An historic Quebec church caught fire in October 2024, but an investigation found no evidence that the blaze was intentionally set and no arrests were made, authorities told AFP. Almost one year later, social media posts circulating online have falsely blamed an "Islamist" arsonist for the incident. It is the latest case of misinformation spreading in Canada related to church fires that have broken out across the country since 2021.

"Another Church in Montreal has been burned by an Islamist," claims a September 4, 2025 post on TikTok.

Visuals of the fire spread across platforms and posts in multiple languages implied it was set intentionally. On X, it was amplified by an account that AFP fact-checked for pushing additional false narratives about church fires in Canada and Wales.

While many posts falsely said the church was in Montreal, a September 7 Facebook post from David Harris Jr -- a commentator supportive of US President Donald Trump whom AFP has previously fact-checked for spreading misinformation -- identifies the church as Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Allégresses in Quebec, Canada.

Keyword searches in French for information about a fire at the Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Allégresses church found multiple videos and articles from local news outlets about the October 3, 2024 blaze (archived here and here).

The clip was widely circulated on social media in 2024, identifying the building as Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Allégresses.

A search on Google Street View also found the spot in...

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