Dieudonné M'bala M'bala
Dieudonné M'bala M'balaReuters

Anti-Semitic French comedian Dieudonné cancelled a planned performance in Montreal, Canada, after he was reportedly barred from entering the country, CBC News reports.

Dieudonné was scheduled to perform 10 shows in Montreal starting Wednesday night but was reportedly barred from entering Canada at Montreal's Trudeau airport Tuesday, according to the network.

Passengers on Dieudonné's flight said he was met by two border agents when the plane landed in Montreal.

Dieudonné stirred up controversy several years ago when he invented the quenelle gesture, a reverse Nazi salute that has become extremely popular in anti-Semitic and extremist circles across the French-speaking world and worldwide.

He was widely accused of promoting anti-Semitism and already has a string of convictions in France for hate speech and other related offences, and saw his performances banned by French authorities due to their virulently anti-Semitic content.

Last year, a French court convicted Dieudonné of anti-Semitic comments and fined him $24,000.

On Tuesday, he was found guilty of violating hate speech laws in France and handed a 10,000 euro fine and a two-month suspended jail sentence, in a conviction related to a show where he dressed up to resemble a detainee from Guantanamo Bay, mocked the Holocaust and suggested Jews were active in the slave trade.

The Canada Border Services Agency has some discretion in admitting people to the country with criminal records, according to the CBC, but will not comment on specific cases.

His planned appearances in Montreal have been the subject of controversy for weeks, with Mayor Denis Coderre declaring Dieudonné isn't welcome in the city.

Earlier this year, the controversial comedian was deported from Hong Kong due to what was reported to be complaints by the French and Israeli consulates ahead of his scheduled shows there.