Canadian provocateur Rachel Gilmore has criticized a tribute delivered in the House of Commons to U.S. for conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated last Wednesday.On Monday, Conservative MP Rachael Thomas (Lethbridge) rose in Parliament to honour Kirk. “Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honour the life and legacy of Charlie Kirk, a prominent conservative activist and founder of Turning Point USA. Charlie Kirk was tragically killed in a targeted attack last week, an act of violence that shook not only the United States but also our own country,” she said. Thomas praised Kirk’s advocacy for free speech and conservative values, emphasized the need for civility in political discourse, and extended condolences to his family and supporters. Her remarks were met with a standing ovation, including from Liberal MPs which was a rare moment of cross-party unity..Gilmore condemned the gesture on social media, arguing that celebrating Kirk’s legacy ignored the harm she believes his rhetoric caused and minimized the dangers faced by those who had spoken out against him. She also criticized what she saw as a double standard, writing: “Also more than a bit rich hearing Conservative MP Rachael Thomas wax poetic about free speech when Andrew Scheer hasn’t apologized or even tried to tell his followers to stop harassing me for my speech.”On Wednesday, Gilmore posted on X (formerly Twitter) that Kirk’s killing could become a “radicalizing moment” for his supporters. “Will they now believe their fears have been proven right and feel they have a right to retaliate regardless of who actually was behind the initial shooting?” she wrote.The post prompted sharp criticism from prominent conservative figures, including former Conservative Party of Canada leader Andrew Scheer, who described her remarks as “twisted.” Alt-right commentator Milo Yiannopoulos also amplified the backlash by resharing posts targeting her..The following day, Gilmore said she was “officially scared” after her name was featured at the top of Charliesmurderers.com, a website that lists people accused of celebrating Kirk’s death. She stressed that her words were being misrepresented, noting that she had not celebrated the killing but warned about its potential consequences.“I was suddenly the face of people celebrating Charlie Kirk’s murder, even though that literally never happened,” Gilmore said in a video posted Friday. “And it’s made the last 48 hours of my life a living hell.”Gilmore, who previously worked in Canadian newsrooms including CTV News and Global News, now runs her own media project, Bubble Pop with Rachel Gilmore.
