NewsForBC / B.C. Politics & Public Safety · Published 2026-10-04

Kamloops–Vancouver protest comparison: confirmed condemnations, unresolved footage context

A September 30 Instagram Reel contrasts leaders’ reactions to Kamloops with pro-Khalistan demonstration footage. The Kamloops condemnations are documented; the dates of all the other scenes and a complete incident-specific response record are not established.

A video reposted by @forcanada2026, whose uploader label is “United Conservative Movement,” raises a public-accountability question about whether Mark Carney and David Eby apply consistent standards to intimidation. The Reel’s caption alleges silence about demonstrations it places in Vancouver. NewsForBC reviewed the supplied clip, its metadata, reporting on the Kamloops incident and the relevant CSIS assessment. [1]

This is a source review, not confirmation of the uploader’s characterization of everyone pictured. The September 30, 2026 date is the repost date in Instagram metadata, not a verified recording date for the underlying montage. A Media Bezirgan watermark is visible on the footage. [1]

The Kamloops record

Daily Hive reported on September 28 that Eby condemned the September 27 gathering on Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc land and that Carney called it abhorrent and a display of hate. The report also quotes interim B.C. Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson condemning the gathering as hateful and intended to intimidate. The article therefore supports the Reel’s narrow claim that Carney and Eby spoke out, while documenting a broader political response. [2]

In a September 28 release, Kamloops RCMP Superintendent Jeff Pelley said officers responded at approximately 7:25 a.m. the previous day to a group in black clothing and white masks near Chief Eli Larue Way. His statement described the “got bones” banner and masks as intimidation tactics, and said an investigation was ongoing. The release is a police statement, not a criminal judgment. This review does not establish a later charging decision or disposition. [3]

What the supplied montage does—and does not—document

Sampled frames show yellow Khalistan flags, an Indian tricolour, human-shaped effigies or cutouts and a rifle-shaped object directed toward a cutout. One shot includes a person wearing a “POLICE” vest. The montage contains different shots and angles; this review has not established that they all belong to a single event. [1]

The images warrant scrutiny of staged violence and potential intimidation. However, they do not establish whether an object is a functioning firearm, whether a crime occurred, whether every participant supports violence, or how authorities responded. Vancouver is the uploader’s location claim; the precise location and date of every scene remain unverified here.

The speech and chant track also presents a verification limit. An automatic transcription produced substantial recognition errors. NewsForBC is not using that output to assign threats to named people or presenting it as a verified English translation.

A scene traceable to June 2024

An earlier Media Bezirgan post provides an important correction to any impression that all of the footage is recent. We recovered the video attached to Mocha Bezirgan’s X post with download metadata dated June 7, 2024 UTC—June 6 in Vancouver. Around 23 seconds into the supplied Reel, the scene matches its distinctive display: green-turbaned camouflage mannequins, upward-pointing rifle-shaped props, a white-clothed effigy with dark/red marks, a printed Red Fort backdrop and the same surrounding stonework. [7]

This supports a same-scene match to footage already posted in June 2024, not authentication of every shot or the entire montage. The earlier uploader describes the display as outside India’s consulate in Vancouver and identifies the effigies as Indira Gandhi and her assassins. Those descriptions are attributed to the earlier post. We have not independently established the filming date of every scene or matched the complete audio and edit. The later Reel’s political comparison must not be mistaken for a contemporaneous record of all the events shown.

CSIS recognizes a threat and distinguishes peaceful advocacy

The 2025 CSIS Public Report states that ongoing violent-extremist activity by Canada-based Khalistani extremists poses a national-security threat to Canada and Canadian interests. It describes some individuals leveraging Canadian institutions and collecting funds that are diverted toward violent activities. The report also says there were no CBKE-related attacks in Canada in 2025. These statements concern the reporting year and threat category—not the identity or guilt of people in this montage. [4]

CSIS expressly distinguishes that activity from legitimate peaceful campaigning: non-violent advocacy for a Khalistan state is not considered extremism. It limits the extremist category discussed here to a small group using Canada as a base to promote, fundraise for or plan violence. Treating Sikh identity or a yellow flag as sufficient proof of extremism would erase that important distinction. [4]

For related background, see NewsForBC’s earlier review of CSIS findings and B.C. armed-camp footage claims. That earlier reporting does not independently authenticate this new Reel.

Federal ministers did condemn the 2024 display

Contemporary reporting adds an important fact. Hindustan Times reported in June 2024 that then-public safety minister Dominic LeBlanc condemned imagery of Indira Gandhi’s assassination in Vancouver, saying: “The promotion of violence is never acceptable in Canada.” It also quoted then-Treasury Board president Anita Anand calling the violent imagery disturbing and unacceptable. These were statements by LeBlanc and Anand—not by Carney or Eby. They establish a federal response to that reported display, not a response to every scene or proof that enforcement was adequate. [8]

Earlier responses complicate a blanket silence claim

There are relevant statements outside this exact montage. CBC reported on November 4, 2024, updated November 5, that Eby was deeply concerned about confrontations outside Surrey’s Lakshmi Narayan Mandir, where people carrying Khalistan and Indian flags demonstrated. It quoted him promising to work with other governments and law enforcement to maintain peace. That was a different incident, not an established response to these scenes. [5]

On June 23, 2026, Carney’s official statement commemorating victims of the Air India bombing said Canada’s government was confronting and condemning violent extremism in all its forms. That broad statement does not answer whether he addressed the specific depicted demonstrations. It does make a sweeping claim that he has said nothing about violent extremism misleading if taken beyond the particular events. [6]

Eby also issued an official Air India remembrance statement on June 23, 2026, calling for resistance to hatred, intolerance and division. That was a general statement, not an incident-specific answer about this montage. [9]

Those records neither prove equal treatment nor excuse a failure to answer an identified incident. They show why a precise question—what did each office say about a documented event?—is stronger than an absolute claim of silence.

The silence allegation remains unproven

This review has not located an incident-specific response from Carney or Eby tied conclusively to the exact footage shown. It also has not established a complete record of requests for comment, responses, investigations or subsequent police decisions for those scenes. The absence of a statement in this review is not proof that leaders approved the conduct or that authorities did nothing.

The practical next step is an incident-by-incident record: original footage and dates; police jurisdiction and any public case number; an assessment of threats or weapon-related conduct; and the response, if any, from the offices criticized. This article identifies those gaps rather than inventing answers. No offices, organizers or individuals were contacted for this review.

Bottom line: the Kamloops condemnations are documented, and violent-extremism concerns deserve serious attention. The supplied comparison does not by itself prove political favouritism, establish the status of every pictured participant or settle whether the two sets of conduct were treated differently under the law.

Video handling

NewsForBC’s version preserves the complete supplied Reel and original audio, with a distinct NewsForBC outer frame and persistent notice that a scene was already posted in June 2024. Its source captions and Media Bezirgan watermark remain visible. The source’s closing request for donations belongs to @forcanada2026; it is not a NewsForBC solicitation or endorsement. The linked overlay-text note preserves the readable claim without presenting the unreliable machine transcript as a translation.

Sources and evidence

1. Supplied Instagram Reel, @forcanada2026, upload metadata September 30, 2026 — Primary source of the claims and supplied montage; not independent verification of its allegations.
2. Daily Hive, September 28, 2026: Kamloops gathering and political responses — Named reporting quoting Carney, Eby and Doerkson; not a criminal determination.
3. Kamloops RCMP, September 28, 2026: Superintendent Jeff Pelley statement — Official police statement and investigation status on that date.
4. CSIS Public Report 2025: Operations and analysis — Official threat assessment; expressly distinguishes peaceful advocacy from violent extremism.
5. CBC, November 4–5, 2024: arrests and protests at Surrey Hindu temple — Reports Eby’s concern and public response to a different incident. Not a match to this montage.
6. Prime Minister Carney, June 23, 2026: National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism — Official broad condemnation of violent extremism; not a response to the precise footage.
7. Mocha Bezirgan X post; attached video metadata June 7, 2024 — Earlier footage matches the distinctive staged tableau around 23 seconds in the supplied Reel; not a match of the entire montage. Location and effigy identifications attributed to this post.
8. Hindustan Times, June 2024: Canadian ministers condemn Vancouver assassination display — Contemporary reporting quotes LeBlanc and Anand condemning the reported display; do not attribute these quotations to Carney or Eby.
9. Premier David Eby: National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism, June 23, 2026 — Official general anti-hatred statement, not a specific answer about the Reel.

Source and production notes · Claim-by-claim evidence · Overlay text and audio limitations