CUPE Leader Hahn Refuses to Step Down After Board Asks for Resignation

Fred Hahn, president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario, speaks at a press conference at Queen's Park in Toronto on July 16, 2018. The Canadian Press/Mark Blinch

CUPE leader Fred Hahn is refusing to step down after the union’s board asked him to leave his post due to his social media comments sparking anti-Semitism concerns.

The national arm of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) voted in favour of a motion earlier this week asking Hahn, the CUPE Ontario president and national vice-president, to resign.

It came after Hahn posted a video showing an Olympic diver with a Star of David on his arm diving off a board, according to media reports. As the diver headed toward the water, he turned into a bomb and exploded, hurting civilians. The video posted by Hahn has since been deleted.

The board said sharing the video was “deeply problematic” and a “clear violation of our union’s equality statement,” in an Aug. 22 press release.

Hahn has said he will not step down because he believes the decision should rest with the members who democratically re-elected him earlier this year.

“Because I respect the democracy of our union I maintained then as I do now that the members should decide. I trust delegates who represent our members to make the best decisions,” he said in a message to union members late Aug. 22.

He added that posting the video had nothing to do with “Jewish humanity or identity,” but about the “abhorrent actions by the state of Israel.”

The latest incident also drew comments by the provincial government, including Ontario Labour Minister David Piccini and Premier Doug Ford, who said CUPE members have told him Hahn’s comments “have been disgusting.”

“He says these bigoted comments. It’s unacceptable here in Ontario,” Ford said on Aug. 21.

The board said that its decision was not related to Ford’s comments about Hahn, saying it made the call for resignation “before Minister Piccini and Premier Ford chose to attack Fred Hahn, in a way that is completely revolting and unacceptable.”

Past Comments

This is not the first time Hahn has been criticized for online comments since the start of the war in Gaza after the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attacks by Hamas in Israel.

An Oct. 8, 2023, X post appeared to support “the power of resistance around the Globe” the day after Hamas launched land, air, and sea attacks against Israel.

He also posted an image on Instagram with the text “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”—a phrase associated with the desire for the destruction of Israel.

Hahn responded to critics saying that his posts never endorse violence, but express disapproval of governments that “misuse their power over people.” He issued an apology for his online comments in an open letter on Oct. 21.

He said he condemned the Hamas attack on Israel as well as “the disproportionate retribution” by the state of Israel against the Palestinian people.

Hahn was first elected president of CUPE Ontario in 2010, according to CUPE’s website. He is also the general vice-president on CUPE’s national executive board and a vice president of the Ontario Federation of Labour.

Chandra Philip contributed to this report.