By Barry Ellsworth
TRENTON, Canada (AA) – For the second time in three days, Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau was greeted Sunday by dozens of unruly protesters shouting obscenities and death threats during a campaign stop.
While the Sunday event went ahead in Cambridge, southwest of Toronto, Trudeau was forced to cancel an election rally Friday in Bolton, northwest of Toronto, due to safety concerns for his staff and supporters. Police had to be called in to escort his campaign bus to safety.
Under the Canadian system of government, which is based on the British model, once an election is called, Trudeau must be referred to as the Liberal Party leader, not as the prime minister.
The leaders of both of the two other main political parties – the Progressive Conservatives and the New Democratic Party – condemned the actions of the protesters.
The chaotic protests, virtually unheard of in Canadian federal politics, were apparently sparked by the COVID-19 lockdowns, for which the demonstrators blamed Trudeau, as well as his announcement that all federal employees such as post office workers and other civil servants would have to be vaccinated or they could be fired. He has also promised CAN$1 billion to provinces who want to create vaccine passports.
In Cambridge, a protester hurled a racist insult at a person of color who was a police officer in Trudeau’s security detail, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported. Another made misogynistic remarks to a woman in the Trudeau camp.
The Sunday event was delayed for an hour and when it did start, the ruckus continued as a crowd hurled foul and threatening words and horns honked. One sign said “Liberals ruined the country.”
After Friday’s event was cancelled in Bolton, Trudeau spoke to reporters and said he has never experienced that kind of militancy when campaigning, not even when he accompanied his father, former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, who led the Liberals in five election campaigns from 1968-80.
“I think this is something that Canadians, all of us, need to reflect on, because it’s not who we are,” he said.
But he vowed that protesters would not deter his campaign for action on climate change and vaccinations. The federal election, Trudeau’s third as prime minister, is Sept. 20.
“No, I’m not going to back down on a message that Canadians know is the right path forward, and that’s why Canadians need to choose to move Canada forward in this pivotal time,” Trudeau said.
The identities of the protesters, if known, were not released publicly.
