People in Santa costumes stole $3,000 worth of food from a Montreal grocery store (VIDEO)

Montreal police are investigating after several people dressed as Santa Claus and masked elves walked out of a Metro grocery store on Laurier Avenue with carts full of unpaid groceries on Monday night.

But this wasn't your typical shoplifting incident.

An activist group called "Robins des ruelles" (Robins of the Alleys) — a play on Robin Hood — claimed responsibility for the heist in a video posted to Instagram, saying they redistributed approximately $3,000 worth of stolen food under a Christmas tree at Place Valois in Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, with leftovers going to community fridges around the city.

The action was organized by Les Soulèvements du Fleuve (Uprisings of the River), a Quebec activist movement that describes itself as "a resistance movement against industrial, colonial and extractivist development."

"No injuries have been reported," an SPVM spokesperson told La Presse. "The suspects allegedly left the store with non-perishable food without paying the bill. No arrests have been made at this time, and the investigation is ongoing."

The group, which engages in regular vandalism for social causes, described the Monday night raid as a "great food drive" and a political statement against grocery chains.

"A handful of corporations are holding our basic needs hostage," the group wrote in their Instagram post. "They continue to stifle the population, siphoning off as much money as possible, simply because they can. For us, that's theft, and they are the real criminals."

According to their website, the collective believes in "targeting the real culprits" of environmental and economic crises rather than focusing on individual consumer actions. "We refuse the illusory and guilt-inducing approach that concentrates on individual gestures," their site states. "We attack those truly responsible for the crisis."

On Friday, Les Soulèvements du Fleuve posted a glue recipe intended to help supporters "line the streets with signs denouncing grocery chains."

The grocery store heist comes at a time when food prices continue to squeeze Canadian families' budgets.

Just this week, Statistics Canada reported that grocery inflation hit 4.7% in November — the highest rate in nearly two years — even as overall inflation held steady at 2.2%.

And as we reported earlier this month, Quebecers are facing another significant increase in food costs in 2026. Canada's Food Price Report predicts prices will jump 4-6% next year, adding nearly $1,000 to the average family's annual grocery bill. Food prices are already 27% higher than they were just five years ago.

The festive food heist has sparked debate online, with many social media users expressing support for the group's Robin Hood-style redistribution.

However, it's worth noting that, regardless of the motivation, walking out of a store with unpaid merchandise is still, legally speaking, theft.