Fact File: Anti-Muslim posts spread false claims about Quebec church fires

Online posts in August claimed that Muslims intentionally lit separate church fires in Quebec, or that they are responsible for more than 100 church arsons across Canada. None of the church fires from the posts involved arson and were in fact caused by lightning, construction or unknown reasons. A woman walks by Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal, Friday, April 10, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

Online posts this month claimed that Muslims intentionally lit separate church fires in Quebec, or that they are responsible for more than 100 church arsons across Canada.

None of the specific fires cited in the posts were found to involve arson; they were in fact caused by lightning, construction or unknown reasons.

A spike in church burnings across Canada that began in 2021 has not been tied to any specific group.

The claim

An X post on Aug. 9 claimed that churches in France were “burning down one after another” and included a video that shows part of a building ablaze, with a small graveyard visible in the foreground. “The Saint Philomène Church in Mercier was burned by Muslims,” the post, which has received about 8,000 likes and 364,000 views, added.

Other social media users repeated the claim blaming Muslims, with one account stating the church was in Canada.

Similar posts spread online this month, with users sharing separate videos of church fires alongside Islamophobic claims. One video shows the collapse of a blazing church steeple; multiple online posts claimed a Muslim migrant intentionally started the fire.

Other posts made the same claim about another video that shows a church on fire next to a parking lot.

“More than 120 churches have been burned to the ground or vandalized by Muslims in Canada,” claims an Instagram post from Aug. 15 that was reposted to Instagram, X and Threads.

Several of the social media accounts spreading the claims have a history of posting anti-Muslim content. One X account under the handle @Khan_Fatimaa1, bears a similar name and profile photo as a suspended account previously included in a Canadian Press fact check for making false claims about church arson.

The facts

A reverse image search reveals the church supposedly set ablaze in France is in fact the Saint-Philomène church in Mercier, Que., about 25 kilometres southwest of Montreal.

A Google Maps street view of the church from 2015 shows it is the same church from the video; details including the building in the background and the crosses and grave markers from the cemetery match.

News articles show the blaze occurred in September 2019, with the original video posted online around that time. The fire caused heavy damage to the church, including the partial collapse of its roof.

Police investigated the fire as a possible arson, and later arrested a 49-year-old man from nearby St-Rémi. A Mercier spokesperson said the man was never charged and the case has now been closed.

“To the best of our knowledge, no evidence, investigation report or information arising from the police investigation establishes or suggests the involvement of any individual, group or Muslim organization in this incident,” Coralie Izabayo said in an emailed statement.

A reverse image search shows the video of the church with a collapsing spire is from a 2025 fire at the Église de l’Immaculée-Conception in St-Ours, Que. The city said the fire was caused by a lightning strike.

The church burning next to a parking lot was the subject of a Canadian Press Fact Check in 2025, after video of the fire was used to claim “Islamists” burned down Montreal’s Notre-Dame Basilica.

In fact, the church is the Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Allégresses Church in Trois-Rivières, Que. A Radio-Canada report from November 2024 noted firefighters could not determine the cause of the fire but said it was likely accidental and the result of roof renovation work.

Church fires in Canada

There is no evidence for the claim that Muslims started 120 church fires in Canada.

A CBC News investigation identified 33 churches that burned down across Canada between May 2021 and December 2023, with 24 of the fires deliberately set.

Most of the fires were on reserves or in small towns. While some observers speculated the fires could be related to the Catholic Church’s role in Canada’s residential school system, police said there was no clear motive for the fires.

“It would appear that the motivations for these individuals thus far are as varied as the people themselves,” Cpl. Troy Savinkoff, with the Alberta RCMP told the CBC in 2024.

An analysis from the Macdonald-Laurier Institute in 2025 found religion did not seem to be a motivating factor in the spike of church arson attacks since 2021.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 19, 2026.

Marissa Birnie, The Canadian Press

With files from Charlotte Glorieux in Montreal