York Regional Police Chief Jim MacSween (Screengrab)
MAGA supporters in the United States are lashing out at York regional police chief Jim MacSween after his advice to Canadians facing home invasions, “hide and comply.”York Regional police chief Jim MacSween recently urged people not to fight back if criminals break in. Instead, he advised residents to hide, run, or lock themselves in another room and to wait for officers to arrive. “While we don’t want homeowners to feel powerless, we urge you to call 911 and do everything you can to keep yourself and loved ones safe until police arrive and be the best witness possible,” he said. MacSween added that compliance is often the best defence, even if that means allowing intruders to take what they want. The remark sparked anger online. Actor Kevin Sorbo posted on X, pointing to recent violent crimes: “A man was just executed in front of his family during a home invasion. A 3-year-old girl was just raped by an intruder. Canadian police chief Jim MacSween told his citizens that ‘your best defence is to just comply.’”Another user shared a video from Florida’s Santa Rosa County, showing a sharp contrast between Canada’s message of compliance and the US’s encouragement of armed resistance. In the video, a sheriff says, “Somebody’s breaking into your house, you’re more than welcome to shoot them. We prefer that you do actually. We have a gun safety class every other Saturday, and if you take that, you’ll shoot a lot better and hopefully you’ll save the taxpayers money.”For MAGA conservatives, MacSween’s remarks are not just bad advice but proof of what they see as Canada’s weakness under a liberal government. The backlash ties into MAGA’s larger narrative that Canadian institutions are too lenient and “woke,” while America, with its strong gun rights, gives citizens the power to fight back. Online, a user even joked that if Canada were America’s “51st state,” such advice would never be given, a remark that echoes Donald Trump’s own past claims that Canada would be better off under US control. The timing of MacSween’s comments has made the backlash sharper. Just days earlier, Abdul Aleem Farooqi, a 46-year-old businessman and father of four, was killed inside his Vaughan home during a break-in.
