The Storm Alliance is a Canadian

anti-immigration Opposition to immigration, also known as anti-immigration, has become a significant political ideology in many countries. In the modern sense, immigration refers to the entry of people from one state or territory into another state or territory ...

group which is primarily based in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. It describes itself as an "

ultranationalist Ultranationalism or extreme nationalism is an extreme form of nationalism in which a country asserts or maintains detrimental hegemony, supremacy, or other forms of control over other nations (usually through violent coercion) to pursue its sp ...

" 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 Lacolle () is a municipality in southern Quebec, Canada, located in the administrative area of the Montérégie, on the Canada–United States border. The population as of the Canada 2011 Census was 2,680. The Lacolle River runs eastward throug ...

, against asylum seekers who enter Canada across the

Canada–United States border The border between Canada and the United States is the longest international border in the world. The terrestrial boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Can ...

Roxham Road Roxham Road, known as Rang Roxham or Chemin Roxham for much of its length, is a rural road from the former hamlet of Perry Mills in the town of Champlain, New York, United States, generally north to the vicinity of the former hamlet of Bogton, in ...

. It has called them "illegal immigrants" and has demanded the

Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...

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 Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

organization. Tregget insists that his movement is "ultranationalist" rather than far-right. Rachel Brown and Ben Makuch wrote in

Vice Magazine ''Vice'' (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian-American magazine focused on lifestyle, arts, culture, and news/politics. Founded in 1994 in Montreal as an alternative punk magazine, the founders later launched the youth media company Vice Media, ...

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 Soldiers of Odin (SOO; fi, Odinin sotilaat) is an anti-immigrant group which was founded in Kemi, Finland, in October of 2015. The group was established in response to the thousands of migrants who were arriving in Finland amidst the European ...

. 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 La Meute (French for "The Pack") is a Québécois nationalist pressure group and identitarian movement fighting against illegal immigration and radical Islam. The group was founded in September 2015 in Quebec by two former Canadian Armed Forc ...

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 Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

held by Canadian Prime Minister

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...

. A man whose ties to the organization remain unclear waved a Canadian flag imposed with a

swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. It ...

and the words "evil empire" on top of it was escorted out of the room by

RCMP The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal and national police service of Canada. As poli ...

officers. After a 2018 investigation into a pair of defunct Facebook groups, the

Parti Québécois The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishin ...

was accused of "showing a growing coziness" to far-right organizations, which included the Storm Alliance and

, by the

anti-racist Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate ...

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 The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

. 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 Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

. One of them was charged with

incitement to genocide Incitement to genocide is a crime under international law which prohibits inciting (encouraging) the commission of genocide. An extreme form of hate speech, incitement to genocide is considered an inchoate offense and is theoretically subject ...

against

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

by the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...

. 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

Works cited

* * * * {{Authority control 2016 establishments in Quebec Anti-immigration politics in Canada Anti-immigration politics in Quebec Canadian far-right political movements Canadian nationalism