Sask. Party candidate’s apparent engagement with QAnon supporters online ‘concerning’: Scott Moe

The leader of the Saskatchewan Party says online interactions by a candidate in the upcoming provincial election with people who appear to support the right-wing conspiracy group QAnon are concerning. 

Daryl Cooper, who is running for the Saskatchewan Party in Saskatoon Eastview, recently deleted two Facebook posts in which he suggested pandemics are related to sun flares, saying the theory he based the posts on is not credible or scientific.

At a campaign event on Saturday in Prince Albert, Sask. Party Leader Scott Moe said he became aware of the posts on Friday night.

“This is concerning. I would say that first and foremost and I’ll have more to say on this as we move through the day today,” said Moe, whose party is running for a fourth consecutive term in the upcoming Oct. 26 election.

“This is something we’re taking a very thorough look at. I’m not aware of this particular group. I know very little about the nature of the content that has been shared.”

Press Progress — a left-leaning online publication that bills itself “as a counter-balance to corporate ownership in Canadian media and the growing influence of right-wing think tanks” — first reported on the interactions Friday evening, publishing three tweets in which Cooper interacted with QAnon supporters.

QAnon is a fringe belief propagated online that, in part, claims “deep-state” traitors are plotting against U.S. Donald Trump. Its supporters also make more wild claims, including alleging a number of high-profile, and generally liberal, figures are Satan-worshipping pedophiles who are running  the world and operating a child sex-trafficking ring that can only be stopped by Trump.

Experts have criticized the group widely and last year, the FBI designated the group a “domestic terror threat” because of its potential to incite extremist violence.

In one of the posts published by Press Progress, Cooper liked a Tweet from a user who referred to Trump as the “Big Kahuna” and claimed he had found a secret message by looking at correlations between Twitter posts by Trump and QAnon supporters.

In another post published by Press Progress, Cooper appears to have liked a tweet from a Twitter account named “Save or Children” that regularly posts Qanon conspiracy theories.

“Satan is ruling the world his time is 1000 year reign is almost up and remember as soon as there is a worldwide announcement claiming world peace and security is the start of the great tribulation,” the Tweet said.

In another tweet reported on by Press Progress, Cooper liked a message from another user who said they were excited to hear their neighbours were Trump supporters and “Q followers.”

CBC Saskatoon attempted to locate the Tweets Cooper liked on his candidate Twitter account, but they appear to have been removed.

Moe also said the Saskatchewan Party, if re-elected, would continue to get its guidance on COVID-19 from medical professionals and the province’s chief medical health officer. 

CBC Saskatoon has reached out to Cooper for comment, but a response was not immediately received. 

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