A group of white supremacists gathered Saturday in Shawinigan, in the Mauricie region, for a rally in support of a “White Quebec.” The demonstration took place at Parc des Vetérans, not far from Shawinigan’s Braves Memorial.
A group of masked individuals held up a banner adorned with two fleurs-de-lis bearing the words “Je me souviens d’un Québec blanc” (“I am remember a White Quebec”).
Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette strongly condemned the rally and the racist messages voiced there in a statement released on Sunday.
“Such remarks are unacceptable and have no place in our society. This is not the Quebec we are. This is not the Quebec we want,” she said. “We must never trivialize or tolerate this kind of behavior. Whenever hatred and racism manifest themselves, we have a collective responsibility to denounce them clearly and unequivocally.”
Je condamne avec la plus grande fermeté le rassemblement tenu à Shawinigan et les messages racistes qui y ont été véhiculés. Comme plusieurs Québécois, j’ai été profondément choquée. De tels propos sont inacceptables et n’ont pas leur place dans notre société. Ce n’est pas le… pic.twitter.com/ggh3tUROuX
In a message posted on X on Sunday, Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon explained that “these ‘active clubs’—such as Second Sons Canada—hide behind sports to recruit and normalize extremism. Public Security has clearly identified them as hate groups.”
Des groupes suprémacistes blancs ont brandi des messages racistes en Mauricie. Ces « active clubs » — comme Second Sons Canada — se cachent derrière le sport pour recruter et normaliser l’extrémisme. La Sécurité publique les a clairement identifiés comme des groupuscules haineux.… https://t.co/hpfDDlWRPn
The leader of the Quebec Liberal Party, Charles Milliard, also expressed his strong opposition to this gathering.
“I condemn this horrific gathering in the strongest possible terms,” he commented on X. “Shame on those who spread a divisive message that in no way reflects the openness of the people of Quebec.”
Je condamne sans retenue ce rassemblement horrible.Honte à celles et ceux qui propagent un message divisif, qui ne représente en rien l’ouverture du peuple québécois. ???? https://t.co/EJPB2FrPG0 pic.twitter.com/tdKCUBupJp
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
