Survivalists' lifestyle: "it's a comfort insurance"

As the number of people infected with the coronavirus continues to rise and some fear that food supplies may become scarce in supermarkets, thousands of internet users seem to be interested in the survivalist lifestyle.  

The former soldier Mathieu Montaroux, who founded the Facebook page Québec Preppers, has seen his number of subscribers double in recent weeks. He even had to create a sub-group to accommodate questions related to COVID-19, as they had become so numerous. The family man welcomes new members who are curious to understand what survivalism is with pleasure.    

"We are foresighted citizens, we didn't have to rush to the grocery stores to get toilet paper, because we already have it," he says with a touch of humor.   

The Facebook page Survivalist Canada has also experienced an explosion in membership over the past month, presumably due to the coronavirus.   

What to Prioritize  

"People are asking what they should prioritize in terms of reserves, seeking advice on where to go for supplies," explains Dave, the page administrator, who prefers to withhold his last name like the majority of the survivalists interviewed. "Surprisingly, we also have a lot of requests regarding personal defense. There is a certain fear."  

30 Days of Self-Sufficiency  

Survivalism is the idea of preparing for a disruption of normality, like the current pandemic, but also major power outages, wildfires, earthquakes, or floods. There are those who accumulate certain goods, such as canned food, flashlights, batteries, generators, and water.   

But some are more dedicated. This is the case with Benoit, who prefers not to disclose his last name, believing that in the event of a crisis, his land and possessions could become highly coveted.   

"I am self-sufficient for a long time," he says. "I have an orchard, a vegetable garden, rabbits, chickens, I trap, fish, and hunt."  

For years, Benoit has been suggesting to all his relatives to equip themselves to be able to survive at least 30 days without depending on anyone. Considering the responses he usually gets, he was not at all surprised to see Quebecers emptying supermarket shelves recently.  

"People have home, car, and life insurance," he says. "Being a bit of a survivalist is like having comfort insurance, in my opinion."

**All translations are made from the original article written in French.