The Kingdom of Canada: A People’s Movement Miscast as a Cult

For years, governments, academics, and mainstream journalists have branded alternative governance movements as “cults,” “extremists,” or “terrorist threats.” Yet behind the sensationalist headlines lies a different story — one of ordinary people disillusioned with institutions that no longer serve them, and choosing instead to align with a new framework: the Kingdom of Canada, under the leadership of HRM Queen Romana Didulo.

This report examines the coordinated smear campaigns against the Kingdom and its members, focusing on Richmound, Saskatchewan, the targeting of property owner Rick Manz, and the role of academics and media figures such as Dr. Christine Sarteschi.

A Movement Built on Structure, Not Chaos

The Kingdom of Canada is often dismissed as a “fringe cult.” Yet its publicly available framework — including decrees, an organized events calendar, and a chain of command — reveals an effort to establish an alternative model of governance rooted in sovereignty, Natural Law, and service to the people. Rather than reporting this reality, Canadian outlets and academics reduce the movement to sensational caricatures. The accusation of “cult” becomes a convenient weapon: a way to dismiss the people’s grievances without addressing the deeper failures of government, police, and media.

The Richmound Incident: Accusations Collide with Evidence

The case of Rick Manz, property owner in Richmound, Saskatchewan, illustrates how far these campaigns go.

July 18, 2025: Police, accompanied by Mayor Brad Miller, forcibly entered Manz’s property over a claim he was “tampering with the town’s water.” In video from that day, Councillor Wade Welte states: “It’s not our water.” Despite that contradiction, accusations persisted publicly.

In August, local media amplified allegations that Manz and the Kingdom were “pumping sewage” into public areas. See coverage by 980 CJME. Yet at the same time, the region was taking on heavy rain and flooding, with outlets documenting major downpours and high accumulations across southwest Saskatchewan (e.g., Swift Current flooding reports on Aug 3–5, 2025: CKOM; SwiftCurrentOnline; province crop/weather summaries noting significant rainfall in the southwest: Gov. of Saskatchewan crop report and Aug 7 report).

Bottom line: The story repeatedly shifted — water theft, then sewage, then flooding — a narrative built for headlines, not clarity.

Media and Academic Amplifiers

Key to sustaining the campaign is a network of academics and journalists who blur the line between research and advocacy. Coverage has long leaned on experts such as Dr. Christine Sarteschi to apply labels — “cult,” “QAnon,” “extremist” — that pre-judge audiences before facts. Earlier national pieces introduced the same frame and recycled it over time (see CTV profiles and local rally coverage from 2023: CTV Oct 13, 2023; “no clothes” piece: CTV Oct 11, 2023).

Smear by Repetition

1. Accuse first — theft, sewage, extremism.
2. Amplify — ensure the accusation circulates widely via media and punditry.
3. Ignore contradictions — Welte’s “not our water” statement and flood context fade out.
4. Smear by association — link activity to “cults,” “QAnon,” “terrorism.”

This cycle delivers one feeling: fear.

Who Really Acts Like a Cult?

If “cult” means blind obedience and refusal to examine evidence, the label fits the institutions that repeat each other’s claims while downplaying conflicting facts. Many who align with the Kingdom do so because they see corruption, censorship, and manipulation elsewhere. That’s a choice born of discernment, not delusion.

Richmound’s Role in the Smear: How a Small-Town Dispute Became National “Cult” Propaganda

By Independent Correspondent

What the RCMP Actually Reported

At their Sept. 3 briefing, Saskatchewan RCMP laid out the operational facts now reported across multiple outlets: trigger was a single Aug. 25 firearm report; a warrant was executed pre-dawn; 17 arrests (variously reported as 16–17) were made without resistance, injuries, or gunfire; and four replica handguns were seized. As of the briefing, no charges had been laid while evidence review continued. See contemporaneous reporting: CJME, SaskToday, Canadian Press wire, and broadcast clips Global News video.

What CBC and CTV Reported

Headlines leaned heavily on “cult”/“QAnon” branding. CBC’s trending line today: “‘Queen of Canada’ arrested on livestream after RCMP deploy to village where cult has lived for 2 years.” (see aggregation for headline and timing via Ground News). CTV likewise framed the operation as a community safety crisis, echoing long-running “QAnon queen” coverage (CTV July 25, 2025; earlier background CTV Sept 18, 2023).

The Township’s Central Role

Richmound officials fed the narrative pipeline. In August, Mayor Brad Miller publicly alleged sewage dumping and water theft — widely amplified (CJME). Those claims ran alongside official rainfall/flood reports in the same period (SwiftCurrentOnline, Gov. Sask.). The discrepancy wasn’t reconciled in national copy.

Smear by Association

Typical sequence: inflate threat (a single firearm report scales into a tactical spectacle) → invoke fear (community “under siege”) → seal the narrative with labels (“QAnon,” “cult”) → downplay contradictions (replicas, no charges).

False Flags and Fabricated Narratives: How CBC and CTV Twisted Queen Romana’s Words

A Warning Ignored

Sept 2, 2025: On Telegram, Queen Romana warned followers to watch for manufactured “false flags” and false stories in Richmound — a defensive notice anticipating discrediting moves.

The Raid and the Headlines

Sept 3, 2025: RCMP executed a dawn raid; Didulo livestreamed the arrest. TV segments rapidly framed her as a dangerous “cult” leader; yet police briefings emphasized replicas, peaceful arrests, and no charges at the time (Global video; CJME; SaskToday).

Narrative Laundering

1. A defensive warning is reframed as aggression.
2. An arrest without charges is treated as proof of guilt.
3. “Experts” supply the stigma; outlets repeat the script.

The Bigger Picture

We’ve seen the same playbook before — Peterborough (2022) and beyond — where initial allegations dominate coverage while corrections, context, and non-charges fade (Global News archive).

THE RICHMOUND RAID THAT PLAYED ON TV

The lede the cameras missed

~4:30 a.m.: 30+ police vehicles, tactical units, drones, K9s. Then, by RCMP’s own update and reporting: no gunfire, no injuries, no resistance, and no charges at briefing time. Four replica handguns seized pending review (Canadian Press wire; CJME; SaskToday).

Fact vs. Spin (quick hits)

• “Armed compound” → RCMP: replica handguns; no shots, no injuries (Global video).
• “Danger to public safety” → reporting reflected no immediate risk and peaceful arrests (CJME).
• “Charges prove the case” → at briefing time, none laid; investigations ongoing (SaskToday).

Questions that demand answers

1. What sworn facts justified a province-wide tactical deployment off a single complaint?
2. Who authorized the scale of force for a search yielding replicas and peaceful arrests?
3. Why stage a mass-custody operation without charge-ready files?
4. When will warrant ITOs, body-cam, and full after-action logs be released?
5. Why center punditry while sidelining exculpatory facts and weather/flood context?

CBC’s “Cult” Story on Romana Didulo Falls Apart Under Scrutiny

The Raid in Richmound

Sept 3, 2025: CBC ran a sensational headline: “‘Queen of Canada’ arrested on livestream after RCMP deploy to village where cult has lived for 2 years.” (see aggregation: Ground News). What actually happened: RCMP entered a privately owned property; Didulo livestreamed; arrests were peaceful; the on-record facts didn’t match a crisis frame (see CJME and CP wire for seized replicas and no charges at briefing).

Enter Dr. Sarteschi — The Media’s Reliable Echo

CBC again leaned on U.S. academic commentary to frame the group as a cult. Similar talking points appeared across prior years in national and local coverage (e.g., CTV pieces cited above). The effect: expert varnish for a pre-selected narrative.

The QAnon Smear — A Manufactured Label

Media routinely fuse “Q” and “Anon” into a single stigmatizing tag. Regardless of one’s view of the movement, the label’s function is to short-circuit debate. Meanwhile, legal/process issues — such as alleged misapplication of Saskatchewan’s Municipalities Act during prior property encounters — rarely get equal bandwidth.

The Real Pattern: Smear First, Facts Later

1. Label the dissenter.
2. Amplify fear.
3. Ignore contradictory records.
4. Repeat until “everyone knows.”

Conclusion: A Call for Honest Journalism

The events in Richmound, the targeting of Rick Manz, and the broader smear campaign against Queen Romana all reveal the same truth: a coordinated effort to delegitimize a people’s movement that threatens the status quo.

When admissions like “It’s not our water” are ignored, when floodwaters are misreported as sewage, and when academics dedicate themselves to mocking dissenters rather than analyzing evidence, the real danger is not the Kingdom of Canada — but the erosion of honest journalism.

The people deserve better than fear narratives. They deserve truth.