Ontario politician Bob Gale has resigned as chairman of the Niagara Regional government that borders Western New York after two racial justice groups made an accusation that he purchased an autographed first-edition of Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf" manifesto in 2010.
Gale, who was appointed by the provincial government to the position of Niagara Regional chairman only in December 2025, was already facing intense scrutiny from residents and local mayors. He had proposed an amalgamation of local governments in the Niagara Region from 12, down to four or just one.
He said it was needed to save taxpayer's money and improve infrastructure.
The plan worried leaders of the region’s smaller towns, like Fort Erie Mayor Wayne Redekop, who believed communities would lose their distinction and voice in decision making.
“It's really a failure to recognize that there is diversity, that diversity is good, that local government is typically more responsive and better scrutinized by the public," Redekop told BTPM NPR in February. "Because you're closer to the people. And my experience has always been that the larger the level of government, the less accountable it is to the public.”
In Gale's resignation letter submitted on March 11, he didn't reference ownership of the Nazi leader's 1925 antisemitic and fascist manifesto by name, saying that “a member of the communist party circulated a dated document that listed my name as the owner of a historical book found in many libraries.”
The CBC confirmed through documents and an interview with a Niagara-based appraiser that Gale does indeed own a signed early copy of "Mein Kampf," autographed by Hitler himself. He paid a U.S. auction house $6,345 for it in 2010.
Gale defended his ownership, calling himself a "passionate historian with a broad collection of historical art and artifacts.”
The revelation doesn't sit well with St. Catharines-based Indigenous broadcaster Sean Vanderklis, Curve Lake First Nation Anishinaabe.
"There has to be repercussions for holding the document that is a foundation for the Holocaust, the most notorious genocidal act in the history of man [that] has been documented through and through," Vanderklis said. "Instead of facing his constituents. Instead of facing the voters, he just decided to resign. What does that say about him? His desire to own this book, this book of hate, is more important than his desire to serve the people that he claims to want to serve."
BTPM NPR made attempts to contact Gale for further comment, but did not hear back.
The Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association was the one of the groups who first reveled the purchase of the book by Gale, saying documents were given to them from a community member.
"White supremacist groups are publicly intimidating us in Niagara, pushing antisemitic conspiracy theories against migrants and trans people, so it was just untenable for any official, let alone the top politician, to hold on to a signed book that same hate is based on,” said Saleh Waziruddin of the Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association in a release.
Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati, a longtime Gale ally and supporter of his municipal amalgamation proposal, said he spoke with a local rabbi about Gale owning the signed copy of "Mein Kampf."
“I figured who better to get insight than them? And they weren’t concerned about it. They didn’t understand what all the issue was around it," Diodati told CTV News. "And I feel he’s not anybody that has any hatred ideology whatsoever. He’s a historical collector. That’s what he is.”
Following Gale's resignation, Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Rob Flack said his role as chairperson will be filled by several councilors on a rotating basis.
