Liberty Coalition emerged as an effort to consolidate that wave of opposition and defend the rights of Christians. Nearly 300 mostly Protestant churches and organizations across Canada, including Trinity Bible, signed the declaration. Thiessen helped draft a statement - known as the Niagara Declaration - that argued limits on religious gatherings were a violation of church sovereignty. Liberty Coalition Canada was formed in early 2021 by Michael Thiessen, a pastor at Grace Baptist Church in Alliston, Ont., who broke with that church over his public opposition to public health measures in place at the time. "Some Christians in Canada over the last 10 years have begun to push back," said John Stackhouse, a professor of religious studies at Crandall University in Moncton, N.B. Scholars say reconstructionist ideals - often linked to Christian nationalism, the idea that the United States is a Christian country - are influencing how some Canadian evangelicals are responding to issues like legalized abortion, same-sex marriage and added protections for gender minorities. Several Canadian pastors in the movement also have ties to a controversial branch of evangelical Christianity in the U.S. While theological and political differences exist among them, many supporters of this movement share a vocal opposition to LGBTQ rights and other social justice causes. Working alongside Liberty Coalition Canada are dozens of churches across the country, a number of small media outlets and at least one well-funded think-tank. ![]() In a document marked "please keep classified" that was obtained by CBC News, the group says its ultimate goal is "the most powerful political disruption in Canadian history." ![]() Liberty Coalition Canada, a conservative Christian advocacy group, is trying to raise $1.3 million to recruit hundreds of Christian politicians and campaign staff to run at all levels of government. The image is taken from a video uploaded to the church's Facebook page. Jacob Reaume, pastor at Trinity Bible Chapel in Waterloo, Ont., speaks at a 2021 event in Waterloo Town Square. This movement is now increasingly involved in electoral politics, advocating for conservative social and political policies based on literal interpretations of the Bible. Trinity Bible is one of the most prominent churches in a fundamentalist Christian movement that has gained momentum in Canada, initially by challenging pandemic public health restrictions. He then used a slur to refer to trans people. "If you're going to live a lie to the point where you're willing to mutilate your own body, it's going to send you into dark despair," Reaume said. Much of the sermon, delivered last December, was devoted to a trans student at a Christian university in nearby Hamilton who had died by suicide a few weeks earlier. "A Christless existence leads to the dark, hopeless abyss of death," he told around 200 people at Trinity Bible Chapel, an evangelical church on the outskirts of the city. On a recent Sunday morning in Waterloo, Ont., pastor Jacob Reaume gripped a lectern and issued a warning to his congregation. Warning: This story contains anti-trans comments and deals with suicide. Front Burner 33:52 Inside the fundamentalist Christian movement that wants to remake Canadian politics
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