Peter Smith
Canadian Anti-Hate Network
Shortly after declaring Canada a republic, Romana Didulo took to her Telegram channel to announce her dizzying array of new titles, including head of state, commander-in-chief, head of government, and surprisingly -- considering republics by definition reject royalty -- Queen of Canada.
“The people who appointed me are the white hats in the US military together with the global allied troops and their governments,” she said in a video, the first since allegedly stepping into her new role. “The same group of people who would have helped President Trump. The same people who seized the assets of the Vatican, the same group of people who seized the assets of the fake royal family instilled by the central bankers. The same group of people who have seized the assets of the family of the 13 bloodlines.”
Didulo’s posts are heavily steeped in the QAnon conspiracy theory -- even the page’s episode description includes the famous abbreviation for the rallying cry “Where We Go One We Go All.” Most posts include the #WWG1WGA hashtag.
Many promote common QAnon conspiracy theories.
Source: Telegram
After claiming to take her oath in February, she wasted no time in declaring the country a vaccine-free nation, and the fate of those who dare support the current swath of public health measures would be severe.
“For those individuals and groups who may not know, know this: Inside the republic, the penalty for crimes against humanity, treason, economic sabotage, and bioterrorism is death,” she said in the video. Sometimes wearing a suit, other times using a creased Canadian flag as a backdrop, a series of declarations and edicts continue to be passed down alongside an incredibly prolific posting rate on encrypted messaging channels.
Other messages from her main account are more poetic, but nonetheless cryptic.
“The Criminals and the corrupt are singing like canaries. They have two choices: 1) cooperate - possibly get the top bunk bed. 2) Lead in the head.”
According to Lead Stories, a US-based fact-checking website, a representative of Canadian Heritage directly confirmed that Didulo’s claims and titles are false.
Source: Telegram
Cease & Desist
In a short time, Didulo’s follower count on her most popular channel has bounded up to almost 20,000 people and continues to grow. Not missing the opportunity, followers have also been further sorted into smaller regional groups in order to distribute and log the delivery of home-printed “cease and desist” letters.
No regional C&D group approaches anywhere near the follower count of her main channel. Nonetheless, while each province and territory also has its own channel, so does each continent and many countries.
The groups do not log the history of posters before an account enters the rooms, but over the past two weeks many quickly fill up with pictures of locations receiving the notices. The purpose of these rooms are simple. Businesses and government agencies that continue to enforce the mask mandates and public health measures will be remembered for their crimes and later prosecuted under the authority of Didulo.
Across Canada, police departments, border services agents, healthcare centres, schools, and more than a few city halls have all received letters either in the mail or through hand delivery.
The inciting factor for the boom of thousands of new followers appears to be the endorsement by a much larger US QAnon influencer saying that they had indeed “confirmed” the claim.
No further evidence is offered.
Some commenters were quick to ask for the receipts, while many others scoffed that so many digital warriors refused to simply “trust the plan.” A flurry of videos and blog posts find reaching anagrams of her name -- transforming into “I am ur Donaldo” -- and a confirmation of troop mobilization. Others call it a psyop.
Another boost came from an alleged endorsement from British QAnon influencer Charlie Ward, who posted the announcement video on his site.
“Romana Didulo is legit. Charlie Ward and Gene Decode have on separate occasions have confirmed it,” wrote one follower. “Long live Romana Didulo our head of state and commander-in-chief.”
Source: Telegram
Didulo’s political party, dubbed the Canada1st Party of Canada claims on their website that they are “NOT part of or beholden to the corrupted and inhumane Globalists/Communists/ NWO/ UN/ Great Reset/2021/2030Agenda,” and takes familiar cues from various far-right populist groups over the last few years such as the Yellow Vests and other conspiracy-based online movements.
This version of Canada 1st joins the ranks of approximately three other noteworthy groups or individuals claiming the title. The most worrying is the accelerationist, pro-Hitler former Proud Boys behind Canada First (very briefly titled Proud Boys Canada First), while others include a disbanded collective of Instagram accounts and a webstream hosted by a failed DJ trying to make inroads to university conservative campus clubs while mimicking American streamer Nick Fuentes.
Shell Collector
A quick search online for Didulo reveals that she was previously listed as the president or director of a variety of companies. With names like Infinite Wealth 24.7 and Canada Engineering & Construction Management, some of these entities list themselves in London, England, while purporting to conduct business in Canada.
Like many of the companies affiliated with Didulo, the engineering firm was delisted due to a failure to file taxes.
Didulo is the only publicly listed employee in all businesses that we were able to find under her name. Beyond the registration itself, the only mention of any dealings are on one site called Towards Excellence which Didulo took a business course through and included a glowing testimonial. She would later describe the instructor of Towards Excellence as her mentor in a blog post.
This appears to be the starting point for her recidivistic incorporation of private companies with questionable output.
The first company appears to be Global Solutions Canada (also called 24 Hours Care Inc). Didulo Holdings Inc followed in 2012, with a company office listed in BC, but registered in Wilmington, Delaware. An archived webpage for the site describes it as a "boutique private wealth management company" in Delaware that caters to "high net worth individuals.”
Other ventures include a fundraising campaign to buy bullet proof vests for dogs that managed to fetch just under $30.
Many of the recent companies under Didulo’s name, including Canada1st Party of Canada, are registered to an address in Victoria.
QAnada
Q is the name of an anonymous poster on an internet imageboard, while followers are called “anons.” Q was only verifiable by their unique login and in three years left over 4,000 messages across three different online image boards -- 4chan, 8chan, and 8kun, which replaced 8chan. Some of these notes are cryptic, vague, and terse, while others are long and specific, and all allegedly contain information about the former president’s war against the “Deep State.”
With the exception of a recent post to a private Q-board credited to someone named “B,” the original Q has been silent since December 8, 2020.
A big-tent conspiracy theory, the language and symbols associated with the movement have appeared among wellness practitioners, biker-style hate groups, anti-mask protestors, and vaccine deniers; small groups of anons incorporate aliens and a much larger percentage work in a Christian influence. In the US, this blend of different paranoid doctrines has its own church.
The most startling act committed in Canada by a QAnon adherent appears to be when Corey Hurren of Manitoba drove a pick-up truck filled with firearms, guns, and a message for the prime minister on July 2, 2020.
In October 2020, Press Progress published a report tying a candidate for The Saskatchewan Party to social media posts expressing support for COVID-19 and QAnon conspiracy theories. Daryl Cooper quickly resigned his position, but told Global News it was primarily to avoid becoming a “distraction in the debate about the important issues facing our province," adding he had done nothing wrong.
PPC Leader Maxime Bernier also drew scrutiny when he tweeted out a video by Polly “Amazing Polly” St George, a popular QAnon influencer based in Ontario. St George has since been removed from YouTube as part of a large sweep of prominent Q accounts across major tech platforms. She has continued to broadcast on alternative platforms.
Also caught up in the bans was Alexis Cossette-Trudel, host of a popular French language Q-based YouTube channel. According to the CBC, Radio Quebec had over 120,000 subscribers when the platform removed the account for "repeatedly violating our community guidelines regarding COVID-19 misinformation."
Romana Didulo did not respond to a request for comment.
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