NDP leader Jagmit Singh says the aggressive verbal harassment was endured outside the campaign in Peterborough, Ont. was one of the most disturbing experiences of his political career.
Singh was attacked on Tuesday by protesters before and after a rally in the campaign office of provincial NDP candidate Jen Dek.
Videos posted on social media showed protesters approaching Singh and shouting curses in his face as he left the event. Some followed Singh to his car, where they continued to shout and hold their middle fingers right in front of the passenger’s window.
Protesters could be heard shouting “You’re the devil’s devil” and “You’re a lying dog” in videos of the incident.
A day later in Ottawa, Singh said the incident reflected a deteriorating trend of aggression and polarization in Canadian politics.
“There were people who said some really terrible things. “Some people said, ‘I hope you die,’ and things like that,” he told a news conference when asked about the incident.
“We need to be able to disagree as a society with respect, maybe even anger, but we don’t need to get to the point where it becomes so polarized that people’s safety is at stake.
Singh said he was used to dealing with aggressive behavior in public, but acknowledged that the verbal violence he received at Peterborough “would be one of the worst experiences”.
RCMP security team members raise their hands to protect Liberal leader Justin Trudeau from stones as protesters shout and throw gravel after the campaign in London, Ont, Monday, September 6, 2021 (Nathan Denette / The Canadian Press)
He blamed some of the politicians who fueled the division, although he did not name any.
“There is a responsibility on the part of politicians who deliberately incite these divisions or deliberately spread misinformation,” Singh added.
Peterborough police say they contacted Singh because there was no service call after the incident.
“It is discouraging to hear, because we know that most residents are respectful and these few do not reflect our community,” the police wrote on Twitter.
Threats against politicians are now more common
The campaign for the 2021 federal election and the protest of the truck convoy in Ottawa this winter underscored that politicians and security agencies say there is a growing trend of hostility towards political figures.
Signs and flags with the phrases “F-k Trudeau” and “F-K Legault” were distributed throughout the Ottawa region for most of the protest.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was persecuted by protesters for most of last year’s campaign. He was at a campaign stop in London, Ont covered with gravel.
A 2020 report from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, received by CBC News through a request for access to information, found that “political figures in Canada face threats of violence and online abuse on an increasing basis.”
The document notes a growing number of online threats and calls for violence against Trudeau and says several provincial prime ministers have experienced similar threats.
Conservative politicians have also condemned the shift in public discourse to threatening and aggressive behavior.
“Something has changed and it hasn’t changed for the better,” said Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner. told CBC News last year.
Conservative candidate Scott Aichison has condemned the harassment of Singh.
“This aggression is corrosive to our politics and bad for the country. “Politics through intimidation has no place in Canada,” Aichison said on Twitter.
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