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Or sign-in if you have an account.Bestselling author Gad Saad, formerly a Concordia professor, spoke May 17 at the World Symposium Against Antizionism, in Toronto. Photo by Credit: Dave GordonFirst Reading is a Canadian politics newsletter curated by the National Post’s own Tristin Hopper. To get an early version sent directly to your inbox, sign up here.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorAt the precise moment that his book Suicidal Empathy is topping world bestseller charts, prominent Canadian academic Gad Saad has announced he is permanently leaving Montreal for the United States, citing escalating threats to his personal safety.In a May 12 appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast, Saad said he had accepted a post at the University of Mississippi. He said repeated death threats had made it untenable for him to continue as a marketing professor at Concordia University.This newsletter from NP Comment tackles the topics you care about. (Subscriber-exclusive edition on Fridays)By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again“I’m now leaving in large part because it became difficult for me, if not impossible, to be a high-profile Jewish professor who supports the right of Israel to exist,” he said.Saad confirmed the move in a Victoria Day social media post, thanking Concordia “for the complete freedom that I was granted to pursue any research stream and any professional endeavour that I desired.”He added, “I did face some difficulties over the past few years stemming from the unfolding realities in Montreal but I walk away with some sadness (I’m sentimental).”Concordia University has long been a focal point of anti-Israel radicalism. As far back as 2002, an anti-Zionist riot at the school prevented a planned appearance by Israeli politician Benjamin Netanyahu, who is now prime minister.More recently, the university was the scene of a November 2024 anti-Israel riot that saw the school’s main lobby dominated by masked mobs calling for Intifada and charging lecture halls to interrupt classes with bells and shouted slogans.Saad told Joe Rogan that in 2017, online threats had forced him to follow a safety protocol in which he had to be escorted by security while on campus — and the doors of his classrooms locked to keep out potential assailants.“I would lecture, I would be ushered out, my wife would be waiting for me and I would let out a deep sigh, ‘Thank God I survived another week,’” he said.In 2022, Saad said he was walking with his nine-year-old son when a man asked him if he was Gad Saad, to which he replied that he was.As Saad told Rogan, “then he kind of composes himself to deal with the hatred he feels and he goes ‘I’m not going to do anything to you out of respect for your son today.’”Shortly afterwards, Saad took leave from Concordia in order to accept a post with the Declaration of Independence Center for the Study of American Freedom at the University of Mississippi.Saad told Rogan he is in the United States on a work visa, but hopes to obtain permanent residency and ultimately citizenship. “Maybe we can turn the Saads into Americans,” he said.Saad’s departure marks the second time in 16 months that an influential Canadian academic has left Canada for the United States, blaming local political conditions for hounding them into exile.Jordan Peterson, formerly of the University of Toronto, officially announced his permanent departure from Canada in 2024, said it had become “uncomfortable” for him to continue living in his Toronto neighbourhood.Like Saad, Peterson is one of Canada’s most high-profile academic figures. As of May, his YouTube channel has 8.5 million subscribers, and his book 12 Rules For Life ranks as one of the top-selling non-fiction books by a Canadian in history.In a June 2025 op-ed for National Post, Peterson characterized the last straw as being a prolonged effort by the Ontario College of Psychologists and Behaviour Analysts to strip him of his professional certification, citing his public comments critical of gender ideology.“I know I’m sick and tired of the whole affair, having moved out of the country in no small part in consequence of the prejudice, ideologically-motivated shenanigans, false morality and petty power mongering of that august body,” he wrote.Saad is confirming his exit from Canada at the same time that his new book, Suicidal Empathy: Dying to Be Kind, is currently number one on Canada’s Amazon charts, and number 10 in the U.S.The title is a term of Saad’s invention, and refers to a phenomenon of individuals prioritizing empathy over personal safety or cultural survival.Even before the book’s publication, it had already entered mainstream political discourse. As one example, it’s one of the favourite terms of billionaire Elon Musk, who mentions it frequently in online posts and podcast interviews.In September 2025, Saad used the term in testimony before the House of Commons Science and Research Committee, citing it as one of Canada’s signature national flaws.“Many people have written to me to ask whether they should come to Canada,” he said.“I say that there are wonderful things in Canada. There are amazing researchers in Canada, but, yes, we are an ultra-woke country. We do suffer from stage four suicidal empathy.” This is from a series of X.com posts by U.S. Undersecretary of War Elbridge Colby in which he outlined why the U.S. was pausing its participation in the Permanent Joint Board on Defence, a U.S.-Canadian body on continental security that’s been meeting since 1940. Colby specifically calls out Prime Minister Mark Carney’s so-called “Davos speech,” in which he declared the end of American hegemony.Up until this month, Bill C-22, Canada’s proposed new “lawful access” bill, had sped through first and second reading in the House of Commons without attracting much controversy.The bill is a package of powers streamlining the ability of law enforcement to perform online surveillance. Whereas police can currently obtain almost any kind of online information with a warrant, Bill C-22 would require tech companies to compile databases of customer information that law enforcement could plug in to if needed.In just the last week or so, opposition has galvanized around a specific Bill C-22 provision mandating that online companies would need to secretly store surveillance data on their customers for periods of at least one year. The primary criticism being that this would create a gold mine of personal information susceptible to theft by identity thieves.Signal, Windscribe and NordVPN have all threatened to suspend Canadian operations if the bill passes in its current form. And the U.S. House Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security drafted a letter to Ottawa warning them that the bill risked compromising the “security and data privacy of American citizens.”The committee warned that Canada would be forcing American tech companies to build “backdoors into their encrypted systems” which could be exploited by criminals, terrorists and hostile foreign governments. It’s unusual to see Canada just buy a new military aircraft when they need it, instead of the usual strategy of entering into a decades-long procurement stalemate. But that’s what the Department of Defence appears to have just done in replacing the CT-114 Tutor, the 1960s-era jet trainer famously used by the Snowbirds. On Tuesday, DND officially announced that the Tutors are being phased out in favour of the Swiss-made CT-157 Siskin II. Unfortunately, the Siskins won’t be operational until the early 2030s, meaning Canada won’t have an aerial demonstration team for at least the next five years.First Reading is a Canadian politics newsletter curated by the National Post’s own Tristin Hopper. To get an early version sent directly to your inbox, sign up here. Get the latest from Tristin Hopper straight to your inbox Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.