Fire guts historic Saint-Ours church amid ongoing wave of church attacks across Canada

The blaze is still under investigation, but it comes amid more than 100 church fires and acts of vandalism across the country since 2021.

Sheila Gunn Reid
  |   July 18, 2025   |   News Analysis   |   1 Comment

 

Facebook / Ville de Saint-Ours

A devastating fire tore through the historic Église Saint-Ours on Thursday evening, reducing one of Quebec’s most treasured heritage churches to a smoldering ruin.

The fire began shortly after 6 p.m. and quickly engulfed the structure. Flames and thick smoke could be seen billowing into the sky from kilometres away. Firefighters arrived swiftly but were unable to save the early 19th-century Catholic church, which had been a local landmark for over two centuries. No injuries have been reported, and the cause of the blaze remains under investigation.

Mayor Sylvain Dupuis called the fire a tragedy for the town and said the municipality would work with heritage officials to determine whether any part of the building can be salvaged.

But this destruction is not an isolated incident.

Since May 2021, Canada has experienced a dramatic and disturbing surge in attacks on Christian churches. According to a CBC investigation and independent watchdog tallies:

  • At least 33 churches have been destroyed by fire, including 24 confirmed arsons.

  • Over 100 churches have been vandalized, desecrated, or burned nationwide in the past three years.

  • Most of the affected buildings were Catholic or Protestant churches, many in Indigenous or rural communities.

  • Despite the scale, fewer than 10 arrests have been made, and most cases remain unsolved.

  • The wave of destruction began shortly after the highly publicized discovery of alleged unmarked graves at former residential school sites—though subsequent investigations have raised doubts about those claims.

While no motive has been established in the Saint-Ours fire, its timing and the pattern of attacks indicate Canada's religious heritage is under siege.

Despite the scope of the damage nationwide, no federal inquiry or coordinated response has been launched to protect religious sites or to bring perpetrators to justice.

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Sheila Gunn Reid

Chief Reporter

Sheila Gunn Reid is the Alberta Bureau Chief for Rebel News and host of the weekly The Gunn Show with Sheila Gunn Reid. She's a mother of three, conservative activist, and the author of best-selling books including Stop Notley.

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  • Melvyn Schobel
    commented 2025-07-20 20:46:56 -0400
    The burning of churches has nothing to do with the burial of the First Nations children. When the RCMP refuse to do a full-scale investigation, some serious questions need to be asked. These fires have been started by hired professionals, and the RCMP have a fairly good idea of who these people are, but are afraid to get involved due to political bias. Christianity is a threat because of its moral compass, and the elites will do everything within their power to get rid of this power through illegitimate force. The silent majority have allowed these predators to tape their mouths shut through intimidation. I refer to a quote by Napoleon Bonaparte, “The world suffers a lot. Not because of the violence of the bad people, but because of the silence of the good people.”