Church fires coincide with claims of ‘unmarked graves,’ says report
The Macdonald-Laurier Institute found a link between arson attacks on churches and their proximity to former Residential Schools where potential “unmarked graves” were announced.
The Macdonald-Laurier Institute reported a spike in church fires coinciding with First Nations claims of “unmarked graves” at Indian Residential Schools.
“Few Canadians understood the full scope and scale of these attacks,” said the report Scorched Earth: A Quantitative Analysis Of Arson Against Canadian Religious Institutions And Its Threat To Reconciliation.
Blacklock’s reported a significant link between the increase in arson attacks on religious buildings and their proximity to former Residential Schools where potential “unmarked graves” were announced between 2021 and 2023.
During that period, arson attacks on religious buildings more than doubled compared to 2011-2017 levels, according to Scorched Earth.
Crime data analysis @MLIInstitute finds links between spike in church arsons and claims of hidden Residential School graves: "Few Canadians understood the full scope & scale of these attacks." https://t.co/9FGSvYYehH #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/ZDzJDcSk4h
— Blacklock's Reporter (@mindingottawa) April 25, 2025
Hundreds of arson attacks on places of worship have occurred since 2015, the year the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released a report claiming thousands of children died at residential schools.
Arson attacks averaged as few as 13 a year before the report. In 2021, 90 arson attacks occurred, the same year the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc First Nation claimed to have discovered 215 alleged graves—later revised to 200 “potential burials”.
Data was drawn from police reports compiled by Statistics Canada.
Despite $12.1 million in federal funding, no remains have been found at the Kamloops site.
A full investigation into unmarked graves at former residential schools like in Kamloops, BC should be held, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre tells Rebel News' Drea Humphrey.
— Drea Humphrey - Prepping and Politics (@DreaHumphrey) January 22, 2024
"Canadians deserve to know the truth," he says.
MORE: https://t.co/pvvWf0dmdZ pic.twitter.com/NywwfbH3Dh
“Western Canada experienced increases in the number of arsons in religious institutions over the 2018 to 2023 period, and in particular over the 2021 to 2023 period, which were not present in either the United States, England or Eastern Canada,” said Scorched Earth.
“This offers evidence that arsons at religious institutions in Canada are not part of any broader international pattern,” it said.
The identities and motives of the arsonists behind most of the church arsons remain unknown, though some have attributed such acts to “anti-Christian or anti-religious sentiment.”
Osoyoos Indian Band Chief Clarence Louie suspects that "rez punks" were responsible for the arson that burned down St. Gregory’s Church, not white people.
BREAKING: CBC’s Rosemary Barton called me a liar and pushed false unmarked grave claims on national television. Now the state broadcaster is quietly backpedaling from their misinformation used to vilify Rebel News. pic.twitter.com/ZrbZLEJPQB
— Drea Humphrey (@DreaHumphrey) April 21, 2025
According to a CBC News Analysis, 24 of 33 church fires since May 2021 were deliberately set. Only two have been ruled an accident, while seven others remained under investigation at the time of publication.
About half the fires involved Catholic churches, but included other Christian sects. Fourteen fires took place on First Nation reserves, while 13 others happened in rural towns or hamlets.
Last May, the Commons voted unanimously to consider measures “to coordinate the protection of faith communities.” It followed a justice committee task force proposing the appointment of an Anti-Hate Crime Task Force.
No parliamentary committee to date has examined arson attacks on places of worship.
96 Canadian churches burnt and/or vandalized since the false claim that 215 Indigenous children’s remains were discovered at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.
— Drea Humphrey - Prepping and Politics (@DreaHumphrey) January 2, 2024
Christophobia thrives in Canada. https://t.co/RdzNJJUUw4
“What could be driving the increase?” asked Scorched Earth. “This clear increase in arsons at religious institutions in Canada, recent and unique, must have an explanation.”
“These sacred places are more than just places of worship,” added the commentary, The Woke Silence Over Church Burnings Is Deafening. “They help to create a sense of community, places where families and friends gather to celebrate and to mourn.”
The Macdonald-Laurier Institute notes there is a reluctance to discuss the crimes. “Canadians have been extremely reluctant to condemn the crimes,” said Church Burnings.
Indigenous leaders condemned the church burnings, but at least 96 churches have been destroyed or damaged since spring 2021.
Rebel News journalist @DreaHumphrey asks NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh about the blatant Christophobia unfolding in Canada, as over 200 churches have been burned following unproven claims of mass graves at residential schools. Singh refuses to answer. pic.twitter.com/tVptn2kmwi
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) April 17, 2025
Kimberly Murray, cabinet’s Special Interlocutor for Missing Children and Unmarked Graves, testified last November 28 that while Canadians are free to be skeptical about the existence of “unmarked graves” at Residential Schools, it is unacceptable to claim Indigenous people are lying on the matter.
“When you say there are no burials, that First Nations people or the Indians are lying because they want you to go burn down churches or they want to take away your cottages, that is inciting hate against Indigenous people,” said Murray. “That’s the type of speech we need to stop.”
The Special Interlocutor stated that she is personally convinced that mass graves exist at Residential Schools, as cemeteries were planned from the outset and children were buried in “unmarked graves” on school grounds.
Alex Dhaliwal
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Alex Dhaliwal is a Political Science graduate from the University of Calgary. He has actively written on relevant Canadian issues with several prominent interviews under his belt.
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COMMENTS
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Robert Pariseau commented 2025-04-27 17:22:08 -0400The usual “unmarked graves” drivel.
Boy, I wish I could change the uncomfortable subject like that.
