| Date | 20–22 March 1997 |
|---|---|
| Location | Saint-Casimir, Quebec, Canada |
| Coordinates | 46°38′11″N 72°09′25″W / 46.6363°N 72.1570°W |
| Type | Mass suicide |
| Motive | Theological concept of "transit" to Sirius |
| Perpetrator | Members of the Order of the Solar Temple |
| Outcome | Five dead, three survivors, the disintegration of the remainder of the OTS |
| Deaths | 5 |
| Coroner | Yvon Naud |
On 22 March 1997, five members of the Order of the Solar Temple (OTS) committed mass suicide in Saint-Casimir, Quebec, setting their house on fire with them inside. Among the dead were two couples: Didier and Chantal Quèze and Bruno Klaus and Pauline Riou, as well as Chantal's mother Suzanne Druau. The three children of the Quèzes had initially been included in the suicide plan, but the first attempt to initiate the suicide failed. After the failure of the first attempt, they confronted their parents, and convinced them that they wanted to live and were let go. Following two more unsuccessful attempts to orchestrate the suicide, the final attempt, with help from the children, was successful.
This followed two prior mass suicides by the group in 1994 and 1995; the group had the theological doctrine that by committing suicide, one would not die, but "transit"; they conceptualized the transit as a ritual involving magic fire, where they would undergo a spiritual voyage to the star Sirius, where they would continue their lives. The two leaders of the group, Joseph Di Mambro and Luc Jouret, had both died in the 1994 transit, but a second mass suicide was orchestrated the next year by the remaining members. Following these past suicides, the group was believed dissolved and was officially banned in Quebec, but it was believed that they may have continued to operate secretly.
On March 20, the Quèzes, as well as Klaus and Riou, all former members of the OTS group, began attempting to orchestrate the suicides; they mailed a suicide letter to two Canadian media outlets, outlining their reasons for committing the act. They then drugged their children and attempted to burn the house down. The attempts repeatedly failed, due to both mechanical error and the intervention of the couple's children. Following three unsuccessful attempts to orchestrate the suicide, two days later the children finally helped their parents burn the house down.
Four of the dead died of smoke inhalation, while a fifth was separately suffocated by another. While the children were directly involved, they were ultimately not convicted of any crime, as the Ministry of Justice deemed their responsibility lessened by their ingestion of drugs and their influence by the sect. After the incident, the OTS is widely believed to have effectively dissolved. The incident provoked widespread media interest and commentary in Quebec, particularly on religious freedom.