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Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War

Website:

hamiltoncoalitiontostopthewar.ca/
Type:

Anti-war Activist Group
Location:

Hamilton, Ontario Canada
Formation:

2002
President:

Ken Stone

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The Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War is a left-of-center Canadian anti-war activist group. It was founded in 2002 as the “November 16th Coalition” in opposition to the Iraq War and is an affiliate of the Canadian Peace Alliance. 1  2 The Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War is also an affiliate of the ANSWER Coalition and signed an ANSWER statement opposing the United States’ involvement in Syria. 3

The Hamilton Coalition is a pro-Palestinian organization that regularly criticizes the United States and its alliance with Israel. The group is a member of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement and its president, Ken Stone, has called for the land governed by the state of Israel to become one Palestinian state. 1  2  4  5

Positions

Criticism of the United States and Israel

The Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War publishes petitions and expresses its positions on issues related to the United States and Israel. In March 2026, the coalition expressed its opposition to the United States and Israel’s military actions against Iran and called for an end to what it called the war “on Iran and Lebanon, and [an] end [to] the genocide in Palestine.” 6

The Hamilton Coalition has also expressed its support for the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement to delegitimize the state of Israel. In 2023, the Canadian BDS Coalition published an annual report that cited the Hamilton Coalition as a member organization. 4

In March 2020, the coalition circulated a Code Pink petition opposing United States sanctions against Iran in an attempt to link COVID-19 related deaths in Iran to the American sanctions against the Iranian regime. 7

In 2020, the Hamilton Coalition expressed its opposition to the extradition of Meng Wanzhou, a Chinese national accused of using the British banking system to do business with a subsidiary in Iran, a practice which violated Western sanctions against the Iranian regime. In 2018, a U.S. District Court judge had issued a warrant for Meng’s arrest based on allegations that Meng conspired to make misrepresentations to HSBC, a British bank, to induce HSBC to continue to provide banking services to Meng’s China-based employer, Huawei Technologies. The Hamilton Coalition criticized Wanzhou’s arrest, claiming the action was politically motivated. 8

Opposition to Ukrainian Recruitment

In 2022, Canadian citizen Chris Ecklund launched the website FightForUkraine.ca as an educational tool to publish updates on the state of the Russia-Ukraine war and to encourage users to help Ukraine, including by enlisting in the International Legion of Defence of Ukraine, a force of international volunteer fighters. The Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War opposed the website, claiming it violated Canada’s Foreign Enlistment Act by promoting “illegal recruitment” of Canadian citizens to travel to and fight for Ukraine. 9

Opposition to Canadian Defense Contract

In January 2023, then-Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand announced Canada’s plan to purchase 88 F-35 fighter jets from American weapons manufacturer Lockheed Martin in a deal worth over $19 billion. The Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War partnered with the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace to oppose the weapons contract, arguing that the funds from the military contract should instead be used to fund left-of-center environmental initiatives in Canada. 10  11

Support for Cuban Regime

The Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War also publishes its position on conflicts around the world, including Cuba. In June 2024, the coalition joined over 250 left-of-center organizations in signing a petition to remove Cuba from the United States’ list of states that sponsor terrorism. The petition claimed that Cuba was “a pillar of international peace and justice.” 12

Leadership

Ken Stone has been listed as both the president and treasurer of the Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War. He is also a founding member of Independent Jewish Voices (IJV). Stone has a history of criticizing the state of Israel and supporting various Islamist leaders, including former Supreme Leader of Iran Ruhollah Khomeini during a speech in 2016. Stone is a frequent speaker on issues related to Israel and the Middle East and was a keynote speaker at the Al-Quds Day rallies in Toronto, Canada from 2013 to 2013 and from 2015 to 2018. 13  14

During a 2025 interview, Stone expressed his opposition to remarks made by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. Stone suggested the remarks were “dangerous” and undermined relations between China, Japan, and Taiwan. 14

Stone also signed an open letter opposing Canada’s inclusion on the United Nations Security Council, citing what he expressed was a long history of Canada’s support for war across the world, especially in the Middle East in support of Israel. 15

In 2021, Ken Stone retweeted a post that criticized Israel for naming six Palestinian nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) as “terrorist organizations.” 16 In 2020, Stone expressed his belief that all territories possessed by the state of Israel should become one Palestinian state. 5

References

  1. “Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War.” Facebook. Accessed March 15, 2026. https://www.facebook.com/hamiltoncoalitiontostopthewar/
  2. “About Us.” Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War. Accessed March 15, 2026. https://hamiltoncoalitiontostopthewar.ca/about-us/
  3. “U.S. Hands Off Syria Coalition — Points of unity statement.” ANSWER Coalition. Accessed March 15, 2026. https://www.answercoalition.org/u_s_hands_off_syria_coalition_points_of_unity_statement
  4. “Copy of Canadian BDS Coalition 2023 annual report.docx.” Canadian BDS Coalition. 2023. Accessed March 15, 2026. https://bdscoalition.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/The-Canadian-BDS-Coalition-2023-annual-report.pdf
  5. Halevi, Jonathan D. “Ken Stone: We support ‘Palestinian state in all of historic Palestine.’” Canada Docs. May 22, 2020. Accessed March 15, 2026. https://canadadocs.org/ken-stone-we-support-palestinian-state-in-all-of-historic-palestine/
  6. “DEMONSTRATE SUNDAY AGAINST WAR!” Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War. March 6, 2026. Accessed March 15, 2026. https://hamiltoncoalitiontostopthewar.ca/2026/03/06/demonstrate-sunday-against-war/
  7. “PETITION – No Iran Sanctions!” Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War. March 19, 2020. Accessed March 15, 2026. https://hamiltoncoalitiontostopthewar.ca/2020/03/19/petition-no-iran-sanctions/
  8. Lascaris, Dimitri “Why the Trump administration’s extradition request against Meng Wanzhou is a farce.” Canadian Dimension. December 16, 2020. Accessed March 15, 2026. https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/why-the-trump-administrations-extradition-request-against-meng-wanzhou-is-a-farce
  9. Taekema, Dan. “Hamilton man’s fight for Ukraine website called ‘illegal recruitment’ tool by anti-war group.” CBC. April 20, 2022. Accessed March 15, 2026. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/ecklund-fight-for-ukraine-foreign-enlistment-act-1.6422758
  10. “Home.” No Fighter Jets. Accessed March 15, 2026. https://nofighterjets.ca/
  11. “No Fighter Jets.” VOW Peace. Accessed March 15, 2026. https://vowpeace.org/nofighterjets/
  12. “Take Cuba Off the List.” Progressive International. July 5, 2024. Accessed March 15, 2026. https://progressive.international/wire/2024-07-05-take-cuba-off-the-list/en/
  13. Halevi, Jonathan D. “Pro-Palestinian Canadian Jewish Activist’s Speech on the Legacy of Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini.” Jerusalem Study for Security and Foreign Affairs. https://jcfa.org/article/pro-palestinian-canadian-jewish-activists-speech-on-the-legacy-of-irans-ayatollah-khomeini/
  14. “Canadian peace activist warns Takaichi’s Taiwan remarks are dangerous.” CGTN. December 26, 2025. Accessed March 15, 2026. https://news.cgtn.com/news/2025-12-26/Canadian-peace-activist-warns-Takaichi-s-Taiwan-remarks-are-dangerous-1JpG26L24X6/p.html
  15. “Canada does not deserve a seat on the UN Security Council.” Canadian Foreign Policy Institute. Accessed March 15, 2026. https://www.foreignpolicy.ca/letter
  16. “Ken Stone reposted @cvoule.” X. October 24, 2021. Accessed March 15, 2026. https://x.com/CcarKen/status/1452353552236564497
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