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Shop                                         (GB News Membership)  ×    You are about to be charged £0.00 *  Billing per month  First billing date Today  Duration Monthly until cancelled    *Your gift has been applied  Select a payment method (PayPal)   (Card)   (Apple Pay)   (Google Pay)      Processing your Paypal payment, please wait...   (First name)  (Last name)   (Address)  (City)  (Postal code)   (Country)         Pay now   Secured by Recurly · 256-bit encryption   (Pay with Apple Pay)     Processing your Apple payment, please wait...     Processing your Google payment, please wait...       Thank you for subscribing!      Historic century-old church deliberately set on fire as Canada warned of growing wave of anti-Christian hate     Your browser does not support the video tag.                Your browser does not support the video tag.     In a similar incident, a fire broke out in a Leicester church |  GB NEWS          (Dimitris Kouimtsidis) (Dimitris Kouimtsidis)  By (https://www.gbnews.com/authors/dimitris-kouimtsidis) (Dimitris Kouimtsidis) (Dimitris Kouimtsidis) Dimitris Kouimtsidis ,    Published: 01/09/2026 - 14:14     (desktop-share)  Share  (desktop-like)  Like  (desktop-comment)     Share this x  (https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://www.gbnews.com/news/world/canada-church-fire-new-brunswick-deliberate-anti-christian-hate) Facebook  (https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://www.gbnews.com/news/world/canada-church-fire-new-brunswick-deliberate-anti-christian-hate) Twitter  (mailto:?body=https://www.gbnews.com/news/world/canada-church-fire-new-brunswick-deliberate-anti-christian-hate) E-mail  (Copy this link to clipboard)         Your browser does not support the video tag.    The Saint-Simon church in New Brunswick, which was built in 1918, was engulfed in flames last week             Don't Miss (https://www.gbnews.com/news/world/ceuta-sexual-assaults-migrant-invasion) (Migrants heading towards Moroccan border from Ceuta)   (https://www.gbnews.com/news/world/) World News   (https://www.gbnews.com/news/world/ceuta-sexual-assaults-migrant-invasion) Sexual assaults occuring on daily basis in Ceuta weeks after migrant invasion        (https://www.gbnews.com/news/postcode-lottery-veteran-500000-jackpot) (Veteran who forgot he bought Lottery tickets scoops £500,000 jackpot)   (https://www.gbnews.com/news/) News   (https://www.gbnews.com/news/postcode-lottery-veteran-500000-jackpot) Veteran who forgot he bought Lottery tickets scoops £500,000 jackpot        (https://www.gbnews.com/royal/king-charles-cousin-notting-hill-carnival) (Lady Amelia Windsor)   (https://www.gbnews.com/royal/) Royal   (https://www.gbnews.com/royal/king-charles-cousin-notting-hill-carnival) King's distant cousin makes surprise Notting Hill Carnival appearance             Most Read (https://www.gbnews.com/celebrity/gerard-mccarthy-maureen-lipman-palestine-israel) (Former BBC actor quits London theatre show over Jewish co-star Maureen Lipman's views on Palestine)   (https://www.gbnews.com/celebrity/) Celebrity   (https://www.gbnews.com/celebrity/gerard-mccarthy-maureen-lipman-palestine-israel) Former BBC actor quits London theatre show over co-star Maureen Lipman's views on Palestine        (https://www.gbnews.com/sport/other-sport/bbc-ski-sunday-cancelled-2677803306) (BBC scrap iconic sports show after nearly 50 years on air)   (https://www.gbnews.com/sport/other-sport/) Other Sport   (https://www.gbnews.com/sport/other-sport/bbc-ski-sunday-cancelled-2677803306) BBC scrap iconic sports show after nearly 50 years on air        (https://www.gbnews.com/celebrity/lionel-richie-hospitalised-intensive-care-unit-singer-fell-dizzy-stage) (Lionel Richie performing on The Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury 2015)   (https://www.gbnews.com/celebrity/) Celebrity   (https://www.gbnews.com/celebrity/lionel-richie-hospitalised-intensive-care-unit-singer-fell-dizzy-stage) Lionel Richie rushed to intensive care unit after singer fell 'dizzy' on stage             Latest   (https://www.gbnews.com/sport/tennis/elias-ymer-hsu-yu-hsiou-2677804964)         (https://www.gbnews.com/sport/tennis/elias-ymer-hsu-yu-hsiou-2677804964) Tennis star collapses on court and covered in white towel in terrifying incident            Your browser does not support the video tag.      A historic church dating over 100 years old has been razed to the ground in a suspected arson attack on Canada's Acadian Peninsula. The Saint-Simon church in New Brunswick, which was built in 1918, was engulfed in flames last week.  The building was unoccupied and no injuries were reported, but the Royal Canadian Mounted Police confirmed the blaze was deliberately set. The historic structure, a cornerstone of the local Catholic community in the region, has been declared a total loss.  Gilles Mallet, 68, was subsequently arrested and charged with arson in connection with the fire. Authorities have not disclosed a suspected motive. Pierre Poilievre, the Conservative Party leader and head of Canada's Official Opposition, seized on the incident to highlight what he describes as a pattern of religiously motivated attacks across the country. "One hundred churches have been burned," he told Juno News. "Christians may be the number one group that are victims of hate-based violence. But, of course, it's not politically correct to say that," he added.    (Saint-Simon church)  The building was unoccupied and no injuries were reported |  FACEBOOK/CHANTAL PITRE   The MP insisted that Canadians of every faith "deserve to worship in peace." Mr Poilievre has repeatedly accused Liberal Party politicians of turning a blind eye to violence targeting Christians.  A 2025 investigation by True North, documented 123 separate cases of arson or vandalism directed at churches since 2021. That report sparked a fierce row in the House of Commons.     LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:  (https://www.gbnews.com/news/world/switzerland-restaurant-fire-beverin-thusis) Five missing and eight hurt as Switzerland hit by ANOTHER devastating venue fire  (https://www.gbnews.com/news/luton-fire-airport-residents-evacuate) Fire breaks out near major UK airport as residents forced to evacuate homes  (https://www.gbnews.com/news/leicester-church-blitz-spirit-recover-from-fire) Historic church rallies round 'Blitz Spirit' to recover from fire that gutted 19th-century structure    (Saint-Simon church)  The church spire fell to the ground as the fire engulfed the building |  FACEBOOK/CHANTAL PITRE   Liberal MP John-Paul Danko accused Conservative colleagues who cited the True North figures of "repeating conspiracy theories," urging the government to focus on "real hate crimes" rather than "quoting alt-right, so-called alternative news." Mr Danko pointed to antisemitic intimidation as a more pressing concern. "I'm talking about Jewish members in my community who are covering their Jewish identity in public, that is the hate that we're talking about," he said. His remarks were directed at Conservative MP Andrew Lawton, who hit back on X: "I will always stand up against real hate and defend free speech." The exchange laid bare a deep partisan divide over which forms of religious hatred merit political attention in Canada.    (Saint-Simon church)  The church was built in 1918 |  GOOGLE MAPS   Official Canadian government data paints a broader picture: between 2016 and 2023, some 463 arson attacks were recorded at religious institutions nationwide, though no separate tally exists for incidents specifically targeting churches. In 2024, Conservative MPs tabled legislation that would have imposed a mandatory minimum sentence of five years for anyone convicted of setting fire to a place of worship for the first time, rising to seven years for repeat offenders. However, the bill's passage was cut short when former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation in January 2025, triggering a suspension of parliament while the Liberal Party selected a new leader. The proposed legislation has not been brought back before the House since and there is no indication it will be revived.      Our Standards: (https://www.gbnews.com/about-us/our-editorial-charter) The GB News Editorial Charter          (https://www.gbnews.com/news/world/) World News (https://www.gbnews.com/news/christianity/) Christianity (https://www.gbnews.com/news/) News