The Storm Alliance is a Canadian anti-immigration group which is primarily based in Quebec. It describes itself as an "ultranationalist" organization and it opposes the Canadian government's immigration policies, which it calls "collective suicide". The group has drawn attention for staging protests in Lacolle, Quebec, against asylum seekers who enter Canada across the Canada–United States border on Roxham Road. It has called them "illegal immigrants" and has demanded the Government of Canada reimburse the province of Quebec for the costs incurred for handling them.
Various media sources and political commentators have called the Storm Alliance a far-right organization. Tregget insists that his movement is "ultranationalist" rather than far-right. Rachel Brown and Ben Makuch wrote in Vice Magazine that the Storm Alliance denies its far-right affiliations in order to attract more "moderate" followers.
History
The Storm Alliance was founded in December 2016 by Dave Tregget, who previously founded the Quebec chapter of the Finnish far-right group Soldiers of Odin. The group denies any connection to the Soldiers of Odin, and Tregget is no longer president of the Storm Alliance. The group has participated in protests alongside other far-right groups in Quebec such as La Meute and Atalante.
An estimated 200 Storm Alliance members took part in a major anti-immigration rally in September 2017, leading to a conflict with pro-refugee counter-protesters.
In 2018, the Storm Alliance disrupted a meeting at a school in Quebec City held by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. A man whose ties to the organization remain unclear waved a Canadian flag imposed with a swastika and the words "evil empire" on top of it was escorted out of the room by RCMP officers.
See also: Parti Québécois § Ties to far right groupsAfter a 2018 investigation into a pair of defunct Facebook groups, the Parti Québécois was accused of "showing a growing coziness" to far-right organizations, which included the Storm Alliance and La Meute, by the anti-racist activist Jeff Ray. The report revealed that numerous active participants and administrators on pro-PQ pages were also listed on the SA's page, and it also revealed that the two groups were developing closer ties, in addition to spreading disinformation about immigrants. Ray initially published the study on his blog, but it was reprinted by the Montreal Gazette.
In 2019, two people with ties to the group were arrested after they were caught plotting to kill Justin Trudeau while they were having a conversation on Facebook. One of them was charged with incitement to genocide against Muslims by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Storm Alliance's Facebook page responded that it had kicked out the two a few months before, adding that it did not endorse their views.
References
- ^ Shingler, Benjamin. "'Ultranationalists' monitor Roxham Road, where asylum seekers cross into Canada". CBC News. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
- ^ Tasker 2018.
- ^ Curtis 2018.
- ^ "An 'Ultranationalistic' Group Is Patrolling Canada's Border With the US". www.vice.com. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
- ^ Allard 2018.
- Olivier 2018.
- "Members of far-right Quebec group cheered on the Quebec City mosque terror attack". www.vice.com. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
- "Protests erupt on immigration issues in Quebec". The Toronto Star. 30 September 2017. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
- "Pro- and anti-immigration protesters face off in duelling rallies near Lacolle border | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
- "Blurring the lines between Quebec's far right and political mainstream on Facebook". montrealgazette. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
- ^ Rowe, Daniel J. (21 December 2019). "Two Quebecers linked to ultra-nationalist group arrested for allegedly threatening Trudeau, Muslims". Montreal. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
Works cited
- Allard, Marc (13 February 2018). "Storm Alliance fête dans le sous-sol d'une église, malaise au diocèse de Québec". Le Soleil (in French). Archived from the original on 13 February 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
- Curtis, Christopher (23 August 2018). "Far-right group supports federal bid of Trudeau heckler Matthieu Brien". Montreal Gazette. Archived from the original on 23 August 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
- Olivier, Annabelle (19 May 2018). "Immigration protesters and counter-protesters rally near Lacolle border". Global News. Archived from the original on 22 May 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
- Tasker, John Paul (18 January 2018). "Members of far-right Storm Alliance attend Trudeau's town hall in Quebec City". CBC News. Archived from the original on 19 January 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2018.