Santas steal food and redistribute it
On Monday, a group of people dressed as Santa Claus and elves stole $3000 worth of food from the Metro store on Laurier East and redistributed it on Place Valois the next day, according to Urbania. Le Devoir says they placed food in community fridges.
CE 00:03 on 2025-12-18 Permalink
Monday was not a good day for that grocery store. There was a fire across the street so the blocks around it were closed for most of the day and it wasn’t possible to enter any of the shops nearby. Then they get robbed by Santa!
Meezly 10:23 on 2025-12-18 Permalink
Y’know what? Good on them! We need a little Robin Hood style action during the holiday season.
That Metro is in a popular bougie area and a corporate franchise. That store will be ok.
Jim 10:59 on 2025-12-18 Permalink
Yeah, having masked people start plundering grocery stores isn’t a good thing, ever. It affects employees and many other things. That’s not good intentions, that’s just intimidation.
Ephraim 14:41 on 2025-12-18 Permalink
Having been in a bank while it was being robbed, having walked into a supermarket just after it was robbed with a sawed-off shotgun, and having arrived 5 minutes after a very failed terror attack, I can tell you that it’s NOT great. I actually collapsed on the floor soon after the robbery and had to drive back to the office. The employees involved often need a lot of support after a robbery, likely involving CNESST. And it’s hard for a business or bank to recover after that, because they often lose employees, who no longer feel safe working there.
MarcG 15:07 on 2025-12-18 Permalink
I’m not sure those situations are comparable. I would be interested in hearing the voices of the people who were working at the time.
Joey 15:16 on 2025-12-18 Permalink
@MarcG from the Urbania piece: De son côté, Émile Tessier, directeur de la succursale dévalisée, raconte être revenu à l’épicerie après le vol pour y trouver des caissières sous le choc, en pleurs. « C’était pas le fun pour personne. »
MarcG 15:50 on 2025-12-18 Permalink
Thanks. Not exactly a first-person account but hey.
Based on the image of the Santas at the checkout and the video clip of the elves entering and leaving the store, it seems like the way they did this was for the two Santas to go in first and collect a ton of food then bring it to the checkout as if they were going to pay for it. One of the cashiers can be seen filming or photographing them, presumably because at that point she thought it was good clean fun. Then once everything was bagged up near the exit, the larger group came in and took it away.
Nicholas 16:39 on 2025-12-18 Permalink
Meezly, what do you mean by corporate franchise? I don’t believe it is owned by Metro Inc, but is an independent franchise (which I’m sure is incorporated, so “corporate”, but likely owned by the Beaulieu family (or was) or by a few people). Metro Beaulieu has two stores, in the Plateau, and they’re building a third at the old Aubainerie on Mount Royal.
$3,000 is not going to break the bank, but they are currently hiring employees for the new store, and this won’t help filling that. I was paying at an SAQ in the Plateau recently and someone walked out with a bottle, then came back a minute later to steal a second, while the cashier said, in English, “You know you’re on camera.” But I guess it’s ok to do some crimes in a bougie, gentrified area. Make sure everyone feels equally unsafe.
Kate 17:07 on 2025-12-18 Permalink
Nicholas, I remember a La Presse columnist describing being at an SAQ and seeing someone walk brazenly out with a bottle of liquor, and the cashier telling him it happens all the time and there was nothing they could do. Can’t find a link though.
There’s a response on TVA about the Santa event – an interview with the head of a retailing group. The headline is a bit of ragebait about organized crime, and the spokesman whose rhetoric is transcribed gets gradually more disjointed. “Ils rentrent, ils forcent, ils détruisent, ils font peur, ils sont armés, ils sont masqués…”
But nobody said the Santa group was armed. They used social distraction. And nobody imagines they’re connected with organized crime.
I don’t say that what they did was right, although I can understand the motivation. Ephraim is right that such actions are hardest on the employees of the store.
Tim 17:42 on 2025-12-18 Permalink
I’m going to guess that the cashier was filming them so that it could be presented to police as evidence and that she did not think it was “good clean fun”.
MarcG 18:22 on 2025-12-18 Permalink
@Tim: If you look at the photo I’m referring to you’ll see one of their co-workers is scanning the items and another appears to be helping Santa#2 bag them up. It seems pretty clear to me that at that point they were under the impression that these were paying customers.
MarcG 18:23 on 2025-12-18 Permalink
@Kate: Here you go https://mtlcityweblog.com/2024/07/24/rise-in-crime-becomes-daily-fact/
Kate 19:49 on 2025-12-18 Permalink
Thank you, MarcG!
SMD 21:33 on 2025-12-18 Permalink
Team Santa all the way.
Tee Owe 16:01 on 2025-12-19 Permalink
Santas and elves rob Montreal grocery store to ‘give food to the needy’
@kate – re your comment about Montreal news in the Guardian , I tried to paste a link to another instance – not sure it works, maybe someone can help
MarcG 16:55 on 2025-12-19 Permalink
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/19/montreal-grocery-store-santas-elves-robbery
Tee Owe 18:48 on 2025-12-19 Permalink
Thanks MarcG