked to a group titled “Death to Arabs.” The transcript from the radio report (archived on YouTube) says Weinstein claimed the link was in Hebrew and he didn’t know what it meant.

“…bloggers also discovered a link on Weinstein’s Facebook page to a chat group called “Death to Arabs.” Weinstein says the link was sent to him in Hebrew and he added it not knowing what it said. He has since deleted it.”

In 2011, the JDL held a support rally for the English Defense League’s Tommy Robinson, an internationally recognized Islamophobe. 

Most recently, after being asked about what could be done if Trudeau brought in an influx Palestinian refugees to Canada in 2023, Weinstein replied, “learn to fight and learn how to shoot.”

Weinstein stepped down from the JDL in 2021, but earlier this summer he announced that he was forming the New Jewish Defense Force – as reported by the Jerusalem Post. Weinstein said this new organization is planning to combat rising antisemitism by collecting personal data about “Hamas and other terror supporters” – like names and home addresses and publishing this information on the internet to “stage demonstrations outside their residences.”

Amir Epstein – Tafsik 

Amir Epstein, the executive director of Tafsik– a pro-Israel organization, was also present at the event with Bradford. Epstein has confirmed that he was at the event in an email to PressProgress, but says he didn’t know who else would be at the event.

“No, I had no idea who would be in attendance,” said Epstein in an email. “A guest list wasn’t provided. Even if it were, I wouldn’t have bothered looking through it.”

Epstein added that he didn’t recall much about the evening beyond “sharing a few niceties” with Bradford, and that he would be supporting Bradford in the upcoming municipal election. 

Amir Epstein pictured at the event hugging Brad Bradford

Epstein said he was not sure who invited him to the event, but he imagined it was von Lichtenberg, who he had not met until that night. 

Last year, Tafsik sought an injunction to prevent the raising of the Palestinian flag at Nathan Phillips Square, arguing that the mere raising of the flag would inspire harassment and violence against the Jewish community in Toronto. This argument was rejected by the judge.

“The applicants’ assertion that public demonstrations, counter-protests, civil disorder and public safety incidents will result from the raising of the State of Palestine’s flag at City Hall is nothing more than speculation. Further, as noted earlier, there is no cogent evidentiary basis raising the State of Palestine’s flag poses a threat to public safety or presents a real risk of the normalization of antisemitic behaviour in the public square,” read the judge’s decision.

When Winnipeg’s Museum of Human Rights opened its Nakba exhibit, Epstein was quoted in the Globe and Mail stating that he was in favour of the exhibit if it included voices that celebrated the event.

“If this is a display that will actually showcase the facts and properly explain what happened in the period around 1948, then I’m all for it,” Epstein said in the article. “But for that to happen, it will need to include the perspective of many Jews like myself, who celebrate the Nakba. Because for us, it means we got to survive. We got to see Israel, and we got to see it become the gem of the Middle East after all that our people had been through.” 

The Nakba, or “catastrophe”, was the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians in 1948, during the Arab-Israeli war. Over 700,000 people were removed or fled from their homes. As of 2023, there were 5.9 million Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA. On its website, the UN calls this displacement the “longest-standing protracted refugee crisis.”

Epstein told PressProgress the reason that people grieve the Nakba is not because of displacement. 

The Nakba, or “the catastrophe”, was the violent displacement and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the 1948 conflict that established Israel. Around 750,000 people were removed or fled from their homes.

“The reason Arabs (Palestinians today) grieve the Naqba is that the Arab countries that attacked Israel in 1948 with the full intention of genociding the Jews in the land, and failed,” Epstein said.

“What they grieve is that the Jews were not all killed so they could take their possessions and land,” Epstein added. “Every Jew celebrates not having been genocided. Jew haters mourn.”

Epstein has also spoken in front of the Canadian Heritage Committee, referring to the CBC as a mouthpiece for terrorist entities because they used data provided by the Gazan Health Ministry. 

“All of Gaza is operated by Hamas. When they’re getting information from that part of Hamas, it is still information that’s being provided by a terrorist organization, and they ignore the fact that they’re getting their news information from the same people who are capable of beheading people with shovels. They are rushing to push narratives by an organization that quite literally states that they want to annihilate the only Jewish state in the world. This is how they work as a mouthpiece for terror.”

Jason Toney, Director of Media Advocacy at Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East told PressProgress that Bradford’s attendance at this event was “alarming.”

“It is alarming that a major candidate for mayor of Toronto would attend an event hosted by or alongside individuals with a well-documented history of promoting anti-Muslim hate and far-right extremism,” Toney said. 

“Such decisions contribute to the normalization of hate, placing electoral interests above standing against prejudice. Toronto residents deserve leaders who not only unequivocally reject Islamophobia in all its forms, but put that principle into practice.”

Brad Bradford’s campaign did not respond to specific questions about the event in October, or meeting with Doc von Lichtenberg and Meir Weinstein, but a campaign spokesperson did provide a statement, accusing PressProgress of being a “political attack machine.”

“PressProgress is a political attack machine, run by the NDP’s think tank, the Broadbent Institute. It’s led by people who founded Progress Toronto and advised NDP Mayor Olivia Chow. Brad meets thousands of residents at hundreds of events across this city, and he’ll keep doing it, because a Mayor should listen to everyone. He’s been unequivocal his entire career: hatred has no home in Toronto, and as Mayor, he’ll make sure Muslim and Jewish families alike are free to live fully, safely, and without fear in this city. Readers deserve to know who’s writing the story and whose campaign it serves.”

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With files from Samira Mohyeddin