Richmound mayor tells Gormley self-proclaimed ‘Queen of Canada’ must go

After being kicked out of Kamsack last week, a controversial figure has set up a camp in Richmound.

Romana Didulo has been described by the U.S.-based Anti-Defamation League as being “a Canadian QAnon figure” who falsely claims to be the “Queen of Canada.”

It also said she has frequently called for violent action online, especially against individuals involved in administering COVID-19 vaccines to children.

Brad Miller — the mayor of the village located about two hours west of Swift Current — told Gormley on Monday that two motorhomes and up to 10 vehicles rolled into the community on Sept. 15, and that Didulo since has been camping at a former school with some of her followers.

“They’re kind of hidden inside. She doesn’t come out very often and … it’s cordoned off (and) roped off … You can’t see her van hardly, and (there are) ‘no trespassing’ signs,” Miller said.

“As far as we know, there’s no running water and no heat. The building is lit up at night and we can see activity there every night, but we don’t know much about the power yet.”

The mayor said the group hasn’t broken any laws, adding it’s very tough to get them off the property.

“The zoning bylaw is commercial, but they’ve never went outside the bylaws yet,” he added. “Our hands are tied. The RCMP’s hands are tied. We’ve got many people monitoring it.”

According to Miller, someone bought the former school after it closed with the intention of opening up a cannabis-growing operation, which hasn’t yet materialized.

Miller said the owner only has a few feet of land around the former school and the town owns 15 acres of land surrounding it.

“Our playground for our kids is around maybe 50 feet from his trespassing rope and also we have a dog run that is right tight against his rope and people don’t feel secure to go down there with their dogs,” he added. “The parents are feeling uneasy.”

The self-proclaimed “Queen of Canada” has set up shop in Richmound, much to the chagrin of the Saskatchewan village’s mayor. (Village of Richmound/Facebook)

The mayor said Didulo called for more people to come help her transform the camp into what he called a “command centre.”

“They did it in a very short notice. Our residents really started to worry after the group posted on social media for the followers to come to town,” he added. “It kind of sounded like they’re making the school into their permanent home and that’s when we’ve got to push harder.”

Miller said he hopes Didulo leaves town in the next few days.

“When this all started, a few of us had a target on our back,” he added. “We, the town council and our residents, are going to push forward and just show them that we’re going … to throw them out.”

The village held a rally Sunday protesting Didulo’s presence, with big signs and lots of noise. Miller said five semis were among the vehicles that “drove around that school over and over and over.”

Miller said people attended the rally from all over, and noted that next time, more attendees would be there.

“At the end of the day, we stood by the rope,” he said. “My wife has a video. We sang ‘O Canada’ and it was kind of a tear-dripping time … and then after that, we went out on the road again until about 7:30 (p.m.).”

Miller said he asked Didulo to meet with him, adding she said she would only meet with him if she could be there with her bodyguard.

“I would go one on one with her with a bodyguard of myself that I would pick, but she hadn’t (replied) back to me yet,” he said.

The mayor called on the provincial and federal governments for support.

“We don’t want to be in the spotlight. We just want them gone,” he said. “I know this is a new situation for all of us in our province, but we will not give up until these people are pushed out of our beautiful province and that’s a promise.”