Canadian Prime Minister’s Office and Border Services Claim to Not be “Involved” in Banning Kneecap From Canada

The Canadian Prime Minister’s office and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) have claimed that they were not “involved” in banning Kneecap from the country. Kneecap was banned from entering Canada in September, with Canadian officials saying they had “made statements that are contrary to Canadian values” that “caused deep alarm”, according to NME.

Canadian Liberal MP and Parliamentary Secretary for Combating Crime Vince Gasparro said in September, “On behalf of the government of Canada I am announcing that on the advice of our officials, we have deemed the group Kneecap ineligible to enter our country.”

Gasparro has also said that Kneecap had allegedly “amplified political violence and publicly displayed support for terrorist organisations such as Hezbollah and Hamas”. “These are not expressions of art or legitimate political critique,” Gasparro said. “They are dangerous endorsements of violence and hate.” It was said that the ban had been announced “on behalf” of the Canadian government.

Contrarily, new documents state that the office of Canadian PM Mark Carney was “not involved in the decision” for Gasparro to make the announcement, according to BBC News.

The CBSA also claimed that it was not “implicated in the authorisation of the announcement”. The agency said it did not “provide advice” and was not “consulted” about the announcement.

However, it seems that the band aren’t currently allowed to enter Canada for different reasons than the announcement gave.

The Department of Citizenship and Immigration reportedly responded to a query, saying there were allegedly compliance issues surrounding Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh’s (Mo Chara) application. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said that, in August 2025, Ó hAnnaidh’s “electronic travel authorisation was cancelled for inadmissibility for omitting to disclose complete and accurate information on his application”. It continued, “The applicant was notified of the reasons for this decision. He remains eligible to submit a new application, which will be assessed on its own merits. Inadmissibility for non-compliance generally ends once a client is no longer in a state of non-compliance.”