By The Canadian Press

1 of 4 men accused in alleged Quebec extremist plot granted bail, 3 remain detained

Jul 14, 2025 | 10:08 AM

MONTREAL — One of four men accused in an alleged anti-government plot to forcibly take possession of land in the Quebec City region was granted bail on Monday.

Matthew Forbes, 33, is an active member of the Canadian Armed Forces, and is charged with possessing firearms, prohibited devices and explosives, among other offences. Prosecutor Gabriel Lapierre consented to Forbes’s release under a host of conditions, but said the Crown opposes bail for the three co-accused, who are facing terrorism charges.

Simon Angers-Audet, 24, Raphaël Lagacé, 25, and Marc-Aurèle Chabot, 24, will remain detained until their bail hearings, which are scheduled for July 24 to 25 at the courthouse in Quebec City. RCMP have said the three men, motivated by “violent extremism,” planned to start a militia and “took concrete actions” to facilitate terrorist activity.

All four men appeared briefly by video conference from Quebec’s Orsainville detention centre on Monday. Federal authorities allege the suspects wanted to start an anti-government “community” north of Quebec City, and allegedly used a private Instagram account to recruit members and supporters.

The accusations against the four suspects have not been tested in court. They were arrested in Quebec City last week.

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Police allege their investigation turned up 16 explosive devices, about 11,000 rounds of ammunition and other weapons. The suspects allegedly had in their possession items including grenades, night vision goggles, high-capacity magazines, and improperly stored firearms.

Forbes and Chabot are based out of Canadian Forces Base Valcartier, northwest of Quebec City, the military said in a news release on Monday. “The weapons, ammunition, and explosives that were seized as part of the RCMP-led investigation … did not originate from the Canadian Armed Forces.”

Chabot enrolled in the Canadian Army as a reservist in June 2019, and transferred from Les Voltigeurs de Québec to the 2e Bataillon, Royal 22e Régiment in July 2023, but has not been deployed, the Armed Forces said.

Forbes was deployed twice since joining the military in October 2016. In 2018 he was part of Operation Cadence — in support of the RCMP for the G7 meeting in Quebec’s Charlevoix region; in 2019 he took part in Operation Reassurance, the Armed Forces contribution to NATO in Central and Eastern Europe. He joined the 5e Régiment d’artillerie légère du Canada in November 2017.

“We can confirm that these individuals have not been performing military duties and do not have unescorted access to the military base,” the Canadian Armed Forces said in a statement in regard to Forbes and Chabot.

Angers-Audet enrolled in the military as a reservist with Les Voltigeurs de Québec in June 2019 and was released in May 2022 as a private without being deployed.

Lagacé was never a member of the Canadian Armed Forces, but did work as a civilian instructor with the 630 Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron based out of Beauport, Que., a Quebec City suburb, between January 2021 and September 2024.

According to the charges filed in court, the crimes are alleged to have taken place between June 2021 and January 2024 in Quebec City, Montreal, Rolphton, Ont., and Petawawa, Ont., and elsewhere in Quebec, Ontario and Canada.

Police say the investigation began in March 2023.

Under his release conditions, Forbes, a married father of two, must live at his home west of Quebec City and cannot leave other than for work, medical reasons or taking his children to and from school, daycare or camp. He is forbidden from leaving Quebec and cannot apply for a civilian passport. His military passport is to be handed over to authorities. Forbes’s wife and mother jointly put up the $40,000 to secure his release.

The Crown expects to provide a summary of the case to lawyers for the three detained men by next Monday.

Lapierre told the court the Crown is challenging their release to maintain the public’s confidence in the justice system. The onus will be up to the three co-accused to demonstrate why they should be granted bail at the July dates before Quebec court Judge René de la Sablonnière.

Forbes is scheduled to return to court on Sept. 2.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 14, 2025.

Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press