Cotler has risen to great prominence in recent decades, with his accomplishments including serving as an MP from 1999 to 2015, a minister and attorney general from 2003 to 2006, and Canada’s special envoy on combatting antisemitism from 2020 to 2023. Cotler has also received at least 15 honorary doctorates, and in 1991 he was awarded the Order of Canada while in 2023 he received Israel’s presidential medal of honour.

Along the way, Cotler has told a story that has captivated audiences and won him praise from prominent figures.

The exact details have varied over the years, but the most common version of Cotler’s narrative is that in 1981 he visited South Africa as a guest of the anti-apartheid movement, gave a speech in support of Mandela that led to him getting arrested and at the end of his trip was asked to be part of Mandela’s international legal team.

This story has been credulously spread by media outlets and politicians in Canada for decades, up to and including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, with the significance and extent of Cotler’s activity in South Africa inflated alongside his rise to prominence.

However, comments from the figures and organizations mentioned above cast doubt on Cotler’s narrative. In particular, various sources told The Maple there’s no evidence and/or record that Cotler had any relation with Mandela or that he was arrested in South Africa. Some of these figures also disputed Cotler’s recent claim that Mandela wouldn’t have supported South Africa’s case against Israel before the International Court of Justice.

This article will go through each element of Cotler’s narrative, outline what he has said about them and present the findings of The Maple’s research and interviews.