Residents want MAGA musician's concert at Parks Canada historic site cancelled
Christian rocker Sean Feucht has a concert scheduled for Wednesday night at the York Redoubt National Historic Site, a fortification constructed in 1793 to help protect the port city. It sits on a cliff overlooking the harbour.
Feucht, who unsuccessfully ran for U.S. congress as a Republican in 2020, is also a missionary and an author who has spoken out against the 2SLGBTQ+ community, abortion rights and critical race theory on his website.
"What I want to know is how this got approved in the first place," said Larry Stewart, who lives in Fergusons Cove, a small community next to the historical site.
Stewart is one of several residents who have voiced opposition to the planned concert, which they said goes against Parks Canada's guiding principles of inclusion and safety for all visitors.
"It's completely inappropriate," said Eleanor Kure, a longtime resident of the area.
Feucht has called for government policy in the United States to be based on traditional Christian values in the midst of a "spiritual war" in that country.
His website calls on young people to stand up against the "progressive agenda being forced upon America."
The concert at the York Redoubt site on Wednesday kicks off a national tour Feucht said marks the "Summer of Revival in the nation of Canada."
"I think it's very upsetting," said resident Nancy Hunter.
Feucht did not respond to a request for comment from CBC News.
MP urges Parks Canada to cancel
The residents who spoke to CBC News said they've never seen a concert being held at York Redoubt National Historic Site before.
They said they only learned about the event after Parks Canada sent out an email over the weekend warning residents about potential noise and parking issues.
Parks Canada did not respond before deadline to questions about how the concert came to be scheduled.
Shannon Miedema, the Liberal MP for the area, declined an interview request.
In an email to a resident that was provided to CBC News, Miedema said she's urging Parks Canada to cancel the concert after hearing from several constituents.
"I have the utmost respect for the value of free speech, I do not believe this event aligns with Parks Canada's core values of respect for people, equity, diversity and inclusion, or integrity," the email read.
The statement said Miedema is working with the appropriate parties to try to ensure the concert doesn't proceed.
If it does go ahead, residents said they'll protest the event.
"I'll be there. Maybe with the Canadian flag. Maybe with a Pride flag," said Stewart.
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