Skip to Content Subscribe Our Offers My Account Manage My Subscriptions FAQ Newsletters Canada Canadian True Crime Canadian Politics Health World Israel & Middle East Financial Post NP Comment Longreads Puzzmo Diversions Comics NP News Quiz New York Times Crossword Horoscopes Life Eating & Drinking Style Sponsored Play for Ontario Travel Travel Canada Travel USA Travel International Cruises Travel Essentials Culture Books Celebrity Movies Music Theatre Television Business Essentials Advice Lives Told Tails Told Shopping Buy Canadian Home Living Outdoor Living Tech Style & Beauty Kitchen & Dining Personal Care Entertainment & Hobbies Gift Guide Travel Guide Deals Savings National Post Store More Sports Hockey Baseball Basketball Football Soccer Golf Tennis Driving Vehicle Research Reviews News Gear Guide Obituaries Place an Obituary Place an In Memoriam Classifieds Place an Ad Celebrations Working Business Ads Archives Healthing Epaper Manage Print Subscription Profile Settings My Subscriptions Saved Articles My Offers Newsletters Customer Service FAQ Newsletters Canada World Financial Post NP Comment Longreads Puzzmo Diversions Life Shopping Epaper Manage Print Subscription HomeNP CommentTerry Newman: Five years after Kamloops, the church burnings haven't stoppedThe government needs to recognize this as the national crisis that it isLast updated 0 minutes ago You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.A five-alarm fire tore through a vacant church and neighbouring seniors’ home in the city’s Sud-Ouest borough early Monday morning. Firefighters pass in front of the vacant St. Paul’s Catholic Church on De l’Eglise St. near Laurendeau St. in Verdun on Monday February 23, 2026. Dave Sidaway / Montreal Gazette Photo by Dave Sidaway /Montreal GazetteIt’s been exactly five years since the shocking accusation that the remains of 215 students had been discovered on the site of the Kamloops Indian Residential School, which triggered a wave of church arsons, starting in British Columbia and spreading like wildfire across the country. While the spike has abated, churches are still burning, and almost nothing has changed. Worse, it’s not even clear that the hate directed towards churches is fuelled only by the Kamloops announcement.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. 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Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorSince I last reported on the church burnings back in November 2024, at least six more churches have been destroyed and three others damaged by fire. These churches aren’t just buildings. They’re places of worship. In some cases, they’re places where generations have been baptized, married and put to rest. In the cases of those that are no longer operating as churches, some served as community centres and food banks.This newsletter from NP Comment tackles the topics you care about. (Subscriber-exclusive edition on Fridays)By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try againConcern for these burning churches has, so far, been less than sufficient. There’s been modest security grants for cameras, lighting and alarms at religious institutions through the Canada Community Security Program and some improved data from Statistics Canada, but what the data shows is that the investigations are going slowly, and not enough arrests are being made.There have been some public condemnations from politicians, but nothing that has undone the damage of former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s statement that the anger against the Catholic Church was “real and fully understandable,” implying that the potential grave sites, which have yet to be exhumed despite millions of dollars earmarked for the task, and the murderous accusation that went along with the claim, were 100 per cent verified.There’s been no co-ordinated national response or task force set up to investigate the church burnings; no national or regional integrated investigations unit, as suggested by a report from the Macdonald-Laurier Institute. And no mandatory minimum sentences for attacking houses of worship, as advocated by the Conservatives.So I endeavour to update Canadians on the situation in the hope that, by understanding what these churches meant to their communities, governments will finally see this as the national emergency that it is.The nearly century-old All Saints Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Bellis, Alta., burned down on Sept. 21, 2025. The RCMP and fire investigators determined that an accelerant had been used and classified it as a confirmed arson. It is one of the rare cases where arrests were actually made, after the arsonists were caught by police driving stolen vehicles. Ash and rubble is all that remains of the All Saints Ukrainian Orthodox Church parish in Bellis, Alberta. Smokey Lake RCMP arrested three suspects, one youth, related to a crime spree and arson that burned down the church on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025.The Thunderchild First Nation’s only church was broken into and then burned on Sept. 1, 2025. As with most church burnings, the case remains unsolved. It hit the church’s co-pastor, Alvina Thunderchild, especially hard. She told the press that members stood outside crying while it burned.“I don’t know their motives, but obviously they don’t care. They hate the church, they hate everything that represents God to them in their lives,” she said of those who committed this heinous crime.The historic Our Lady of the Snows log church in Colville Lake, N.W.T., burned to the ground on Sept. 16, 2025. Referred to as a “northern icon,” it was built in the 1960s by priest and artist Bern Will Brown and was described as “a central feature of the Sahtu community.” The cause of the fire was never determined.St. Anne’s Church in Toronto was completely engulfed in fire and destroyed on June 9, 2024. Originally, it was not considered suspicious, but over a year later, in November 2025, the fire marshal concluded that it had been deliberately set. No arrests have been made.When Rev. Hannah Johnston found out that it was being investigated as an arson, she told the media that it was a “shock” and “very distressing.” Bishop Kevin Robertson similarly found the news devastating.The site of the former Saint-Paul Church in Montreal, a 115-year-old heritage building, was being used by the community as a food bank when it burned to the ground on Feb. 23 this year. Its flames spread to a seniors’ residence nearby, causing 150 people to evacuate. A five-alarm fire tore through a vacant church and neighbouring seniors’ home in the city’s Sud-Ouest borough early Monday morning. Firefighters hose down the front of the vacant St. Paul’s Catholic Church on De l’Eglise St. near Laurendeau St. in Verdun on Monday February 23, 2026. Dave Sidaway / Montreal Gazette Photo by Dave Sidaway /Montreal GazetteThe food bank’s director, Roger Mpemudjir Kilanga, was in the basement of the church when the fire broke out, but luckily escaped. He told the press that he thought the fire “would pass quickly, but I saw that the flames were so intense, I couldn’t stay there; it was too hard to see, I left.” The cause of the fire is still under investigation.The almost-century-old Catholic church in Saint-Romain, Que., burned to the ground on April 13. While it was no longer being used for worship, it was still important to the community. “There were plans for a performance hall, and a library had already been set up in the former sacristy,” the community’s fire chief, Michel Fillion, said.These churches meant many things to these communities, whether they were being used for religious reasons or not. Five years on from the graves accusation, it’s not clear to me that this is the only reason they’re being burned, and that there isn’t also a larger anti-Christian hatred at play. This is why a national investigation is so important.National Post Get the latest from Terry Newman straight to your inbox Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.