British MP George Galloway, an outspoken supporter of the Palestinian cause who was barred last month from entering Canada for a speaking tour, says he plans to sue the head of the Canadian Jewish Congress and CTV for defamation.

George Galloway told a cheering crowd in Ottawa he plans to sue some Canadians for defamation over comments made after he was denied entry to Canada. (Canadian Press)

Speaking to an audience in Ottawa through a video internet connection from New York, Galloway said Thursday he will fight for his reputation, but did not say specifically how he had been defamed.

“I have instructed my lawyers in Canada to bring an action for defamation against Bernie Farber, the CEO of the Canadian Jewish Congress, and CTV, for comments he made that they allowed him to make,” he said.

“I am not a terrorist. I am not a threat to Canada’s national security.”

He said he will sue if he doesn't receive an apology, reimbursement for administrative costs and payment for damages.

A spokesman later said Galloway plans similar action against Immigration Minister Jason Kenney.

Galloway was denied entry by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) under Section 34(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, which bars those who provide material support for terrorist groups.

The anti-war advocate and member of the British Parliament since 1987 said he took an ambulance, wheelchairs, food and medicine to the Gaza Strip last month but is not a supporter of the Palestinian group Hamas, which is listed as a banned terrorist organization in Canada.

He gave $45,000 in relief money to the elected Hamas government, but said that's what any aid group or non-governmental organization trying to help Palestinians would do.

A spokesman for the immigration minister said the border agency made the decision that Galloway was inadmissible based on the law, not politics.

A Federal Court ruling issued March 30 upheld the CBSA decision to prohibit the MP from visiting Canada.

Supporters of the politician from Scotland — now on a speaking tour of about a dozen U.S. cities — called the decision an affront to free speech that smacked of political interference by the Conservative government.

MP says his audiences are larger now

In his speech by video to hundreds of people who filled a community theatre in Ottawa, Galloway said efforts to ban him from speaking in Canada have backfired spectacularly.

"Far more people have come to these rallies than would otherwise have done," he said.

As people arrived for his lecture, pro-and anti-Galloway pamphleteers handed them papers.

One from the Communist Party of Canada blamed the rich for the current recession and listed statistics that indicate middle-class wages have been frozen while corporate profits multiplied since 1992.

Another pamphlet included a series of statements Galloway has made in favour of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, and suggesting that world leaders like George Bush and Tony Blair have more blood on their hands than the London subway bombers.

Galloway, 54, has visited Canada several times before without incident, most recently in 2006.

With files from the Canadian Press