Sean Feucht speaking with attendees at the 2022 AmericaFest at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
Quebec City, Gatineau, Que., and Vaughan, Ont., are the latest cities to cancel appearances at public venues of a Christian U.S. musician who was scheduled to perform in separate events in each city this week.
Sean Feucht is a Christian performer who describes himself on social media as a missionary, musician, and author. He previously ran for a seat in Congress with the Republican Party. He has also spoken out against gender ideology and abortion.
Feucht was scheduled to perform in Quebec City on July 25, in Vaughan on July 26, and in Gatineau on July 27.
Parks Canada in Nova Scotia and the cities of Charlottetown and Moncton, N.B., had also cancelled permits for public venues where Feucht was set to perform on July 23 and 24, citing safety concerns amid planned protests.
This time, Quebec City said it cancelled the event because Feucht is a “controversial” figure, while Gatineau and Vaughan cited safety concerns. A spokesperson for Quebec City said Feucht’s appearance had not been mentioned as part of the contract between the concert promoter and the venue ExpoCité.
“With the new information brought to its attention, ExpoCité has decided to terminate the contract and therefore the holding of the event on its site,” the city told The Epoch Times in an email.
The Epoch Times contacted Feucht for comment but did not hear back by publication time.
Feucht said in a July 24 statement on social media that the performance, dubbed the ‘Let Us Worship’ Canada tour, was born “as an organic response” to COVID-19 lockdown policies. He said that Canada had some of the most oppressive policies in the world.
“The pandemic may be over, but the anti-Christian bias remains,” he said on X.
“Here’s the hard truth: If I had shown up with purple hair and a dress, claiming to be a woman, the government wouldn’t have said a word. But to publicly profess deeply held Christian beliefs is to be labeled an extremist—and to have a free worship event classified as a public safety risk,” Feucht wrote.
He said he will find other places to perform and that he would not “cower in the face of religious persecution.”
Hundreds showed up to his concert in a farmer’s field in Nova Scotia on July 23, according to Feucht’s Facebook page.
He also performed an outdoor concert in Prince Edward Island and said an “epic” venue was planned for New Brunswick.
“Another door opened in Quebec tomorrow. This revival train is not stopping,” he said on Facebook.
Vaughan, Gatineau Events Cancelled
The City of Vaughan confirmed it denied a special event permit for Feucht’s performance at Dufferin District Park planned for July 27. A spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email the permit had been denied “on the basis of health and safety as well as community standards and well-being.”
A spokesperson for the National Capital Commission (NCC) in Gatineau also said it will not be issuing a permit for Feucht’s show. The NCC is a Crown corporation that oversees federal lands and buildings in the National Capital Region.
“The NCC will not be issuing the event permit that had been requested for Jacques-Cartier Park North following consultation with the Gatineau Police Service and due to concerns about public safety and security for and around the event,” NCC communications advisor Maryam El-Akhrass told The Epoch Times in an email.
Other Cancellations
Parks Canada in Nova Scotia, as well as the cities of Charlottetown, P.E.I., and Moncton, N.B., previously said they cancelled Feucht’s appearances over “safety and security” concerns.
Parks Canada said citizens had expressed concern over Feucht’s appearance at York Redoubt National Historic Site, a British fort built in 1793. It also said there were “planned protests” in connection with the event.
The agency said the permit was revoked due to “heightened public safety concerns.”
Feucht responded by saying he would perform at a new location in Shubenacadie, N.S., about 60 kilometres north of Halifax.
A social media post from the City of Moncton said it had cancelled Feucht’s July 24 concert in that city, calling the event “non-compliant” with its code of conduct for city facilities.
The city also said there were planned protests over the event, posing “potential risks to the safety and security of community members, event attendees, and organizers.”
It said the city was “committed to creating a respectful, positive, and safe environment” for those using municipal facilities. It also said it was the city’s responsibility to ensure public spaces were used in a “manner consistent with community standards.”
The City of Charlottetown previously said members of the public have expressed concern over Feucht’s appearance. It noted that from a “legal standpoint” it was “limited in restricting access to public spaces.”
The city said it supports the LGBT community and any statements expressed by Feucht to the contrary were “not the views of the City.”
Feucht has previously said the LGBT and trans community are “radicalizing” youth, leading to “senseless violence.” He has called for a “national reckoning.”
“We want God in control of government,” he told the audience at a 2023 performance in Wisconsin.
Feucht also held worship concerts during COVID, in violation of lockdown orders.
The Canadian concerts are part of Feucht’s “Revive in 25” tour. He has performances scheduled in Western Canada in August.
Chandra Philip is a news reporter with the Canadian edition of The Epoch Times.