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La Meute

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La Meute
Founding leaderÉric Venne and Patrick Beaudry
FoundedSeptember 2015
CountryCanada
Active regionsQuebec
IdeologyQuebec nationalism
anti-Islam
anti-immigration
Political positionCenter left (per La Meute's spokesman Sylvain Brouillette)
Right wing to Far-right (debated)
Size4,000 to 41,000 members (April 2018)

La Meute (French pronunciation: [la mþt], 'The Pack') is a Quebec nationalist[1] pressure group and identitarian movement[2] that opposes illegal immigration and radical Islam.[3][4][5][6] The group was founded in September 2015 in Quebec by two former Canadian Armed Forces members, Éric Venne and Patrick Beaudry.[7] Neither are members of the group anymore.[8][9] In 2018, the goal of La Meute was to prevent the Quebec Liberal Party from winning the 2018 Quebec general election (which the Liberal party did lose).[10][11] La Meute does not plan to become a political party, but rather "to become large enough and organized enough to constitute a force that can't be ignored".[12]

Members of the group participated in the Unite the Right rally in 2017.[13]

Most political observers identify La Meute as far-right.[14][15] The group rejects this.[16][17] As of April 2018, the group has more than 41,000 members in its private Facebook group; however, some journalists believe there are only 4,000 to 5,000 members based on reports of numbers inflation by ex-members.[18]

In 2019, La Meute supported the New Coalition Avenir QuĂ©bec (CAQ) government Bill 21 which bars civil servants in ‘authority’, such as judges, prosecutors, police officers, teachers and school administrators from wearing religious symbols at work. The leader of CAQ sought to distance himself from the group.[19][20]

Political position

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Police officers,[3] experts,[21] and the majority of journalists identify La Meute as far-right. The group is considered islamophobic,[22][23] supremacist,[24] ultranationalist, or even populist by some.

La Meute is, according to Maxime Fiset, "on the limit of the spectrum of what is far-right"[25] and corresponds to, according to David Morin, a "populist and nationalistic-identitarian far-right fringe".[26] David Morin hesitates between the terms "identitarian far-right" and "right-wing populism", and notes there are "communicating vessels" between more radical groups, like Atalante and, sometimes, Storm Alliance.[27]

The group is often differentiated from racist, supremacist, neo-Nazis and neo-fascists groups by observers,[28][29] experts,[26][25][27][30] and journalists. Quebec police do not consider La Meute to be a threat.[31] There is debate over whether "far-right" is the best descriptor for La Meute.[32][33][34][28] Some believe we call them far-right "a bit foolishly",[35] declaring "it's difficult to find anything to condemn this group".[36] Finally, some journalists oppose La Meute's public image to its private Facebook group.[37]

La Meute rejects the "far-right" label[16][17] and is known to regularly delete overtly racist comments,[12] or comments inciting violence.[7] Some journalists doubt this, arguing that the Facebook group shows "numerous references to Muhammad as a pedophile or rapist" and that it can be invalidated "by simply typing "pig" in the search bar".[37] La Meute is known to expel its members who are overtly racist.[25] La Meute's spokesman, Sylvain Brouillette, identifies La Meute as center left.[34]

During Quebec's 2018 general election, Brouillette stated that La Meute was directly inspired by the 2014 electoral program of the Coalition Avenir Québec but the group's party leader, François Legault, has tried to distance his party from this claim.[38]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ ICI.Radio-Canada.ca, Zone SociĂ©tĂ© - (17 August 2017). "ExtrĂȘme droite, populisme, nĂ©onazisme... petit guide pour Ă©viter les amalgames" [The Extreme Right, Populism, Neo-Nazism... A short guide to avoiding mixing]. Radio-Canada.ca (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  2. ↑ Labranche, MichaĂ«l. "Quand La Meute rĂ©sonne dans le New York Times" [When La Meute echos in the New York Times]. Le Journal de QuĂ©bec (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  3. 1 2 ICI.Radio-Canada.ca, Zone SociĂ©tĂ© -. "La mouvance de l'extrĂȘme droite plus visible au QuĂ©bec". Radio-Canada.ca (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  4. ↑ ""La Meute" contre l'islam radical gagne du terrain". TVA Nouvelles (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  5. ↑ "La Meute prĂ©sente ses dix-sept revendications" [La Meute presents its 17 demands]. le-peuple.ca (in French). Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  6. ↑ "Promotion d'un groupe contre " l'islam radical " : un cadre de Saguenay rappelĂ© Ă  l'ordre" [Promotion of a group against "radical Islam": a Saguenay executive called to order]. Radio-Canada (in French). Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  7. 1 2 ICI.Radio-Canada.ca, Zone SociĂ©tĂ© - (6 December 2016). "43 000 membres pour le groupe d'extrĂȘme droite la Meute" [43,000 members for the extreme right La Meute]. Radio-Canada.ca (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  8. ↑ "Le chef de La Meute dĂ©missionne" [La Meute's Leader sacked]. Vice (in Canadian French). 2017-01-16. Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  9. ↑ "Divisions au sein de La Meute". Le Soleil (in Canadian French). 2017-09-16. Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  10. ↑ "La Meute prĂ©sente son manifeste". TVA Nouvelles (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  11. ↑ Grondin, Marie-RenĂ©e. "[AUDIO] La Meute lancera un manifeste la semaine prochaine" [[Audio] La Meute will launch its manifesto next week]. Le Journal de QuĂ©bec (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  12. 1 2 "Inside Quebec's far right: A secretive online group steps into the real world | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  13. ↑ "Suspended La Meute Member Seen in Quebec City Protest". The Link. 25 August 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  14. ↑ "The Canadian far right". The Economist. Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  15. ↑ "Out of the Shadows: Inside La Meute | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  16. 1 2 ICI.Radio-Canada.ca, Zone SociĂ©tĂ© - (5 February 2017). "La Meute se dĂ©fend d'ĂȘtre un groupe d'extrĂȘme droite" [La Meute refutes far-right claims]. Radio-Canada.ca (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  17. 1 2 "Entrevue avec un chef de Meute" [Interview with a La Meute leader]. L'Avantage Rimouski (in French). Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  18. ↑ "Les illusions et dĂ©sillusions de La Meute, le "plus grand groupe d'extrĂȘme droite au QuĂ©bec"" [The truth and lies of La Meute- "Quebec's largest extreme right group"]. Vice (in Canadian French). 2017-01-04. Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  19. ↑ "La CAQ, la Meute and Bill 21".
  20. ↑ "LaĂŻcitĂ©: la CAQ se distancie de La Meute qui applaudit son projet de loi | Radio-Canada". ici-radio--canada-ca.translate.goog. Retrieved 2025-07-06.
  21. ↑ "La Meute et les Soldiers of Odin chahutent un colloque sur l'extrĂȘme droite" [La Meute and the Soldiers of Odin heckle a conference on the extreme right]. Le Soleil (in Canadian French). 2018-03-21. Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  22. ↑ Patriquin, Martin (2017-11-17). "Inside The Secret Facebook Group Of Quebec's Far-Right "Wolf Pack"". Buzzfeed News. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
  23. ↑ Montpetit, Jonathan (2017-08-21). "How Quebec's largest far-right group tries to win friends, influence people". CBC. Retrieved 2019-05-06.
  24. ↑ Shihipar, Abdullah (2018-01-24). "Opinion | The deadly consequences of Islamophobia in Canada". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  25. 1 2 3 "Pas islamophobe, La Meute?" [La Meute, Not Islamophobic?]. Le Soleil (in Canadian French). 2017-07-19. Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  26. 1 2 ICI.Radio-Canada.ca, Zone SociĂ©tĂ© - (20 August 2017). "DĂ©mystifier l'extrĂȘme droite" [Demystifying the Extreme Right]. Radio-Canada.ca (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  27. 1 2 "La Meute à Granby: les citoyens appelés à l'ouverture et à la vigilance" [La Meute in Granby: Citizens call for openness and vigilance]. Le Granby Express (in French). 2018-01-31. Archived from the original on 2018-05-23. Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  28. 1 2 Meunier, Hugo. "Je suis membre de La Meute depuis le début et c'est plate" [I've been a member of La Meute from the start, and it's boring]. Le Journal de Montréal (in Canadian French). Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  29. ↑ ParĂ©, Étienne. "Le jour oĂč j'ai Ă©tĂ© d'extrĂȘme-droite" [The day I was extreme right]. Le Journal de MontrĂ©al (in Canadian French). Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  30. ↑ "ExtrĂȘme droite au QuĂ©bec: un phĂ©nomĂšne social et politique en croissance?" [The Extreme right in Quebec, a growing social phenomenon] (in French). 2018-05-01. Archived from the original on 2018-05-23. Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  31. ↑ "QuĂ©bec : montĂ©e des groupes d'extrĂȘme droite" [Quebec: Rise in far-right groups]. TV5MONDE (in French). 2017-09-26. Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  32. ↑ ICI.Radio-Canada.ca, Zone SociĂ©tĂ© -. "AprĂšs les affrontements Ă  QuĂ©bec, La Meute marche dans le silence" [After demonstrations in Quebec, La Meute walks in silence]. Radio-Canada.ca (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2018-05-25.
  33. ↑ "As Canada Transforms, an Anti-Immigrant Fringe Stirs". The New York Times. 2017-01-31. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  34. 1 2 Ravary, Lise. "La Meute en crise de croissance (1re partie)" [La Meute in growth crisis]. Le Journal de Montréal (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2018-05-25.
  35. ↑ ParĂ©, Étienne. "Le jour oĂč j'ai Ă©tĂ© d'extrĂȘme-droite". Le Journal de MontrĂ©al (in Canadian French). Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
  36. ↑ Facal, Joseph. ""La Meute"?". Le Journal de MontrĂ©al (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2018-05-25.
  37. 1 2 "How a far-right movement is getting a free ride in Quebec media - iPolitics". iPolitics. 2017-11-28. Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  38. ↑ "La Meute dit s'inspirer de la CAQ". Le journal de Quebec (in Canadian French). Agence QMI. 13 September 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2026.
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