A Christian ministry is suing the City of Moncton for cancelling a concert featuring a controversial U.S. singer just two days before the event was set to take place last summer. The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms says lawyers funded by the centre have filed a statement of claim against the city on behalf of Burn 24/7 Canada Worship Ministries Society, arguing Moncton violated the society’s freedom of expression by cancelling the event. The action was filed in the Court of King’s Bench in Moncton, N.B., on Aug. 4. The society is asking the city to make a declaration that it violated its freedom of expression, which is protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and is seeking $50,000 in damages. “If you’re going to be cancelling events of the Canadian public, you have to have real justification for that,” said Marty Moore, litigation director with Charter Advocates Canada, in an interview with CTV News. “And just disagreeing with the content of those of those events is not that justification.” Burn 24/7 Canada Worship Ministries Society organized the “Let Us Worship” tour, featuring musician Sean Feucht, in the spring of 2025. The Moncton event was supposed to take place at Riverfront Park on July 24, 2025. The justice centre says it was “intended to be a free, public gathering focused on worship and the Gospel message.” According to the court filing, the City of Moncton approved the society’s application on April 30, 2025. “Over the following months, organizers continued working with City staff on logistical arrangements, including site planning, insurance, washroom facilities, water access, and scheduling,” said the justice centre in a news release. “The Society says it complied with every request made by the City.” When CTV News reached out to Moncton Mayor Shawn Crossman for comment Tuesday morning, Crossman said he wasn’t aware of the lawsuit. Later in the day, Crossman said he had nothing to add as the case is before the courts. Benjamin Perryman, an associate professor of constitutional law at the University of New Brunswick, says the lawsuit has wider implications. “I think the case raises broader questions about the use of public space and when, if ever, it’s appropriate for a city to withdraw or cancel a musician’s permit,” Perryman told CTV News. Moncton event cancelled Moncton cancelled the event on July 22, 2025, citing its Code of Conduct in City Facilities and public safety concerns. “Following a thorough review, the event was found to be non-compliant with the City’s Code of Conduct in City Facilities,” said Moncton in a statement on July 23, 2025. “In addition, due to evolving safety and security considerations, including confirmation of planned protests, the City has determined that the event poses potential risks to the safety and security of community members, event attendees, and organizers.” The society says it would have complied with the city’s policies and had developed its own security plan, arguing the concert was instead cancelled over opposition to the event. It also states the city failed to work with organizers to address any safety concerns before cancelling. “This case concerns a basic constitutional principle: governments cannot suppress peaceful expression simply because others threaten to protest it,” said constitutional lawyer Chris Fleury. “Public officials have a duty to protect freedom of expression, not surrender it to those who oppose a speaker’s message.” Other shows cancelled in the Maritimes Moncton wasn’t the only city in the Maritimes to cancel a scheduled concert featuring Feucht last summer. The Christian singer was slated to perform at the York Redoubt National Historic Site near Halifax, but Parks Canada revoked the permit for the event after receiving advice from police. In documents previously obtained by CTV News Atlantic through an Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) request, the permit shows Parks Canada wasn’t apprised of who the main act for the “Let us Worship” tour would be. The documents also show the government agency didn’t ask. When Parks Canada revoked the permit for his concert in Halifax, Feucht said on his Facebook page that he was a victim of intolerance. “This is the classic playbook of the media, of the anti-Christian bigots out there that hate Christians,” he said. “This is the same, exact place where people gathered for a Pride event last week. But now they’re not so tolerant when peaceful Christians come together.” The City of Charlottetown cancelled Feucht’s show at Confederation Landing due to “evolving public safety and security concerns” after consulting police. Quebec City cancelled a performance at ExpoCité, while the National Capital Commission cancelled a concert in Gatineau, Que. The City of Vaughan in Ontario denied a permit for an event. Burn 24/7 Canada has also filed a lawsuit against Quebec City for alleged violations of the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms for cancelling the show there. Moore told CTV News “litigation processes are well underway in that case.” Who is Sean Feucht? Feucht describes himself as a missionary, musician, activist, author and speaker, who travels the world “sharing the life-changing power of the Gospel.” His religious and political views have grabbed the attention of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration after he spoke out against “gender ideology,” abortion and the LGBTQ+ community. A post on Feucht’s Facebook page from Sept. 10, 2024, states: “I love that Trump is standing behind the overturn of Roe and the courage of the Supreme Court.” In a Facebook post on April 13, Feucht calls the Pope “a woke Communist.” Feucht also talked about visiting Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property with his family in a Facebook post on April 26. “I believe God sends us on prayer and worship assignments for a reason,” he said in the post. “Please pray for the President, his team and our nations today. The devil wants to take him out, but God is not yet finished!” The Atlantic magazine, based in Washington, D.C., described Feucht in a July 2025 article as a Christian nationalist who has become a “MAGA superstar.” “Between praising President Donald Trump as God’s chosen one and suggesting that abortion supporters are ‘demons,’ Feucht has repeatedly advocated for the fusion of Church and state,” the article said. Feucht also performed at Christian rock concerts in violation of lockdown orders during the COVID-19 pandemic and calls himself “one of the earliest and most vocal critics of government attempts to shutter churches and silence worship in 2020.” With files from CTV News Atlantic’s Bill Dicks, Natalie Lombard and The Canadian Press For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
