Okanagan MLAs decry far-right Christian’s cancelled concert venue

A far-right Christian musician still hosted a concert in the Okanagan last weekend, but West Kelowna’s decision not to allow him at a public park was met with outcry from area MLAs.

BC Conservative MLA Macklin McCall and former Conservative now OneBC party MLA Tara Armstrong took to social media, calling the move “dangerous” and “outrageous.”

Sean Feucht, a musician and American Christian nationalist, was initially scheduled to perform at West Kelowna’s Memorial Park last weekend.

Video clips of the rescheduled concert in Joe Rich, just outside Kelowna in the Central Okanagan regional district, show Feucht leading Christian prayers to his audience, but opposition to his tour dates were prompted by his pro-Trump, pro-MAGA and far-right comments opposing LGBTQ rights and critical race theory. Earlier this year, he praised U.S. president Donald Trumps tariffs against Canada and Mexico saying God is using Trump to expose evils in the two neighbouring countries.

Following weeks of pressure and news of other cancellations, City of West Kelowna pulled Feucht’s Memorial Park venue permit citing concerns about safety.

Armstrong took to social media criticizing the move and calling for volunteers to provide a new venue.

“This isn’t just outrageous — it’s a blatant attack on the freedoms guaranteed by the Canadian Charter,” the OneBC MLA said in a social media post.

She said West Kelowna officials were “scrambling” and their public safety concerns were a “flimsy excuse.”

“(Feucht) is being blocked from performing in West Kelowna — not because of any real threat, but because his faith and political views happen to offend the wrong people,” she said.

The OneBC party said in a social media post a Christian concert is not a public safety concern and that the safety concern was “mobilizing violent leftist activists to storm a peaceful events.”

The West Kelowna-Peachland BC Conservative MLA also spoke out on social media, criticizing the move as sacrificing liberty for public safety.

“The decision by West Kelowna to cancel (Feucht’s) concert this Saturday sets a dangerous precedent where informed, principle-based decision making is surrendered to mob rule,” McCall said.

Local authorities expected up to 2,000 concert-goers to be met with around 1,000 protesters, he said.

The West Kelowna event was one several across the country where protesters pressured public venues to cancel the performances due to Feucht’s far-right and Christian nationalist political beliefs.

The exact number of attendees isn’t known, but the Kelowna Atheists, Skeptics and Humanists Association estimated around 1,200 people went to the concert.