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With polls showing the Parti Québécois in third place ahead of the Oct. 1 provincial election, observers are concerned some PQ activists may be bending too far to the right on immigration issues — and flirting with extremist groups online — to try to bring in more voters.

An investigation into two closed Facebook groups, whose stated goals are to bolster the base of the party, shows a growing coziness between far-right groups like La Meute and Storm Alliance on the one hand, and members and supporters of the Parti Québécois on the other — from grassroots activists to aspiring candidates to officials on the executive council.

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The investigation focused on the Facebook groups PQ!!!… Rien d’autre!!! and Patriotes du Parti Québécois, with 1,544 and 2,023 members respectively.

It found that many participants, while supporters of the PQ, were also members of La Meute and/or Storm Alliance.

“We went fishing with the names of aspiring (PQ) candidates, and then saw what groups they were in, and what was being said,” said Jeff Ray, an anti-racist activist who published his findings on the blog Onjase.org.