Shopify's Harley Finkelstein targeted in antisemitic confrontation at tech event
Finkelstein's willingness to keep Shopify headquartered in Canada is being tested repeatedly, at a moment when similar pressures have already pushed Jewish communities out of parts of Europe.
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Article by Rebel News staff
Tonight, on The Ezra Levant Show, when will Canada reach a migrant tipping point, as some European countries have?
Canada has few homegrown technology giants. Most entrepreneurs with big ideas move south to the United States, drawn by financing, a deep talent pool, lower taxes and a culture that rewards risk-taking. Elon Musk once called Canada home before deciding it no longer suited him.
One major exception is Shopify, the Ottawa-founded e-commerce platform used by millions of businesses and close to a billion customers worldwide, including Rebel News. With a market capitalization above a quarter of a trillion dollars, Shopify is now the third-largest company in Canada, trailing only the Royal Bank and TD Bank, and outranking both national railways and every oil company. Its leaders, Harley Finkelstein and Tobi Lütke, have said repeatedly that they stay in Canada out of genuine affection for the country.
That affection was tested again this week. At Startupfest in Montreal, Finkelstein was on stage discussing entrepreneurship alongside mixed martial arts champion Georges St-Pierre when a man, identified online as Yves Engler, stormed the stage and began shouting accusations at him, branding him a genocidaire — someone who murders. The event had nothing to do with Israel or politics; Finkelstein is a Canadian businessman, not a soldier or an official of any kind. Video of the confrontation circulated widely online.
Shopify president Harley Finkelstein squirmed when questioned about his financial & ideological support for genocidal Jewish supremacy. Former UFC champion George Saint Pierre also looked visibly uncomfortable today when I challenged him to stand up for Palestinians pic.twitter.com/9opN2kXZm8
— Yves Engler (@EnglerYves) July 8, 2026
Finkelstein wrote afterward that it was the third such incident in two years, including one at the opening of a Jewish community centre, and that his parents were in the front row to witness it. He said the room booed the man down and cheered as he was removed.
The incident lands against a backdrop of shifting demographics and hardening attitudes. Ottawa-Carleton's public school board now counts Muslim students as its largest religious group, growing roughly one percent annually. During a recent World Cup match, large crowds in downtown Ottawa were heard cheering loudly — not for Canada, which had lost, but for Morocco.
Polling adds further context. A Pew Research survey found 44 percent of Muslim Americans hold a favourable view of Hamas. A separate British study cited by the Henry Jackson Society found only one in four British Muslims believes Hamas committed murder and rape on October 7, while 46 percent said they sympathize with the group. Separately, a video circulated of soccer fans chanting for the death of Jews.
Finkelstein's willingness to keep Shopify headquartered in Canada is being tested repeatedly, at a moment when similar pressures have already pushed Jewish communities out of parts of Europe.
Even if you’re not Jewish, when the last Harley Finkelstein leaves, do you really think it will be any better for the Christian or post-Christian people who remain?
Egypt was once a Christian country. So was Lebanon. Both are now Jew-free. How are they doing?
COMMENTS
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Richard Kudrna commented 2026-07-10 21:26:59 -0400I encourage all those of means to fund exposing paid for hate such as Qatari revisionist history vilifying Jews. Or soon we will need to resurrect the Jewish Defence League. -
Ruth Bard commented 2026-07-10 21:10:18 -0400“First the Saturday people, then the Sunday people.” Don’t think it won’t happen.
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Jane Vandervliet commented 2026-07-10 20:50:36 -0400Jews are a thin shield between the barbaric political ideology Islam and the west. If they are removed look out.
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Bruce Atchison commented 2026-07-10 20:32:02 -0400Canada has too many useful idiots. Along with socialists, we have jihadi and Sikh extremists. There are also those “elbows up” boomers who believe the TV. All these people contribute to Canada’s destruction.
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Paul Scofield commented 2026-07-10 20:18:27 -0400 FlagOh goody, another antisemitic POS, either imported in on one of the many waves of Third World trash from the Middle East, or grunted out of a Canadian university. No such thing as a Palestinian, sonny boy. Originally they were just a bunch of Jordanian misfits kicked out of that country and widely disliked throughout the region because they are nothing but big time trouble. Even Julius Streicher would have had nothing to so with you. What a tool.
